The human girl of Equestria
by Y the monster master
Summary: Chloe is an eight years-old girl who's been abused by her own family. Willing to have a much happier life, she runs away from home, but she got attacked and she fell down a bottomless waterfall, and she accidentally ended up in Equestria. However, despite of having great fear of all kinds of animals, she accepts Princess Celestia as her mother and a new family bond began to form.
1. Chapter 0:the beginning

Chloe Williams is an 8 year-old girl who lived with her 40 year-old mother, whose name was Jane Williams, her 44 year-old father, whose name was Jeff Williams, and with her 20 year-old brother, Mike Williams, but her life with her family is anything but good.

Jeff Williams was a drunk man, his wife Jane was an extremely selfish woman, and their young adult son, Mike, was extremely abusive towards Chloe, and the three together were complete monsters that always made Chloe's life miserable and even threatening, and she was desperate and heartbroken and she wanted to have a proper family that will never be mean, cruel and/or heartless to her.

However, Chloe's life weren't been always this way, because when she was just two years-old, her family was been as good and as caring as almost every other family, and she also had an extremely kind and generous grandmother, who are the mother of her Chloe's father, and her name was Elizabeth Williams, which Chloe loved so much.

However, one day, when Chloe was 5 years-old, the totally unexpected happened that struck Chloe and her family forever - Elizabeth suddenly got very sick and it is revealed to Chloe that her grandmother is suffering from cancer from which she's been suffering for the last 11 years, but she always fought the cancer and never stopped doing so, because she didn't wanted to make her family heartbroken.

However, even after she did everything she could do against the cancer, it was still able to weaken her and make her suffer, and her health slowly began to deteriorate within the last year of her life.

Eventually, Elizabeth was about to die from losing in the battle against the cancer, and in the hospital she said a final goodbye to everyone of her family, and especially to her granddaughter, Chloe.

With her last breaths, Elizabeth weakly said to her young granddaughter that she loves her so much and that she'll always be in her heart, and with those final words being said, Elizabeth died from her cancer, thus breaking Chloe's heart, as well as her family were too heartbroken to see the grandmother of their family dying from her cancer right in front of their eyes.

Elizabeth was 70 years-old when she died from her cancer, and after she died, her body was taken to the graveyard to be buried, and Chloe was just 5 years-old when she said a final goodbye to her kind and generous grandmother who loved her so much.

Four months after the death of Elizabeth, Chloe's family slowly transformed from kind and caring into cruel and heartless, and that's exactly when Chloe's life started to change from generous and beautiful into harmful and miserable.

Jeff, Jane and Mike all turned against Chloe, and this shocked, horrified and wounded her so much and she even got abused by them, because of Jeff being a drunk, because of Jane being selfish, and because Mike being extremely abusive towards her.

One day, when Chloe was 6 years-old, a year after her grandmother, Elizabeth, died from cancer, Chloe's abusive family decided to take her with them to an animal farm to see domestic animals.

However, when Chloe was introduced to the domestic animals, she approached them and tried to befriend them, but her parents and her older brother wanted to make sure she'll be scared and fear animals, so they worked together to make every one of the domestic animals attack Chloe and make her a trauma and to make her fear and hate animals.

To make the chickens attack and peck at Chloe, Mike managed to kick at the chickens and he provoked them, but he fooled them and made them attack and peck at Chloe instead, thus scaring her as she cried and ran away with the chickens chasing her, and Mike laughed rudely at the sight.

To make the cows attack and charge at Chloe, Jane managed to pull hardly at the cows tails and she provoked them, but she fooled them and made them attack and charge at Chloe instead, thus scaring her as she cried and ran away with the cows chasing her, and Jane laughed rudely at the sight.

And last but not least, to make the horses attack and kick at Chloe, Jeff managed to harm one of their baby foals and he successfully provoked them, but he fooled them and made them attack and kick at Chloe instead, thus scaring her as she cried and ran away with horses chasing her, and Jeff laughed rudely at the sight.

Because of all the harmful incidents Chloe experienced from the domestic animals, she was traumatized by the attacks of the chickens, cows and horses on her, and she began to fear and hate animals, much to her cruel family's enjoyment.

When Chloe and her family returned back home, she got berated, ridiculed and punished by her family for the incidents with the chickens, the cows and the horses that happened at the animals farm, despite it was actually Chloe's family and not Chloe herself whom are the ones to blame for the incidents.

Chloe's life were so harmful and miserable for her that she also feared animals, and when day, when Chloe was 7 years-old, her family took her with them to the zoo to see wild animals.

At the zoo, Chloe's family decided to make a bad move to make Chloe traumatized and for her to fear and hate wild animals as well. Eventually, Mike came out with an extremely cruel idea that will help him and his parents to scare Chloe to death - by throwing Chloe into the tiger enclosure.

The reason Mike came up with the idea of throwing Chloe into the tiger enclosure it's because he and his parents don't like and don't care for Chloe's life anymore, and because they all believed that she's the one to blame for her grandmother, Elizabeth's death.

Then, Mike and his parents decided to take Chloe with them to the tiger enclosure to see the tigers, but then Mike picked his younger sister up in his arms, and then he threw her right into the tiger enclosure, but not before saying to her that it's her fault that grandmother Elizabeth is dead all along.

Chloe managed to survive being thrown into the tiger enclosure, but soon afterwards, one of the male tigers whom are living in the enclosure spotted her and he began to approach Chloe, thus scaring her to death as she looked in fear and terror into the male tiger's eyes and she knew that the tiger wants to eat her, and when all the other visitors in the zoo soon gathered around and watched the terrified young girl being threatened by the male tiger, they all looked in shock and horror as the tiger began to close on Chloe.

When Chloe looked up and saw all the other visitors in the zoo looking down at her in shock and horror to see her trapped in the tiger enclosure, she also saw her own family looking down at her in pure hate and disgust, before all the three of them just turned around and began to walk away and leave her behind to be tiger food.

Chloe cried out loud for help as the male tiger was about to swipe at her and attack her when he managed to get close enough to her, but then one of the zookeepers shot an arrow at the tiger but not to kill it, but to tranquilize it and thus making the male tiger to slowly fall down to sleep, and then another zookeeper entered the tiger enclosure, and then he took Chloe with him out of the enclosure and back to safety, but Chloe was shocked and terrified, and it's not only because the male tiger tried to kill her, but also because her own family no longer loves and cares for her and they all believe that she's the one to blame for grandmother Elizabeth's death.

After Chloe was rescued by the zookeepers and was brought back to safety, she ran out of the zoo in tears because of her new fear of wild animals as well, but also because of her family's deception they have grew up and developed against her following the death of her grandmother.

When she returned back home, Chloe is abused again by her own family whom are all shocked and angry that she's been rescued from the tiger enclosure, and they said to her that she's the one to blame for her grandmother's death, and that there's no place for her among them anymore, making her to run into her bedroom and throw herself onto her bed and cry out loud because she was bewildered, confused, wounded and worst of all, she's unwanted and unwelcome by her own family.

When she was 8 years-old in the present days, the abuse she endured kept going on from her drunk father, her selfish mother and her abusive older brother, who all hated her so much, and one day, they even threatened her that she'll eventually end up as a cruel and heartless person just like all of them in the future, and that if she doesn't accept that horrible future she's going to face, they'll take her to the zoo to feed her to the tigers again.

Chloe didn't knew what to do anymore, but she still wanted to find a way to escape her horrible family and find another that will not be mean and/or cruel to her, and after all the bad things she's been through because of her cruel and heartless father, mother and older brother, Chloe finally decided that if her family doesn't loves her or cares for her and will continue to be mean and cruel to her as well as abuse, harm and neglect her, then she has to go and leave them behind and find another family that will care for her and love her the most.


	2. Chapter 1:the runaway girl

One night, when Chloe's family were asleep, Chloe herself thought about a plan to escape and run away from her dreadful home, and she had one in her mind. She opened her cupboard and searched for something she can use to escape from her bedroom, and she managed to find a long and strong rope and she decided to take it with her in an attempt to use it.

However, before she opened her window to tie the rope outside, she took her school bag with her and she began to pack inside it everything she needs and loves so much, and once she was done, Chloe finally opened her window, tied up the rope outside, and then she slowly began to climb down the rope until she finally managed to reach solid ground, and then she slowly started to turn around and walk away from her home, and she hoped that one day she'll have a new home and a new family that will replace her dreadful ones she lived in and with until this night.

Chloe ran away from her home and she took with her everything she loves and needed for her journey to search for a new home and for a new family. Chloe said to herself " _I never wanna return back to my dreadful home and family ever again_.", as she continued in her journey to search for a new home and for a new family.

Eventually, Chloe ended up leaving her home city in which she lived ever since she was born behind her, and she turned back to look at her home city one last time, and then she said to herself about her home city " _I guess this is when I have to say goodbye to my home city, because I'm never going to return to live in that city ever again_.", before she turned and continued to go away, leaving her home city behind her.

An hour later, Chloe ended up getting lost in a big forest, and she tried to find her way out and she thought " _What should I do now_?", and then as she continued to search for a way out of the forest, she suddenly heard a twig snapping and then she turned around to see what's behind herself.

She saw nothing behind herself, but when Chloe turned to go, she came face-to-face with an adult male wolf that was none other than the alpha male of his own pack, and soon he howled and called for the rest of his own pack to signal them all that he managed to find prey, which was in that case - Chloe.

When Chloe realized what's going on, she started to run away for her own life, and soon afterwards, the alpha male wolf is joined by the rest of his pack, and then the entire wolf pack began to chase after Chloe, hoping to catch up with her and make a meal out of her.

Chloe ran as fast as she could and as fast as her legs could carry her, and the wolves continued to chase after her and they all tried to outpace her so they can hunt her down and kill her and feed on her. Eventually, Chloe ended up reaching the edge of a cliff, which to her as she quickly found out was a dead end, and then the wolves managed to catch up to her and corner her on the edge of the cliff, thus trapping her and preventing her from escaping them.

Chloe thought to herself what she should do now as she was trapped between the edge of the cliff, which was leading down into a ravine with a fast-streaming river tens of feet below, and the wolves whom are all trapping her on the edge of the cliff to prevent her from escaping them.

Then, the alpha male wolf charged and ran towards Chloe, and then he pushed her against the edge of the cliff, causing her but also the alpha male wolf to fall of the edge of the cliff into the ravine below, where the two landed in the fast-streaming river and were both swept away by the current.

Eventually, Chloe and the wolf both ended up falling down a bottomless waterfall, never to be seen on the face of planet earth ever again. However, this is NOT the end of Chloe.

The next morning, Chloe woke up on a river bank after she got washed ashore, and when she slowly looked around herself, she saw that the wolf is nowhere to be seen, proving the wolf that attacked her drowned and died, and Chloe became relieved to know that the wolf didn't survived when they got swept away by the current and then fell down the bottomless waterfall.

However, Chloe looked around herself once again to see the area around, and she saw that the area around herself was colorful and beautiful, and there were trees, grass, water and singing birds.

However, the area around Chloe was nothing like she have seen back on planet earth, and she decided to get up on her feet and search for food because she was really hungry, but first, she went to the river to drink some water because she was also very thirsty, and once she was done drinking, Chloe began to search for food.

Eventually, Chloe ended up finding a pathway and she decided to go and see to where the pathway leads, and she ended up in front of a big town, but to her shock and surprise, the town's civilians weren't humans like her. The town's civilians were actually ponies, but this, however, made Chloe shrink back in fear, because she remembered the bad incidents she had with horses back in her own world.

Chloe asked herself " _What are all of those ponies doing here in that town_? _Why aren't there are other humans around except for me_? _What should I do_?", and then she stepped aback in fear and she hoped that none of the ponies notice her.

However, one of the ponies turned and noticed her, and then the pony called for other ponies to come and look at the human girl, and when the ponies noticed Chloe and came towards her to look at her, Chloe stepped aback from the ponies, believing they are dangerous creatures that would like to harm humans like her.

Then, one of the ponies spoke up in a female voice and asked Chloe "Hello there, what are you? What's your name?", but when the pony spoke up and talked to her, Chloe screamed "These ponies can talk! I gotta get out of here!", and then she began to run away from the ponies, but then she heard them calling for her "No, wait! Come back!", and when she turned around she saw the ponies were running after her, and this made Chloe run even faster and she cried out for help "Help! Help me! I'm being chased by colorful ponies which can talk and speak! Someone help me! These colorful ponies are chasing me! They are probably trying to hurt me! Please, help!", but no humans answered her cries for help, and she had no choice but to continue to run for her life.

Eventually, Chloe ended up falling into a river and she cried for help because she didn't know how to swim, and as she started to drown, she thought for herself " _Someone, please help me...I'm gonna drown..._ ", before she finally closed her eyes as she began to sink down to the bottom of the river.

However, hours later, Chloe woke up to find herself alive and well in a soft and warm bed, and when she slowly rolled out of the bed and went to look through the window, she saw it's already nighttime, and so she went out of the bedroom and then out of the house to see what's outside, and when Chloe managed to get outside, she saw and realized she was in the same town where all the ponies live, and she decided to quietly sneak out of the town without waking anypony or getting anypony's attention.

Eventually, Chloe managed to get out of the ponies' town, but then, something really big that stood tall from far away attracted her attention - it was a big castle that was very large and it stood far away from the ponies' town, and Chloe curiously decided to travel all the way there to see the big castle from a closer look.

After walking for long, Chloe finally reached closer to the big castle and saw there was a big city around it, and so Chloe decided to enter the city to see if she can find a way through it to get even closer to the castle.

Eventually, Chloe ended up reaching close enough to the castle, and she was surprised and amazed to see how big and tall the castle was compared to her, and then Chloe decided to go away so she wouldn't disturb those who live in the castle.

After leaving the city and the castle, Chloe traveled to one of the forests, and the one she traveled to was known to ponykind as the Everfree Forest, and when Chloe entered the Everfree Forest, she began to search for some food to eat, and eventually she stumbled upon a bush with red berries growing on it.

Chloe said to herself as she looked at the bush with the red berries for a moment "I hope those berries are good and edible.", and then she took from the bush one of the red berries and she threw it into her own mouth, chewed and swallowed it, and much to her surprise, the red berry she just ate actually tasted good, so she said after eating the red berry "Wow! Those red berries are both edible and delicious! I need to take and some more so I can feed myself!", and then she began to take from the bush and eat more red berries, and once Chloe ate enough for this time, she continued to walk in the Everfree Forest, and what she searched for right now is for her own kind (for other human beings).


	3. Chapter 2:Chloe meets Princess Luna

Chloe continued to walk in the Everfree Forest while searching for other human beings, but then she suddenly smelled an awful and foul smell, and when she turned around, she saw two giant wolves which appeared to be made out of wood, with massive and scary jaws as well as big and scary eyes which glowed up malevolently green.

Chloe looked at the two Timberwolves and she screamed in horror and terror as they began to approach her with threatening looks on their eyes, and for Chloe, they looked much bigger, scarier and potentially more dangerous than the wolves she ran away from in where she lived back on planet earth, and when one of the Timberwolves approached close enough and was about to swipe at Chloe, she jumped out of the way and she began to run away for her life, and soon afterwards she began to scream out loud for help as the Timberwolves began to chase after her.

Chloe ran as fast as she could for her own life, but she ended up being trapped on the edge of a cliff, and with the two Timberwolves catching up to her and managing to trap her on the edge of the cliff, Chloe has nowhere to go.

Knowing that there's nothing she can do on her own at this point, Chloe screamed out loud one last time for someone to help her, before she sobbed, whimpered and cowered in fear as the two Timberwolves got close enough to swipe at her.

However, before the Timberwolves can harm Chloe, a magic blast came out of nowhere and it hit one of the two Timberwolves on the head, and it managed to turn the Timberwolf it hit on the head into a harmless pile of wood, leaving only one Timberwolf to take down.

Then, a large pony with a pair of wings and a horn appeared out of nowhere and it landed right between Chloe and the lone Timberwolf, and then the pony lit its horn with magic before it blasted the magic at the lone Timberwolf's face, causing it to into a harmless pile of wood as well.

With both Timberwolves being destroyed, the pony suddenly turned to Chloe, who still cowered in fear when she looked eye-to-eye to the tall pony who just rescued her from the Timberwolves.

Chloe cried and begged "Please don't hurt me! I'm not looking for any troubles! I'm just searching for my own kind! I don't want to mess up with you! I'm only an 8 year-old girl!", but then the tall pony spoke up and said to her in a female voice "It's okay, little one. Don't fear me. I'm not going to hurt you. I just came to save you from those Timberwolves. You can trust me.", and then she lowered down to her haunches and she gently placed a hoof on the side of Chloe's face.

When Chloe slowly opened her eyes and looked at the pony again, she saw something she had never seen before - the pony with the wings and the horn just looked at her with a warm smile while gently stroking the side of her face with her hoof, and this surprised Chloe because she had never been truly loved by animals before, and she always used to fear and hate them due to the incidents she had with the animals at the animal farm, not to mention the traumatic experience she had at the zoo when she got thrown by her own brother into the tiger enclosure back on planet earth.

"So you can talk too, huh?" Chloe asked the pony in front of her, and then she asked the pony "W-Who are you?", and the pony got back up onto her hooves and introduced herself "I'm Princess Luna, and I'm also known by my subjects and my friends as the 'Princess of the Night'.", and then she asked Chloe "And what's your name?", and Chloe answered "M-My name is Chloe.", and then Princess Luna said to her "Well then, Chloe. Welcome to Equestria!", and Chloe asked "What's Equestria?", and Princess Luna answered "Equestria is the world we ponies and other creatures alike live together in peace and harmony.", and then she asked Chloe "And what kind of creature you are, Chloe?", and Chloe answered her "I'm a human.".

However, when Princess Luna heard what Chloe just said, the Alicorn mare stepped aback from the human girl a little, and when Chloe noticed that, she asked her "What's wrong, princess?", and then she added "Haven't you heard about my kind before?", and Princess Luna sighed and answered "Yes, I have.", and then she explained "The truth is, that a long time ago, three male humans accidentally got to Equestria before, from planet earth, but they're anything but good.".

When Chloe heard what Princess Luna said, she was surprised to know she's NOT the first human to arrive in Equestria, and then she asked Princess Luna "You mean that they got to your world from mine by accident?", and Princess Luna answered "Yes, they did.", and then she added and explained "But they're cruel and heartless to ponykind as well as to other creatures which are non-ponies, especially Changelings and Hippogriffs.".

"So, does that means that you, your kind and other creatures which are your friends and neighbors never saw good humans before?" Chloe asked, and Luna answered "Yes.", and then she added "You're the first human that also seemed to fear ponykind and run away from ponies like me and like my subjects when we approach you.", and Chloe answered "It's because back on planet earth, where my kind lives, I had a series of traumatic incidents against animals because they all attacked me, and that's why I fear and hate animals ever since those incidents have occurred.", and then she added and explained "I was been attacked by chickens, cows, horses, which are like large-sized versions of ponies, and I even got attacked at a zoo by a tiger who tried to eat me!".

"That's horrible! How did those incidents even happened?" Princess Luna asked the human girl, and Chloe answered "My father, my mother and my older brother first took me to an animal farm to see domestic animals, and I tried to befriend them, because before those incidents happened, I actually loved animals, but when the chickens, the cows and the horses all suddenly began to attack and injure me when I tried to befriend them, I received a terrible trauma from the animals that attacked me during my visit in the animal farm, and so I decided to stay away from, and fear and hate all kinds of animals, even pets such as rabbits, cats and dogs.".

When Princess Luna heard and understood everything from what the human girl said, she asked Chloe "And what about the incident you had with the tiger during your visit in the zoo?", and Chloe answered "My older brother, who was abusive towards me and always seems to hate me the most after my grandmother, Elizabeth, died from cancer when I was very young, he was been the one who came up with the idea of abusing me in a much more barbaric way than he and my parents did to me in the animal farm, because when the four of us came close to the tiger enclosure to see the tigers, my brother decided as he and my parents all believed I'm the one to blame for my grandmother's death, my brother heartlessly grabbed me and lifted me up, and then he willingly dropped me into the tiger enclosure, and he and my parents all just waited for one of the tigers to just come and eat me for what he said 'I' did to grandma Elizabeth.".

"That's so malevolent and cruel of him to do such a thing!" Princess Luna said furiously when she understood the first part of Chloe's incident with the tiger in the zoo, and then she asked Chloe "And what happened next?", and Chloe answered "Then, one of the tigers, a large male, noticed me and he came towards me and approached me, and when I saw the male tiger coming right towards me, I looked up at my parents and I begged them to help me out of tiger enclosure, but they all just looked at me with pure hate and disgust on their faces before they just left me behind to be tiger food!", and then Chloe sobbed as she still remembered the painful and traumatic incident she had with the tiger in the zoo.

"However, tens of the visitors in the zoo heard me screaming for help and then they all rushed towards the tiger enclosure and they looked down and saw me being threatened by the male tiger who approached me, and all the people were shocked and horrified to see me like this, but then, before the tiger could start attacking me, a zookeeper shot the tiger with an arrow to tranquilize him, and then another zookeeper entered the tiger enclosure, picked me up and took me away from danger and back to safety." Chloe explained as she continued to tell Princess Luna about the incident she had with the tiger in the zoo.

"And what happened after you're saved?" Luna asked her, and Chloe answered "After I was brought back to safety by the zookeeper, I started to cry because I remembered what my older brother said to me before he dropped me into the tiger enclosure, and then I just ran away from the zoo and back to my home, but when I arrived at my home, my father, my mother, and my older brother all looked at me with shock and anger to see me still alive after the traumatic incident I had with the tiger back in the zoo, and so my father said he's disappointed to see me alive and well like this, and he said to me that I'm the one responsible for my grandmother's death, and then my brother came to abuse me and then he took me to my room, and then my mother locked my there and she said that I deserve a punishment for what happened to grandma Elizabeth in the first place!".

Then, Chloe sobbed, whimpered and cried some more, before she explained how did she ended up in Equestria in the first place. "I couldn't stay with my family anymore because they didn't stopped blaming me on my grandmother's death, and it was also something I already I haven't done, but since I was too afraid if I'll tell them that it wasn't my fault that grandma Elizabeth died, they'll just threaten me by taking me to the zoo and throwing me into the tiger enclosure again!", Chloe explained and then she continued.

"So recently, I decided to run away from home to find another family that will be kind, generous and loving to me and will never be mean, cruel and heartless to me, and I did managed to run away from home, but I ended getting lost in the woods and then I was attacked by a pack of wolves who chased me and then trapped me on the edge of a cliff, and then one of the wolves jumped on me and so the wolf and I both fell off the edge of the cliff, down into a ravine and towards a fast-streaming river, which took me and the wolf into a bottomless waterfall, and then I fell down the bottomless waterfall with the wolf who tried to eat me." Chloe continued and explained to Princess Luna.

"The wolf didn't survived and he died, but I somehow managed to survive, and that's exactly how I ended up here." Chloe explained as she finished telling Princess Luna about how did she ended up in Equestria in the first place.

Then, she started crying, sobbing and whimpering in sorrow and despair, and Princess Luna got down onto her haunches again and then she placed and wrapped a wing around Chloe and she said to her "It's okay, Chloe. I understand everything. You've been abused by your own family, but I wanna make sure you'll have a new family that will be kind, generous and loving to you here in Equestria.", and Chloe opened her eyes and looked at Luna again and then she asked the Alicorn princess "Do you promise?", and Luna gave a warm smile and said to her back "I promise.", and then she added "Those barbaric father, mother and brother of yours will eventually end up realizing the errors in their ways by seeing your new family you'll have among us ponies as well as other creatures whom are non-ponies and alike!", and then she said in anger, but only to take it out on Chloe's mean family, and NOT on Chloe herself "I just can't believe such mean, cruel and heartless humans as your family exists in your world and behaves like all this against their own young daughter and sister! That's cruelty against children!".

Chloe understood what Luna said and she said to her to calm her down "It's okay, princess. I understand you're angry at my family, but now that I'm here in Equestria, I think I can finally find here in this world the new family I wished for!", and then Luna said to her "Well then, Chloe. And now, let's go to the royal castle where my sister, Princess Celestia, and I live. When she'll find you, I'll talk to her and explain to her about you and about everything you've been through to make her accept you as a friend and as an ally to our world.".

"Alright, but how are we supposed to get all the way there from here?" Chloe asked Luna, and the Alicorn answered her "Just get onto my back and everything will be okay, Chloe.", and then she used her magic to lift Chloe up and then set her down on her back, but she also knew that Chloe never rode a horse or a pony before, especially one which can fly and use magic.

Then, Princess Luna said to Chloe to hold tightly onto her back, before the Alicorn began to take off and started to fly up towards the sky with the 8 years-old girl holding tightly onto her back.

Despite Chloe was extremely afraid of the great height between herself and the ground, she knew she can trust Princess Luna by keeping and holding tightly onto her back so she wouldn't fall off her and towards the ground and get hurt or worse - get killed if she strikes the ground.

Eventually, after a riding on Princess Luna's back for about ten minutes, Chloe arrived at the royal castle and she ended up getting inside the castle through one of the windows of one of the towers, and then Princess Luna used her magic to lift Chloe off her back, and then she set the human girl down on a soft and warm bed, and then she gently covered Chloe's body with the blanket, before she said to the human girl "Good night, Chloe.", and Chloe yawned before she said "Good night, Princess Luna.", and then the human girl fell asleep in the soft and warm bed.


	4. Chapter 3:Chloe meets Princess Celestia

When morning time arrived, Princess Celestia woke up and used her magic to raise the sun up into the skies so it will shine over all of Equestria, and then she said "Daytime has arrived." and then she added "I should go and check on my sister and see if she wanna eat something for breakfast.", and then the beautiful Alicorn princess went to search for Princess Luna in the royal castle.

"Luna, where are you, dear sister?" Celestia called for Luna while searching for her. "It's daytime now. Come out, come out, wherever you are. I wanna make you some breakfast to eat.", Celestia called for her sister as she continued to search for her, and then she added "Where are you, Luna?" as continued searching for her beloved sister, but instead of finding her, she ended up right near the bed where Chloe is still sleeping.

Then, Celestia heard someone snoring softly on the bed that was near her, and so she turned to the bed and then she used her magic to lift and remove the blanket off the bed to see who's sleeping on it, and much to her surprise, she discovered Chloe sleeping on the bed.

Upon seeing the human girl sleeping on the bed, Princess Celestia was shocked to see her and then she said and asked "Oh my! Who is she? How did she got here?", and Chloe heard her talking about her, and so the 8 years-old girl slowly began to move, open her eyes, and eventually she woke up to see Princess Celestia standing right in front of her.

When Chloe looked at Princess Celestia in the eyes, she let out a gasp, but before she could scream at her face, she stopped herself and then she asked the Alicorn mare "E-excuse me? Who are you?", and then Chloe introduced herself and said "I'm Chloe, I'm new here.", but Celestia looked at the human girl in shock to know that she's way different than those three male humans who already arrived in Equestria a long time ago.

"What's the matter? Haven't you seen humans like me before?" Chloe asked Celestia, but the Alicorn princess just stood there with a shocked face, and then another voice said "It's okay, sister. That human girl means no harm.", and then Luna came into the room through the open door, and she ended up standing by Chloe's side.

When Celestia finally saw Luna, she asked her younger sister "Luna, who is this girl?", and Luna answered "Her name is Chloe, and she's a human.", and then she quickly added and explained "But it's okay, Celestia. Chloe is a nice human, and she won't hurt anypony or any other creature.".

Then, Chloe said and explained "I-it's true, I don't harm any animals, but instead, I do the exact opposite when they approach me - I just run away from them, and it's because I've been previously attacked by animals such as chicken, cows, horses, and even by a tiger.".

When she explained that in front of Celestia, the Alicorn mare was shocked and surprised to know that Chloe is actually afraid of animals and rather avoids them than trying to befriend them. "I'm sorry to hear that, Chloe." Celestia said to her, and then she asked the human girl "How did those incidents happened?", and that's when Chloe began to explain to Celestia about the series of incidents she had with the animals who attacked her back on planet earth, and explained that since those incidents happened to her, she's avoiding all kinds of animals, and she even fear animals which are pretty nice such as dogs, cats and even rabbits, and then she began to explain about the true traumatic story she had at the zoo when the incident with the tiger attack have occurred, and she also explained that her older brother decided to drop her into the tiger enclosure, because he and her mother and father believed that the death of her grandmother is all her fault and that she's the one to blame for her death.

Chloe also explained that one of the male tigers in the tiger enclosure spotted her and began to approach her, and she also explained that when she cried for her family to help her, they just looked down at her in pure hate and disgust before they just left her to be tiger food, but then she quickly added that luckily she was saved by two of the zookeepers when one of them shot the male tiger with an arrow to tranquilize him before he could harm Chloe, and then the other entered the tiger enclosure to pick her up and get her back to safety, before she ran away from the zoo crying and terrified because she was forced to face against her will one of the most dangerous predators that still live and exist on planet earth, and she explained that when she finally arrived back at her home, her family heartlessly blamed her for her grandmother's death, despite Elizabeth actually died of cancer and not because of Chloe.

Then, Chloe explained that recently she decided to run away from home to find another family that will always be kind and generous to her and will never be mean and cruel to her, because she couldn't live anymore with her drunk father, her selfish mother and her abusive older brother, but she got lost in the woods, got attacked by a pack of wolves, and fell down a bottomless waterfall with one of them, and she explained that that's exactly how she accidentally ended up in Equestria in the first place.

Then, Luna explained to her sister that she saved Chloe from two Timberwolves last night and brought her to the royal castle to stay for the time being. Celestia began to shed tears upon hearing from Chloe about everything she have been through before she ended up in Equestria, and then she said "That's so terrible.", and then she added and explained with anger suddenly rising in her eyes "How could those barbaric humans abuse and hurt the life of one of their own kind like this?! And how could they just throw a little girl into a tiger enclosure and just leave her there to be tiger food?! Those cruel humans were indeed among the worst of all abusive families I've ever heard about!".

Then, Luna asked her sister "And what should we do about Chloe?", and Celestia answered "Since Chloe's family no longer cares about her, and since they don't love her either, I decided I should be the one that will raise Chloe like if she's my own daughter!".

"What?!" Princess Luna shouted in shock and surprise after she heard what her older sister just said. Then, Princess Celestia said "After I just heard about everything Chloe had been through, I will accept being her mother so she can live a new happy life here in Equestria!", and when Chloe heard what the Alicorn princess just said, her heart soon began to lift up with joy, and then she asked her "Do you mean it? Are you serious? Will you care for me and be my new mother?", and Celestia answered "Of course I will be your new mother! I'll promise to care for you and love you the most! I'll promise I'll be a good mother for you! You can trust me, Chloe!", and this made the little human girl smile, before she jumped on Celestia and hugged her around her neck, and then Chloe said to her "I love you, my new mommy!", and then Celestia gently placed and wrapped her wings around Chloe to hug her back, and then she said to her "I love you too, Chloe.".

Then, Celestia turned with her head to Luna and she said to her "Tomorrow, I'd like to introduce my new daughter to our princess, Twilight Sparkle, and to her friends, Luna.", and Princess Luna agreed and said to her back "I agree with you. Twilight Sparkle and her friends needs to know about Chloe. We shall send them some special massages about Chloe so they will come here to the royal castle to meet her. I hope they'll also understand that Chloe's a good human and that she's afraid of animals because of the series of incidents with the animals she's been through before she got here, and I also hope that they'll help us teaching her to not be afraid of any kinds of animals so she can befriend them and love them, no matter what species they are, and maybe later on we'll be able to convince Twilight and her friends to take Chloe with them to see griffons, dragons, yaks, changelings and Hippogriffs so Chloe can make new friends with them too.".

Princess Celestia agreed with her younger sister, and then she finally broke the hug with Chloe and said "I'll begin to write the special messages right now, and I hope that tomorrow, Twilight and her friends will come here to see my new daughter.".

Then, Celestia left Luna to be responsible and to take care for Chloe for the time being, while the older Alicorn mare went to her room and then she used her magic and started to write the special messages she's going to send to Twilight and to her friends.

 _Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the Elements of Harmony,_

 _My sister, Luna, and I have a new guest we want to you all, so come to the royal castle to meet our new guest. Her name was Chloe and she's a human, but do not fear her because she's actually afraid of all kinds of animals and she needs your help to get over it and see animals in a whole new light._

 _Come to meet us and our new guest, Chloe, at the royal castle tomorrow, and I'm sure that with your help, Chloe will be able to make friends with ponies and other creatures alike. Try to help Chloe get over the traumatic experience she previously had with the animals back on planet earth, from where she came from, and I hope you'll be able to teach her everything she needs to know about us ponies and other creatures alike._

 _Luna and I we're both waiting for you all to see Chloe tomorrow._

 _Your mentor and most respected ruler,_

 _Princess Celestia._

Once Princess Celestia was done writing the the special messages, she used her magic to send and teleport them all to Twilight Sparkle and to each one of her friends. Then she turned to look out through the window and she saw it's already nighttime, and so she went to see Chloe, who was now already sleeping in her bed, and when Celestia got to her and found her sleeping in her bed, Princess Celestia lowered her head down towards her and then she kissed Chloe on the forehead, before she said to she softly and quietly "Goodnight, Chloe.", and then she turned to go back to her own room to go to sleep as well, but she also knew that tomorrow is going to be a special day for Chloe, because she's going to be introduced to Twilight Sparkle and to her friends, and she'll start learning from them everything she needs to know about ponies, other creatures, and all of Equestria.


	5. Chapter 4:Chloe meets the mane six

When morning came, Twilight and her friends went to the royal castle to meet Chloe, who are to be introduced to them by Princess Celestia. When the six mares finally arrived at Canterlot and are on their way to the royal castle, Twilight said to her friends "I'd like to see how Chloe looks like!", and then Rainbow Dash said "I'd like to see her too!", and then Pinkie Pie said "I hope she likes parties!", and then Applejack said "I've never seen a human before!", and then Rarity said "I hope she'd like me after I'll make for her some new clothes to wear!", and then Fluttershy said "I hope she's really a nice human!".

Once Twilight and her friends arrived at the royal castle, the guards let them go inside to meet up with Celestia and Luna. Once the six mares arrived at the throne room, Celestia and Luna appeared and then they said to the mane six in unison "Welcome to the royal castle, Princess Twilight Sparkle and the elements of harmony!", and then Celestia said "Today, my sister and I would like to show you all Chloe the human girl!", but then Luna quickly added "But try to be gentle to her and try to show her you all like her, because she's afraid of all kinds of animals, including us ponies!".

Then, Celestia asked the mane six "Are you all ready to meet her for the first time?", and the six mare answered in unison "We're all ready to meet her and make friends with her!", and then Luna said to them all "Then here we go! Meet Chloe, the human girl who recently arrived in Equestria!", and then Chloe slowly began to show herself and she came into sight, and the six mares all looked at her as she came forward, and then she stopped in front of the mane six, but she still stood a few yards away from them, and she showed on her face that she's afraid of them, but only a bit, however, and it's because she already knows Celestia and Luna.

However, despite Chloe already knows ONLY Celestia and Luna, that still didn't stopped her from trying to introduce herself to other ponies as well, and then she spoke up and said to the mane six "Hi, that's so nice to meet you all, I'm Chloe.", and then Twilight came forward towards the human girl, and then she said to her back "I'm Twilight Sparkle. That's nice to meet you too, Chloe.", and then Rainbow Dash came forward and said "I'm Rainbow Dash. I like to see you too! You look kinda cute and nice!", and then Pinkie Pie came forward and said "I'm Pinkie Pie. I'd like to throw you a party!", and then Applejack came forward and said "I'm Applejack. I never seen a human like you before!", and Chloe answered "That's because I'm a female, or in other words, I'm a girl!", and then Rarity came forward and said "I'm Rarity. I'd like to make for you some new clothes to wear!", and then Fluttershy came forward and said "I'm Fluttershy. I'd like to teach you to not be afraid of animals!", and Chloe answered "Thank you! Thank you all!", and then tears of joy began to form and roll down her eyes, and it's because it's the first time she successfully befriended animals after the bad incidents with the animal attacks from which she received traumatic fear of all kinds of animals.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both looked at the new bond that have just formed between Chloe and the mane six, and then Chloe began explaining to the six mares everything she likes and everything she hates so they can all know about her much more better.

For addition, Chloe also explained and revealed that Celestia accepted to raise her as her daughter, and Chloe said she'd like to be adopted and cared for by her, but that's when she had to explain why did she wanted Celestia to be her mother.

Chloe explained that ever since her generous and kind grandmother died from cancer, her original human family had completely turned on against her, abused her, neglected her, made her fear and hate animals, and even dropped her purposely into the tiger enclosure and just left her there to be tiger food, and she also explained to the mane six that that's the reason why she decided to run away from home, and how did she got attacked by wolves, fell down a bottomless waterfall, and ended up in Equestria in the first place.

Upon hearing Chloe's sad story about how she was been tormented by her own family and received traumatic experience because of them, the mane six decided to be new friends for Chloe to help her get over her trauma and help her deal with everything bad she's been through by teaching her about the meanings of friendship, and also by showing her how good and nice animals really are, really like, and how much they can be.

Then, Celestia said to everypony that once she'll have the adoption papers for Chloe, she can sign and agree to the papers so she can really be adopted and raised and eventually become Celestia's daughter.

Chloe was happy to make friends with the mane six, and this made her to forget a bit about the traumatic experience she had with the animals back on planet earth, and she truly liked to know from the mane six and from ponykind what animals are really like.

Eventually, when evening came, the mane six said goodbye to Chloe, Luna and Celestia as they left the royal castle and went back to their homes, and for Chloe it was been a good start to get to know animals' good sides.

Chloe explained to Celestia "It has been so good to meet Twilight Sparkle and her friends! I wish I'll get to know other ponies and other creatures alike as well! But of course, it will take for me some time to get to know every one of you! It's been so worthy for me to meet and make new friends today! Thank you, Mommy!".

The Alicorn princess smiled at her and said to her "I'll promise you'll get to know everypony and every creature in Equestria, Chloe. But for now, it's time to go to sleep.", and then Luna came and took Chloe with her to her bedroom, and once they entered, Luna placed Chloe on the bed, and then she used her magic to cover her body in the blanket, and then she said to her "Goodnight, Chloe.", before she left the room, closed the doors and walked away, while Chloe yawned before she fell asleep, and even after she closed her eyes and fell asleep, Chloe whispered "Goodnight...", as she continued to sleep in her bed.

Tomorrow will be a day that Chloe would like to experience, and the mane six will show her how ponykind is good, friendly and kind to all other living creatures all across Equestria.


	6. Chapter 5:Chloe's education and adoption

When morning came, Celestia decided to take Chloe out of the royal castle to meet up with the mane six at the Castle of Friendship, and when they arrived there, the mane six were all happy to see Chloe again, and then Twilight said to her "It's time for us to help you with your education, Chloe.", and when Celestia left Chloe under the mane six's responsibility, the six mares began to teach Chloe about the meanings of friendship and about the Elements of Harmony.

First, Applejack taught Chloe about the Element of Honesty. Then, Rarity taught Chloe about the Element of Generosity. Then, Rainbow Dash taught Chloe about the Element of Loyalty. Then, Pinkie Pie taught Chloe about the Element of Laughter. Then, Fluttershy taught Chloe about the Element of Kindness. And finally, Twilight taught Chloe about the Element of Magic.

Chloe was so happy to learn such education, and especially because it came from the mane six (whom are ponies), and this taught her no to be afraid of animals anymore, and her fear of animals finally began to fade and disappear over the course of time.

However, after learning education from the mane six, Chloe realized she's missing one thing in her life - friends around her own age. However, Chloe hoped that one day she'll go to school and meet and make new friends around her own age.

Over the next days, Chloe was sent by Celestia to the homes of each and every one of the mane six to learn some more education from them, and it did went well because Chloe is continuing on the road to recovery from the traumatic experience she had with animals, showing and proving that she's getting along with animals well and well as the days and weeks goes on.

Eventually, it was been two months since Chloe accidentally ended up in Equestria. However, Chloe is now very happy to live in Equestria and with ponykind, because she learned that animals aren't the monsters she thought they were for years, but there's still one thing that she's missing the most - not her own kind, but the adoption papers, because she and Celestia still needs them to finally come so Celestia can finally adopt Chloe and raise her as her own daughter.

The next month, however, a surprise came to the royal castle - the adoption papers for adopting Chloe, and so Celestia and Chloe came to take and sign them to accept Chloe to be adopted and raised by Celestia, and once the process was done, Chloe is finally having a new home in Equestria, and with Celestia as her new mother, Chloe have finally found her new family she wished for.

When the fourth month of Chloe's life in Equestria have began, Celestia decided to send her to Ponyville Schoolhouse so she can learn there how to have and make new friends. This is where Chloe began to walk to Ponyville Schoolhouse, and for her, this is going to be her first day at school.

However, throughout the whole first day at school, Chloe got a little to no attention from most of the foals, and they mostly ignored her or stayed away from her because she's a human and not a pony like all of them.

This made Chloe sad, bewildered, confused and wounded to know that not even one foal liked her just because she's a human being and not a pony. However, she hoped that one day, she'll be respected as a friend by at least some of the foals, and when the first day at school was over, Chloe went back to the royal castle to meet her mother, Celestia.

Throughout the whole first month of Chloe at school, nopony paid any attention to Chloe or wanted to befriend her because of her being a human, and she slowly began to lose hopes that somepony will eventually pay attention to her and would even like to become friends with her.

When it was the end of yet another day at school, Chloe went back to the royal castle, but this time she's depressed and broken down because of not being able to make friends with anypony throughout the entire first month at school.

There's an obvious reason why nopony wanted to warm up to her and respect her except for Celestia, Luna and the mane six - it's because of the three adult human males who came to Equestria before her, because they liked to abuse and harm ponykind and other creatures alike, and that's the reason why not even one foal wanted to be friends with her.

"I don't understand. Why not even a single pony wants to befriend me?" Chloe asked herself as she continued on her way back to the royal castle. Once she arrived at the royal castle, Chloe is welcomed back by her mother, Celestia, but that's when the human girl quickly began hugging her around her neck, and then Chloe finally began to cry into her Alicorn mother's chest fur.

"What's wrong, Chloe?" Celestia asked her human daughter, and Chloe answered and explained "Nopony wants to be friends with me at school! I believe it's because they believe I'm dangerous to them all!", and she continued to cry into Celestia's chest fur.

"It's because you're not a pony, but a human?", Celestia asked gently, and Chloe cried and answered "Yes, I think so! Every time I tried to ask them if they want to be my friends, they all just ignored me and stayed away from me!", and then she added "Maybe I'm not loved by most, though not all ponies around!" and she still continued to cry into Celestia's chest fur.

"It's okay, Chloe. There's no need to cry. Luna, Twilight and her friends and I all already know you're different than those three adult human males whom are all cruel and heartless to ponykind and other creatures alike. Nopony except for me, Luna and our six most respected subjects just knows that yet, but everything will change when everypony will all realize on their own you're actually a kind human girl who just needs some friends.". Celestia said as she wrapped a wing and a front hoof around Chloe and stroked her gently in an attempt to comfort her and help her stop crying.

"Please don't cry, Chloe. Things will get better. I promise.", Celestia said as she continued to stroke Chloe gently, and when Chloe finally calmed down a bit, and then she finally said, but in a bit choked and still crying tone "Thank you, mommy.".

Then, Celestia looked outside and saw it was already nighttime, and then she turned back to Chloe and she said to her human daughter "Come with me, Chloe. It's time to go to bed.", and then she used her magic to lift Chloe up and then she placed her on her back, and she took her with her to her bedroom, and once they arrived at the bedroom and entered inside, Celestia used her magic again to lift Chloe off her back, and then she gently placed her down on the bed, before she covered the human girl's body with the blanket, and then she said to her softly and gently "Goodnight, Chloe.", before the Alicorn princess slowly turned and walked away and then she quietly closed the bedroom doors behind her, thus allowing Chloe to finally go to sleep, and so the 8 years-old girl finally fell asleep peacefully and quietly.


	7. Chapter 6:everypony hates Chloe

When morning came, Chloe woke up and she went from the royal castle to Ponyville Schoolhouse to prepare and begin her second month at school, and it was also the beginning of her fifth month in Equestria. However, when she reached and entered Ponyville Schoolhouse, all the foals soon turned away from her and didn't wanted to look at her, just like they always did to her since she began coming to Ponyville Schoolhouse.

When Chloe approached them and asked what's wrong with them, one of the foals, a colt, finally turned to her and answered "You're not belong in Equestria, you filthy human!", and then another, a filly, turned to her too and answered "Ponykind already knows how cruel and heartless your kind which is the entire humankind really are!", and then another colt turned to Chloe and then he approached her with an angry face to threaten her to step aback and then he shouted at her "Do us ponies a favor, human, by taking your ridiculous stuff of yours with you, get your flank out of Equestria, and just GO AWAY!".

When Chloe realized that all the foals hate her so much just because she's a human, and because three of her own kind have already caused bad thing in Equestria before, Chloe realized she's not belong with ponykind, because most ponies believe she'll do bad or even much worse things to Equestria, and then the human girl started to cry and run away from the schoolhouse when all the foals were about to force her to go away by using violence against her.

Then, after Chloe ran away from the schoolhouse, she went towards Ponyville in hopes that the adult ponies will understand she's not a bad human. However, when Chloe arrived in Ponyville, the adult ponies spotted her and they all approached her with angry faces, thus causing Chloe to step aback from them, and then she cried and asked "Why are you scaring and threatening me like this? What have I done to deserve this?".

Then, one of the adult ponies, a stallion, approached closer to Chloe and angrily said to her "You're nothing but a threat and a danger to us ponies and to the entire ponykind!", and then another pony, a mare, approached Chloe as well and then she angrily said to the human girl "Three of your kind did bad and unforgivable things to us ponies, to our friends the non-ponies, and to our world as well!", and then another stallion asked Chloe angrily "How do we know you're different than the humans who caused troubles to our world?!", and then another mare angrily shouted at the human girl "There's no such thing as a nice human being!", and then she added "Now get your flank out of Equestria or else we'll have to kick you out by force!", and then another stallion said "You're not belong here in Equestria! Our world is no place for humans like yourself!", and then he added and shouted angrily "Leave us alone, you little varmint!", and this caused Chloe to start to cry out loud, and then she ran away from Ponyville as the ponies just watched her running away, before one of them, a stallion, said "The threatening human is finally leaving us all! Good riddance!".

Chloe continued to run away crying until she reached a lake, and there she stopped so she can look down into the water and see her own reflection in the lake's water. When Chloe looked into the lake's water and so her own reflection in there, she asked herself "What am I doing here? Why did I ended up here? Why no one likes me here? It's really because I'm a human?", and then she whimpered in sadness as she continued to look down into the lake's water and look at her own reflection, with tears slowly forming and rolling down her eyes and hitting her reflection in the water, changing its shape and look for a brief moment.

Then, Chloe finally decided to get up onto her feet and go back to the royal castle before Celestia will become worried about her and will begin to search for her, and so she decided to go back home to meet her, but she had to go through Ponyville first, so she had no choice but to make a dash through the town and run as fast as she can to get past Ponyville so nopony will spot her and will be mean to her once again.

However, instead of reaching to the royal castle, Chloe ended up reaching to the Castle of Friendship instead, and when she entered inside to see if there's someone inside, she met the mane six once again, and a Unicorn mare who was once their enemy but now was their friend named Starlight Glimmer.

When Starlight Glimmer saw Chloe, she asked Twilight "Twilight, who is that human?", and Twilight went up to Chloe and introduced her to Starlight Glimmer. "Starlight, I want you to meet Chloe. She might be a human being, I know, but she's very kind and gentle.".

Then, Twilight turned to Chloe and she said to her "Don't be afraid of Starlight, she's been once our enemy, I know, but I helped her change and now she's a good pony, and she's also our friend!", and then Rainbow Dash said to the human girl "You can trust her, Chloe! Starlight is a good pony as well as a good friend!", and then Chloe turned to Starlight and then she asked her "Are you really a good pony?", and Starlight kindly answered "Yes, of course! Twilight helped me change, and thanks to her and to her friends, I became a better pony and a good friend too! You can trust me, Chloe!", and then she stretched out a hoof for Chloe to allow her shake her hand with her hoof, but Chloe first hesitated for a moment.

However, after Twilight and her friends gave her reassuring faces, Chloe trusted them, and then she stretched her arm and hand, and once she managed to touch and hold onto Starlight's hoof, she began shaking her hand with her hoof, and then Starlight kindly said to Chloe "That's nice to meet you, Chloe." and then she added "You're truly different than those three male humans who meant harm to Equestria, and I can see why - you want to make and have friends, don't you?", and Chloe answered "Yes! I do want to have here in this world!", but then she started to cry again and she covered her face with her hands, and then she said "But nopony wants me around! They all threatened me to just go away! They all believe I'm a bad human and that I don't deserve to live here in Equestria with all of you!".

"What?!" Twilight, Starlight and their friends all shouted in unison when they heard what Chloe just said to them about everypony threatening her for her being a human. "Why would everypony do that to you?!" Rainbow Dash asked her, and Chloe said while still crying "They all said that there's no such thing as a nice human!".

"How could they all be so mean to an innocent human girl?! That's simply barbaric for them all to kick Chloe out like this!" Rarity said angrily as she couldn't believe that everypony would hate Chloe and would like her to be banished for her being a human.

"We need to talk to everypony and explain them all that Chloe is not a bad human at all!" Applejack said to Twilight, and then Starlight said to Chloe "Don't worry, Chloe. My friends and I will deal with everything tomorrow, we promise.", and Chloe sniffled before she looked at the Unicorn mare and then she said to her "Thank you, Starlight!".

Then, when evening came, the mane seven took Chloe with them back to the royal castle, and once they all arrived there, they went and entered to the throne room where they met Celestia and Luna and they explained them about the bad situation Chloe's been recently facing with everypony were all being mean to her and threatening her because of Chloe being a human, and because everypony believes she's as bad as the humans who caused bad things in Equestria before.

When Celestia heard what the mane seven said to her and to Luna about Chloe being threatened for being a human, the Alicorn princess said to them that she and Luna promise they will talk to everypony and deal with everything tomorrow, and then Celestia took Chloe with her back to her bedroom so she can go to sleep.

When Celestia reached and entered the bedroom with Chloe, she used her magic to lift Chloe up and then gently place her down on the bed, and then she used her magic to cover her body with the blanket, and then she softly said to Chloe "Goodnight, Chloe. I promise you that tomorrow everypony will love you. I promise.", and then she turned to go and once she's out of the bedroom, she used her magic to close the door behind herself, thus allowing Chloe to finally go to sleep.


	8. Chapter 7:the nightmare

This night, Chloe was asleep, but this time, not so comfortably. She began to feel pain inside her head like if she's having either a fever or a strong headache, but it's not either of these, because she's too healthy too have a fever or a strong headache, but it's something much worse than these - she's having a nightmare.

Chloe couldn't get all of those cruel words of everypony's out of her head, and she truly felt like if everypony were all trying to hunt her down in her dream in an attempt to force her to leave Equestria forever.

In her nightmare, Chloe found herself in a dark void, and then she heard some three familiar and horrible voices laughing at her, and Chloe knew to which these laughing voices belong - to her family she ran away from and left behind five months ago.

Then, Jeff, Jane and Mike all came out of the darkness of the void and began to surround Chloe while smirking evilly at her, and then Jeff said to her "You may have managed to run away from us, but now you see you're only in bigger troubles, young lady!", and then the drunk father laughed evilly at his daughter, Chloe, who looked at him and at Jane and Mike in great fear.

"You think those filthy ponies whom you call your new family and friends can replace us?!" Jane said while looking at her daughter with an evil face, and then Mike said "I'm sure those ponies will try to destroy you just like the tiger I tried to feed you to did!", and then he laughed evilly at his younger sister, who backed away in fear, and then she covered her face in her hands and she began to cry "Please, leave me alone, you three! I don't want to hear from you or to see you three anymore!".

"Do you wanna see some proof that will show you that even those ponies who love you so much actually hate you the most?!" Mike said to Chloe with an evil face as he approached her very close and then he moved her hands away from her face to look at her in the eyes, and when Chloe opened her eyes and saw her older brother actually looking at her right in the eyes and with his face being only an inch away from hers, Chloe cried "Stop this, brother! Leave me alone! I don't wanna see any proofs from what you're saying on my new family and my new friends!", but Mike didn't listened and so he, Jeff and Jane all just laughed at her evilly all together, and then Jane said to her daughter "Those ponies weren't your family and/or your friends, pathetic little girl!", and then Jeff said as he suddenly held a smoke bomb in his hand "We'll show you pathetic baby that those ponies never even loved you! And now, just hold on and behold when you see THIS!", and then he threw the smoke bomb to the ground, and it exploded and released smoke, which caused Chloe to choke and to her family to suddenly disappear.

However, once the smoke cleared and disappeared, Chloe found herself back in Ponyville, and she began to walk around and search for her family and for her friends. Then, she found Rainbow Dash sleeping on a cloud, and so Chloe called out for her "Hi, my friend, Rainbow Dash! It's nice to see you again!", and when the Pegasus mare heard her calling for her, she woke up from her sleep and looked over the cloud, and she saw Chloe calling for her from the ground below.

However, Rainbow Dash suddenly looked at her with an angry face, and so she quickly flew down and descended from the cloud until she finally reached the ground, and so she landed right in front of Chloe, and then she approached her while still looking angrily at her.

When Chloe saw Rainbow Dash's angry face, she stepped aback from her a little and then she asked her "Rainbow Dash? What's wrong? Why are you angry?", and Rainbow Dash approached her threateningly until she managed to get too close to Chloe, and then she angrily shouted out loud at her "SHUT UP AND DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU STUPID HUMAN!", and this caused Chloe to cover her ears with her hands as she couldn't believe that Rainbow Dash just shouted at her angrily and without any reasons.

"Why did you just shouted at me like that, Rainbow Dash? Aren't we friends? Or was it something I said?" Chloe asked, but Rainbow shouted at her "We're not friends, you crybaby!", and this made Chloe shocked, before the human girl asked her "What's gone into you?", and Rainbow Dash angrily said "You're not belong here and you're not even my friend, you monster!", and then she approached and then she threatened to slap at Chloe across the face with her hoof, but Chloe had time to react, and she managed to get out of Rainbow Dash's way and she began to run away from the Pegasus mare, and for dear life.

Chloe managed to escape from Rainbow Dash, but she could still hear her yelling and calling out her name angrily and searching for her everywhere, and Chloe had no choice but to continue to run away and as fast as she can, and eventually, she ended up right in front of Fluttershy's cottage, and then she knocked on the door and she asked Fluttershy if she's inside, and then Fluttershy opened the door.

However, when Chloe looked at Fluttershy, she saw that the Pegasus mare is looking at her with an evil smirk, and then Fluttershy asked her with a rather low and disturbing tone "Oh, hello there, human. What are you doing here?", and Chloe swallowed nervously, and then she asked her "Fluttershy, what's wrong?", but then Fluttershy shoved her to the ground with her hooves and then she spoke in an angry tone and with rage burning inside her eyes "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU COMING HERE AFTER WHAT YOUR KIND HAVE DONE TO US?!", and her angry voice shocked Chloe who barely managed to get back up onto her feet, before the human girl asked her "Why are you acting like this to me? What did I do?", and Fluttershy approached the girl with an angry face and then she shouted at her "You're nothing but trouble to us ponies, to our friends the non-ponies, and to our entire world as well!", and then she threatened to harm Chloe by striking directly at her forehead with her hooves, but Chloe had time to react and she managed to get out of her way and run for her life, with Fluttershy starting to chase after her. However, Chloe managed to successfully outrun and escape from Fluttershy, though she still heard her yelling and calling out her name angrily and searching for her everywhere.

Chloe knew she have to find some place to hide in to escape both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and so she ran to Sugarcube Corner in hopes that Pinkie Pie will help her out. However, when she approached close enough to the opening door, Chloe suddenly heard a male voice talking, and it was Mr. Cake, who was one of two owners of Sugarcube Corner, and she also heard someone sniffling inside.

Mr. Cake said to Pinkie Pie "Oh, Pinkie Pie, we all knew that stupid little human girl was trouble when she first arrived in Equestria.", and then a female voice was heard talking too, and it was Mrs. Cake, who are Mr. Cake's wife as well as the other owner of Sugarcube Corner.

Then, Mrs. Cake asked Pinkie Pie "How about I'll fix you something good to eat, Pinkie?", and Pinkie Pie sniffled and said "Yes.", and so Mrs. Cake left the room to make for Pinkie Pie something to eat, and then Mr. Cake said "I understand your pain and your sadness, but try to cheer up, Pinkie, and try to forget about that cruel and heartless little human girl.", before Mr. Cake also left the room, thus leaving Pinkie Pie alone.

Then, Chloe knocked on the door, and Pinkie Pie answered by going to the door and opening it, but when Pinkie Pie opened the door and showed herself to Chloe, the human girl saw that Pinkie Pie's mane and tail were flattened, and her coat, her mane and her tail were all grayish rather than pinkish, before Pinkie Pie looked down and saw Chloe looking at her.

"Pinkie Pie, what's wrong? What happened to you?" Chloe asked as she saw that Pinkie Pie doesn't looks normal at all, and then Pinkie Pie asked Chloe "Oh, so it's you. What are you doing here?", and Chloe said to her "Please, you have to help me. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have gone completely insane and they're hunting me down for no reason.".

However, Pinkie Pie punched and kicked Chloe directly on the side of her face, causing her to fall down to the ground, and when she looked up, she saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy smirking evilly at her, which caused Chloe to shrink back in fear and then she looked at Pinkie Pie, as the Earth pony mare began to approach towards her.

Then, Pinkie Pie shouted out loud in pure anger and in blind rage "LEAVE US ALONE, YOU LITTLE WITTLE MONSTER! NOPONY WANTS YOU AROUND, AND THAT INCLUDES ME AND MY FRIENDS!", and Chloe asked her fearfully "But, I thought we're friends?", but then Pinkie Pie slapped her across the other side of her face and shouted "WE'RE NOT FRIENDS AND WE'LL NEVER BE FOR SOME LITTLE MEAN MEANIE PANTS LIKE YOURSELF, YOU FILTHY HUMAN!".

When Chloe heard what Pinkie Pie just said, she cried "Please, don't be angry at me, Pinkie Pie! I'm not a bad human! I like living here with all of you!", but Pinkie Pie pulled her by the front of her cloth and then she angrily shouted at her madly and loudly "AND WE PONIES DON'T EVEN LIKE YOU LIVING WITH US BECAUSE YOU'RE A HUMAN, AND HUMANS HAVE ALREADY CAUSED TROUBLES TO US AND TO OUR WORLD BEFORE!", and then she added "NOW GET YOU FLANK OUT OF HERE OR ELSE I'LL SHOOT YOU OUT OF MY PARTY CANNON!", and then she let go of Chloe and she threw her back against Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Now knowing she couldn't trust Pinkie Pie either, Chloe had no choice but to run away for her life, with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all chasing after her, but Chloe ran as fast as she can and she managed to escape them, but she still heard the three mares yelling and calling out her name angrily. Chloe knew she have to find some place to hide, and so she ran as fast as she could to Sweet Apple Acres to ask for Applejack's help.

Eventually, she managed to reach to Sweet Apple Acres, where she managed to finally find Applejack so she ask for her help. Then, Chloe asked Applejack to help her, but then Applejack shoved her down to the ground and she shouted at her "SHUT UP YOU LITTLE VARMINT!", and when Chloe heard what the Earth pony mare just said, she asked "Applejack, what's gone into you?", but then Applejack went up to her and she kicked her hard on the chest, causing Chloe to yelp in pain, and then she held her arms on her chest as she couldn't believe Applejack would also be mean and cruel to her, just like Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

However, just then, Chloe suddenly felt something tying her around the neck, and when she looked up at Applejack, she saw her using her lasso to tie her around her neck, but not so tightly so not to choke her, but she still tied and lassoed Chloe around her neck to capture her and restrain her so she won't be able to run away again.

"Applejack, get this rope off my neck, please! It's barbaric and heartless to rope human children by their necks!" Chloe begged, but Applejack kicked her in the chest once more, and then she angrily shouted at her "I WON'T LISTEN TO YOU OR TO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR WHAT YOUR EVIL KIND HAVE ALREADY DONE TO US PONIES AND TO OUR WORLD!", and then she took two more ropes and she used them to tie Chloe's wrists and ankles together to make sure she'll not be able to escape.

Once Applejack was done tying Chloe and restraining her like a wild animal, she's soon being joined by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who all looked down at Chloe with evil faces as they also smirked wickedly at her, before Applejack said to them "C'mon, girls. Put her on my back! Next stop - the Castle of Friendship!", and so Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all lifted the captured Chloe up and they placed her right onto Applejack's back, and then the four mares began taking Chloe with them to the Castle of Friendship to meet up with Twilight, Starlight and Rarity.

Eventually, after walking for a while, the four mares, whom are all still carrying Chloe hostage and tied up finally reached the Castle of Friendship, and then they all entered inside to meet up with Twilight, Starlight and Rarity, who all soon looked at Chloe with evil faces, before Twilight said to her friends "Well, I see you brought here a special guest, isn't it?", and Applejack said to her "I roped her and tied her up so she couldn't escape, Twilight.", and the Alicorn said "Perfect!" in a rather evil and disturbing tone, and then Applejack threw the still tied up Chloe onto the floor and she just left her.

Then, Twilight used her magic to surround Chloe in a purple aura, and then she began to lift her up and then she evilly said to the human girl "Now you listen to me and to what I have to say to you and don't speak, understand?", and then she used her magic to squeeze at Chloe, causing her to whimper in pain as she had no choice and gave a nod to her, and then Twilight said "Good. Now, Chloe, we're all very disappointed in you for believing that we truly loved you. Not to mention, you're not welcome and you don't belong in our world, you filthy, hairless, ape-like monster!".

"No! I'm not a monster! Listen to me!" Chloe cried and begged for mercy, but Twilight squeezed at her body with her magic and then she angrily shouted at her "I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK, DIDN'T I?! YOU SHUT UP AND DON'T CUT ME LIKE THIS, STUPID HUMAN!", and then she took a deep breath before she said to Chloe "No, we don't love you, and we don't want you here either. For what three adult males from your own kind did to us and to our world, we're doing you the same thing they did to us so humankind will see what happens to those who dares to mess up with us and to invade our world!".

Then, Twilight squeezed at Chloe with her magic one last time, before she dropped her down to the floor violently, and then she gave Starlight the turn to torment the helpless and still tied up human girl.

Then, Starlight stepped forward and then she used her magic to surround Chloe in a light blue aura, and then she began to lift her up and then she said to her evilly "I wish I've never met you! I should've known I shouldn't trust you all along!", and then she raised her voiced and shouted angrily at the human girl "YOU HORRIBLE BEAST! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE WITH US PONIES AND YOU'RE NOT WELCOME IN EQUESTRIA FOR WHAT YOUR KIND HAVE ALREADY DONE TO US BEFORE!" and then Starlight used her magic to squeeze at Chloe, just like Twilight already did, and then she dropped the human girl to the floor violently, thus giving Rarity her turn to torment Chloe for pleasure.

Then, Rarity stepped forward and then she used her magic to grab at Chloe and lift her up from behind the back by surrounding only the tip of her cloth in a blue aura, and then she said to Chloe with an evil tone "You're a foolish human girl, and you're quite dumber than I thought you are! Do you think you can outsmart and fool us ponies just because you're a human?! Well then, I can say about it that you're dead wrong!".

Chloe cried and begged "Please, Rarity! Listen to me! I'm not trying to outsmart you or your friends at all! In fact, I wanna show you all how nice and gentle human can really be!", but Rarity didn't listened to her, and then she just surrounded her completely with her magic before she violently squeezed at her small body.

Then, Rarity said to Chloe "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's very rude to interrupt an older lady, darling. What's more important to say about you, I'd like to cut your head off and mount it over the opening of my boutique to show your kind how barbaric and mindless they are when they cut animals's heads off and mount them over their fireplaces back in where you live!", and then she added "And I thought you're different, but I'm sorry to say that, but unfortunately, you're not even kind or generous! You're a despicable beast who doesn't even deserve to set foot in our world!", and then she squeezed at Chloe once again before she finally dropped the human girl back to the floor.

Then, Chloe suddenly heard a familiar voice calling "My dear subjects, what's going on here?" and then she opened her eyes and turned to look to the direction from which the voice came from, and it is revealed for her to be her mother, Princess Celestia. The Alicorn princess approached the mane seven, who have already managed to torment Chloe to the point where she just wanted someone to finally rescue her, and then Twilight said to her "Good you're here, Princess Celestia!", and then Starlight added "Look what we've got here, our dear princess! A little human girl who accidentally arrived in our world!".

Then, Celestia suddenly said to the mane seven "I hope she's not much of a bother, my dear subjects.", and this made Chloe shocked and confused when she heard what her mother did just said, and then Rainbow Dash said "It was easy, Applejack managed to successfully rope her and tie her up by the neck, wrists and ankles to make sure she'll never get away!".

"Good job you did, Applejack. And now, you can remove your lasso from around her neck so I can speak to that human girl, right now.", and Applejack obeyed her and she finally removed her lasso from around Chloe's neck, but she still kept her wrists and ankles tied up so she wouldn't be able to escape.

Then, Celestia used her magic to surround Chloe in a golden aura, and then she lifted the human girl up to look at her in the eyes and then she said to Chloe "Hello there, Chloe sweetie.", but with a rather low and disturbing tone. Then, when Chloe looked at Celestia in the eyes, she saw that Celestia is looking at her with a face which looked a little evil as the Alicorn gave her an evil smirk.

When Chloe noticed something with Celestia also seems to be wrong, and so she asked her "Mommy? Are you okay?", but then Celestia looked at her with an evil face, and then she slapped her across her face with her hoof, and then she squeezed at her with her magic, and then she shouted angrily at the human girl "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME YOUR MOMMY, YOU HAIRLESS BEAST!", and then she added "I KNOW THREE OF YOUR KIND CAUSED TROUBLES TO US PONIES AND TO OUR WORLD! YOU HUMANS WERE INDEED UNCARING, DANGEROUS, AND EVEN HARM NOT JUST ANIMALS BUT ALSO HARM YOUR OWN KIND!", and then she squeezed at Chloe again with her magic, causing her to yelp in pain, as she couldn't believe her mother would've do that to her, just like all the ponies whom she trusted so far.

Then, Celestia slapped across Chloe's face once again, and then she shouted at her angrily "YOU HUMANS WERE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TO US PONIES AND TO OUR WORLD! AND SO ARE YOU, CHLOE! I WISH I'VE NEVER MET YOU AND ADOPTED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE! NOW I CAN REALLY SEE WHY YOUR REAL MOMMY AND DADDY DIDN'T WANTED YOU, AND WHY YOUR OLDER BROTHER DECIDED TO FEED YOU TO THE TIGERS AT THE ZOO! YOU'RE JUST A STUPID LITTLE CRYBABY AND YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S DEATH WAS YOUR FAULT! NOW GET YOUR FLANK OUT OF EQUESTRIA OR ELSE I'LL HAVE TO KICK YOU OUT BY FORCE!", and then she squeezed at Chloe one last time, before she finally untied Chloe's wrists and ankles and set her free, but not before she dropped her to the ground violently, causing the human girl to cry in pain.

Chloe barely managed to get back up on her feet, before she looked at the mane seven, who all looked at her with evil smiles and smirked at her evilly, and Chloe couldn't take such harmful, meaning and insulting damage anymore as she completely lost her trust in ponykind, and so she ran away from the Castle of Friendship in tears, and she ended up back in the same dark void where she last met her family.

Then, a blue light suddenly appeared, and then a familiar voice called out Chloe's name as the blue light approached towards Chloe, and it turned out to be Princess Luna, but just like the mane seven and Celestia, Luna also had an evil smirk on her face, before she bellowed down and shouted angrily at the human girl "DIE!", and she's about to blast at her with her magic, but just then, the totally unexpected happened.

An unfamiliar male voice angrily shouted at Princess Luna "LEAVE THE GIRL ALONE!", and then a big male tiger suddenly appeared right in front of Chloe. However, it wasn't a normal tiger at all, because this male tiger was actually completely black, just like a panther, and he's so black that his stripes were all invisible due to his complete melanism, which can be found in other big cats such as Jaguars and Leopards, since some rare specimens from both species were born completely black, and that male tiger is exactly the same, and he was also the only known tiger to be born completely black.

When Chloe saw the black tiger approaching her, she cried and begged for mercy, and the black tiger responded by gently placing a paw on her shoulder and then he said to her in the same unfamiliar male voice "It's okay, my dear. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. I'll promise you I'll keep you safe. Trust me.", but upon hearing the black tiger speaking to her like this, she became confused to know he's not going to hurt her, and that instead he's actually willing to protect her from the ponies who just betrayed her.

Then, the black tiger turned to Princess Luna, and then he walked away from Chloe and he placed himself between her and Luna, and while facing the Alicorn mare with the will to fight her one-on-one to save Chloe from her and from everypony else.

"Let's fight, evil mare! Bring it on!" The black tiger angrily said to Luna as he was willing to fight her, and he knew that if he wins, Chloe will be okay, but if Luna wins, he and Chloe will be blasted together by her magic.

Princess, Luna made the first move by blasting at the black tiger with her magic, but he managed to turn to Chloe, snatch her by her cloth with his teeth without harming her, and then he jumped out of the way with her to save her alongside himself. Then, he let go of Chloe and he placed her down, and then he turned to Princess Luna once again and he said to her "This battle is one-on-one! If you win, you can blast both me and the girl off with your magic, but if I win, you'll have to leave us alone and never return!".

Then, Luna suddenly transformed into her evil form - Nightmare Moon, and then she used her magic to blast at the black tiger and seriously wound him, and Chloe just stared and looked in shock as the black tiger got heavily wounded by Nightmare Moon's evil magic, before he fell down onto the side of his body, unable to continue to fight.

When Chloe saw the black tiger heavily wounded, she suddenly went up to him and then she dropped down to her knees and hugged his black fur and cried "Don't go away! Why did you tried to save me?", and the black tiger looked up at her and then he said as he barely moved his left foreleg and paw around and above Chloe's body and gently placed them down around her back without causing her any harm "Because you're my friend, but I'm so sorry, little girl. I lost in this battle. Goodbye...", and then he finally closed his eyes and his head fell onto the side, and when Chloe saw him dying, she cried "No! Please, don't die! Please, don't leave me!", and then she buried her face and cried into his black fur.

However, Nightmare Moon laughed evilly from the tragedy, and then she said to Chloe "It's time for you to say goodbye too!" and then she shot a blast of magic at her and at the now dead black tiger, and when it nearly hit Chloe, she screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!", before she finally woke up from her nightmare.


	9. Chapter 8:Maulwurf attack and rescue

After Chloe suffered from the nightmare she just experienced, she asked herself "Does my family tell me the truth about all the ponies I've managed to befriend so far? Including my new mother, Celestia?", and then she added "No, this can't be true. It's hard for me to believe that all the ponies I've managed to befriend so far actually hate me the most.", but then she started to have second thoughts about the nightmare and then she asked "But why did they hurt me, abused me, and wounded me like this? And why they all told me that a human like me don't belong in their world?", and then she asked "And who was that black tiger who actually tried to protect me and fight Luna just to save my life?".

However, after asking herself about everything happened to her throughout her nightmare, Chloe finally left her bed and she said "Well, I guess one thing is settled. If no one truly loves me here, then I guess I don't belong here anymore.", and then she prepared herself before she's going to leave the royal castle, and once she's ready to go, Chloe said "I'm sorry, mommy, but I don't have a choice. If I stay here, I'll only make you and all the rest of ponykind more troubles. It's better for me to leave, right now. I promise you and all ponykind I'll never come back ever again to cause you all any more troubles. Goodbye, Celestia, and thank you for being a good mommy to me. Goodbye.", and once Chloe was done talking, she began to sneak her way out of the royal castle.

After managing to successfully sneak away without getting any of the royal guards's attention, Chloe finally managed to reach outside and out of the royal castle and she saw it's still the middle of the night, and then she said "It's still nighttime. I guess I should leave while I still can.", and that's when she began to run away from the royal castle, and she continued to run away and she went through Ponyville without even getting anypony's attention since they're all asleep, until she ended up far away from where she lived for these five months without her real human family.

Then, Chloe turned to look back at the royal castle which now stood far away from her, and then she let out a sigh and then she said "Guess I deserve to live with my own kind, and not with animals. I should've known ponykind hates my kind for something, but that doesn't mean they have the rights to blame me for this, because I didn't even meant any harm to their kind before, but unfortunately, they still won't listen to me even if I'll tell the truth. I guess this is when it's time to say goodbye.", and then she softly said as she turned away and continued to walk away "Goodbye, everyone.", and she headed towards the Everfree Forest in hopes that nopony will be able to find her.

When next morning arrived, Celestia came to Chloe's bedroom to see if she's still sleeping, and then she spoke softly and said "Wake up, Chloe. Today, my sister, my friends and I we're going to talk to everypony and explain them that you're really a good human.", and then she went to check on Chloe's bed to see if she's still sleeping.

However, when she found out that Chloe isn't sleeping on her bed, and was in fact not in her bedroom anymore, Celestia became shocked to realize that Chloe ran away, and so she quickly began to search everywhere in the royal castle in an attempt to find her, but unfortunately, Chloe isn't anywhere in the royal castle either, causing Celestia to become more shocked and worried, before she went to alert and explain to Luna that Chloe ran away during the night, and so once Luna was already alerted and completely aware that Chloe have ran away, she agreed to help her sister to go and find her by searching from the sky above in hopes she'll be able to find Chloe, and Celestia also did the same in hopes that either she or Luna will be able to find Chloe.

However, Celestia and Luna searched everywhere for Chloe, but neither of them could find her, and this made Celestia blame herself for Chloe's disappearance, and then she said "If anything bad happens to Chloe, I'll never forgive myself!", before tears of sadness began to form and roll down her eyes, and then she went back down and landed on the ground and started to cry as she believed she's been a bad mother for Chloe. However, Celestia's sadness is short-lived when Luna suddenly came down for her and then she landed on the ground and said to her sister "Don't blame yourself, sister. You're not a bad mother for Chloe. It wasn't your fault at all.", and then she added "However, despite I haven't managed to find Chloe either, I managed to find Twilight and her friends, and when I explained to them about Chloe's disappearance, they said they're all willing to help us find her and bring her back to us. You can count on them, sister. I'm sure they'll be able to find Chloe and bring her back to us.", and Celestia sniffled and then she said to Luna "Thank you, Luna. What would I've done without you?".

Meanwhile, the mane seven searched for Chloe everywhere in hopes they'll be able to find her and bring her back home to the royal castle, but they're still unable to find her. At the same time, Chloe have already entered the Everfree Forest, and she wandered in there for many hours until she finally fell asleep in a small cave she found during her search for a way out of Equestria.

However, she soon woke up again because she's hungry, and so Chloe went out of the cave to search for food, and eventually she managed to find a bush with some red edible berries attached to it, and so Chloe decided to take for herself some of the red berries to eat, and after she's done eating, Chloe continued to search for a way out of Equestria.

The mane seven managed to reach to the Everfree Forest and they all entered to search for Chloe, while Chloe herself at the same time was trying to find a way to get out of Equestria, but then she encountered a dangerous creature which was way more harmful than a Timberwolf - a Maulwurf.

Chloe stumbled upon the gigantic half bear/half mole monstrous creature while it was eating lots of plants and vegetation, but when Chloe saw it as a dangerous creature and because of how it looked like, she tried to sneak away while she still have the chance, but then she accidentally stepped on a twig, causing it to snap and attracting the Maulwurf's attention, causing it to look around and then it spotted Chloe and began to give a chase after her, and Chloe had no choice but to run away for her life to escape the Maulwurf.

The Maulwurf decided to chase after Chloe even faster than it can do when it ran after her by digging underground to catch up to the human girl in almost no time, and Maulwurfs were known to be faster underground than on the surface, and it slowly began to catch up with Chloe by digging as fast as it can right behind her and beneath her, and it almost managed to catch up with her, and then the Maulwurf suddenly dug out and back to the surface as it managed to catch up with Chloe, thus knocking her down.

Then, the Maulwurf slowly began to approach Chloe, and she fearfully looked up at the giant beast before she began to crawl away in fear and terror while trembling like a leaf. Meanwhile, the mane seven still searched for Chloe, and then they all suddenly heard someone screaming, and the ponies knew who's screaming like that - it was Chloe, and she's somewhere close, so the mane seven started to follow the screams, and eventually, they found Chloe being cornered and threatened by the Maulwurf.

Then, the mane seven heard Chloe crying out loud "SOMEONE HELP ME!" as the Maulwurf managed to get close enough to swipe at her with its foreleg and paw, and that's when they all rushed to her rescue, but the Maulwurf managed to knock Chloe unconscious before the seven mares began to attack it, and so Twilight, Starlight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack fought the Maulwurf while Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie carried the unconscious Chloe to safety.

Once Twilight, Starlight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack all managed to win against the Maulwurf and defeat it, they went to meet up with their friends who still carried the unconscious Chloe, and once they're reunited with each other, the seven mares helped each other to carry and take Chloe back to the royal castle.

Upon arriving at the royal castle at last, the mane seven were greeted by Celestia and Luna once again, and when Celestia saw Chloe being carried by them and was also unconscious, Celestia rushed towards her human daughter and she tearfully nuzzled her before she asked the mane seven "What happened to Chloe?", and Twilight answered "She's been attacked by a Maulwurf, and it managed to knock her unconscious.", and then Starlight added "But we managed to beat up the Maulwurf and save her before she could get really hurt.", and then Rainbow Dash added "I'm sure Chloe's alright, because she's only got knocked unconscious by the Maulwurf, but we managed to make sure that she doesn't gets hurt even more.", and then Celestia looked at the mane seven with tears in her eyes before she said to them "Thank you all!".

Just then, Chloe suddenly began to move, and then she slowly began to open her eyes, and once her sight went clear, Chloe saw Celestia, Luna and the mane seven all looking down at her. However, this made Chloe curl up in a ball and cover her face as she cried "Please don't hurt me! I didn't did anything bad to any of you! I'm only a young and innocent girl! I promise I will leave and never return here to bother you ponies ever again!", and she trembled like a leaf as she thought that the nine ponies she knew and trusted will actually betray her and hurt her like they all did in her nightmare.

"I guess Chloe was been suffering from a nightmare. I wasn't able to reach her nightmare in time in an attempt to stop it, and for some reason, I think I only made her nightmare even worse." Luna said to everypony as she realized why Chloe ran away in the middle of the night like she already did. "Then use your magic to take us into her mind so we can all see the nightmare she's been suffering from." Celestia said to her sister, who in return gave her a nod before she told everypony to surround Chloe's body, and with Luna is standing at her feet and was ready to use her magic to take herself, her sister and the mane seven into the of Chloe's mind to see the nightmare that's preying on her mind and causing her to fear ponies as well as other animals once again.

After watching the entire nightmare Chloe was been suffering from, Celestia, Luna and the mane seven all looked at each other in shock to know that Chloe fears them because of the nightmare she received last night, and that the reason to this it's because she's been rejected and hated by everypony else for being a human.

After Chloe finally opened her eyes once again and looked at the nine ponies who surrounded her, she cried and begged "Please, don't hurt me! I mean you ponies no harm! If you don't want me here in your world, then I'll just go away and never return, and you won't have to see me ever again!", and then she curled up in a ball again and she covered her face in her hands and just waited for either Celestia or Luna to blast her away with their magic, or for Twilight, Starlight and Rarity to use their magic to squeeze at her violently, or for Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to torment her mercilessly.

However, instead of feeling pain, Chloe suddenly felt something touching and stroking her head, and when she slowly looked up, she saw Celestia placing her hoof on the top of her head and stroking her gently, before Celestia gave her a warm smile and then she said to her "I'm sorry I couldn't help you in time, Chloe. But I want you to know you'll always be my daughter, and I will never do to you what that dream Celestia did to you in your nightmare. I love you, Chloe, and I also want you to know that you do deserve to live here in Equestria.", and then she approached Chloe a little closer before she got down onto her haunches and then she hugged Chloe to show her that she'll never be mean to her and will never do anything bad to her.

When Chloe felt the love and affection from Celestia, she couldn't help but hug her back and then she said to her Alicorn mother "Thank you, mommy!", before she cried briefly into her chest fur, before she received more and more love and affection from the other ponies too. Then, Luna approached Chloe and then she said to her "I'm sorry I transformed into Nightmare Moon in your dream and threatened to blast you off with my magic, but you don't have to fear me, Chloe, and it's because I'll never do to you anything bad like this or another, ever.", and then she came to hug Chloe too.

Then, Rainbow Dash came forward and then she hugged Chloe and said to her "I'm sorry for what that Rainbow Dash from your nightmare did when she yelled at you angrily and loudly in the ears like that! She's nothing but a monster herself, especially when she dares to yell so angrily and so loudly in the faces of innocent human children!", and then she added "You can trust me, because I'll never do to you what that dream Rainbow Dash did to you in your nightmare. You can trust me, Chloe.".

Then, she let go of Chloe and allowed Fluttershy to hug the human girl next, and when Fluttershy hugged Chloe, she said to her softly "I'm sorry for what that Fluttershy from your nightmare did to you when she shoved you to the ground and then yelled at you in the face like this! She's nothing but a mean bully and a beast, especially when she dares to harm human children and then yell angrily in their faces!", and then she added "You can trust me, because I'll never do to you what that dream Fluttershy did to you in your nightmare. You can trust me, Chloe.".

Then, she let go of Chloe and allowed Pinkie Pie to hug the human girl next, and when Pinkie Pie hugged Chloe, she said to her nicely "I'm sorry for what that Pinkie Pie from your nightmare did to you when she screamed into your ears and even threatened to shoot you out of her party cannon like this! She's nothing but a mean meanie pants herself, especially when she dares to threaten to harm human children like you!", and then she added "I would never want to shoot you out of my party cannon, because you could probably get hurt when you'll end up hitting and striking the ground real hard! You can trust me Chloe, because I'm never going to harm you in that way or another. You can trust me.".

Then, she let go of Chloe and allowed Applejack to hug the human girl next, and when Applejack hugged Chloe, she said to her kindly "I'm sorry for what that Applejack from your nightmare did to you when she called you a varmint and then she tied you around your neck, you wrists and your ankles like this! She's nothing but abusive and uncaring herself, especially when she dares to tie up human children by their necks like she did in your nightmare and then carrying and taking them hostages like she did as well!", and then she added "I'll never like to and I won't even dare to tie innocent human children by their necks, wrists and ankles, and I'll never carry them hostages, because this is simply nothing but a cruel and heartless thing to do! But you can trust me, Chloe, because I'm never going to hurt you like that dream Applejack did. You can trust me, Chloe.".

Then, when Applejack let go of Chloe, Rarity approached the human and hugged her next, and the she said "I'm sorry for what that Rarity from your nightmare did to you when she used her magic to squeeze on you like she, as well as the dream Twilight and Starlight all did! She as well as the dream Twilight and Starlight were all nothing but abusive ponies who use their magic for violence against innocent humans and their children!", and then she added "I'll never do to you what that dream Rarity, as well as those dream Twilight and Starlight all did to you in your nightmare, because it would be simply barbaric to abuse human children for nothing but fun and pleasure! But you can trust me, Chloe, and you can trust Twilight and Starlight too. None of us three would dare to use our magic to squeeze you violently like those dream Rarity, Twilight and Starlight all did. You can trust me, Chloe, as well as Twilight and Starlight too, darling.".

Then, when Rarity let go of Chloe, it was Starlight's turn to show Chloe that she's a good pony that will never harm innocent humans or their children. Starlight said to Chloe "Let me show you some real magic.", and then she lit her horn in a light blue aura just like she did in Chloe's nightmare, but this was much more gentle as she used her magic to bring Chloe forward to her and then she wrapped her forelegs around her gently, and then she said to the human girl "Please don't be afraid of us anymore, Chloe. We're not your enemies, were your friends. Those dream Starlight and Twilight were indeed true beasts when they hurt you in your nightmare by using their magic to squeeze at you like they both did, but I want you to know that I won't do to you any harm, neither Twilight will. You can trust us, Chloe. You can trust me too.".

Then, Twilight lit her horn in a purple aura just like she did in Chloe's nightmare, but this was much more gentle as she used her magic to bring Chloe forward to her and then she wrapped her forelegs and wings around her gently, and then she said to the human girl "It's okay Chloe, I already know you're not cruel and heartless, and you're actually kind and gentle, and my friends even proved that you're a good human by giving you love and affection, and you regained your trust with us in return for what we truly did to you right now. I also want you to know that I'll never use my magic to squeeze you like that Twilight from your nightmare did. She's nothing but a pure evil monster who dares to threaten innocent human children just for entertaining herself! As the princess of friendship, I'll make sure to show and prove you I'll never do any harm with my magic to anypony or to any other creature, and I won't harm humans like you either. You can trust me, Chloe. You can trust all of us.", and once Twilight let go of her, Chloe sniffled a bit before she said to the nine ponies whom she loved the most "Thank you all.".

Then, when Twilight let go of Chloe, Celestia approached her and said to the human girl "Don't worry, Chloe, I'm sure everypony will start to love you and see you as a good friend when Twilight, Starlight, their friends, Luna and I we'll tell them all the truth about you, and they'll all start to understand that there is such thing as both good and bad human beings, and that you're a good human who needs friends and a new family.", and then she added "I know I'm already your mother, Chloe, but you also need a father and some siblings too, but I'm sure that someday you'll find here the father and the siblings you're waiting for to have for the most.".

When Chloe heard everything from what Celestia said to her, the human girl said with some tear of joy forming in her eyes "Thank you, mommy! And thank the others too!", and then she wiped her tears off her eyes so she won't cry again and then she suddenly felt a bit weaker, and Celestia knew what's happening to Chloe - she's getting tired and she needs to go to sleep.

Then, Celestia and Luna sent the mane seven back to their homes, and then Celestia took her human daughter with her to her bedroom, and once they reached and entered the bedroom, Celestia used her magic to gently place Chloe down on the soft bed, and then she used her magic to cover her body in the blanket, and then she softly said to the human girl "Goodnight, Chloe. Tomorrow, everypony will love you too.", and then she turned to go and once she left the bedroom, she used her magic to quietly close the doors behind her, and once the bedroom doors are closed, Chloe finally let out a yawn before she slowly closed her eyes, and then she finally fell asleep. While sleeping, Chloe hoped that tomorrow everything will come true when everypony will start to truly understand her and see her as a good human at last.


	10. Chapter 9:accepted at last

When morning came, Celestia woke Chloe up and she told her that it's time to introduce her to the rest of ponykind, but also to explain and tell the truth about her being a good human, and Chloe hoped that her Alicorn mother will succeed in showing to everypony else that she's a indeed a good human.

Celestia sent the mane seven to go to Ponyville to tell everypony else that they're all invited to meet Celestia and that they're all going to meet a new family member that Celestia have already adopted, and by noon, everypony went to Canterlot and to the royal castle to meet Celestia and Luna, as well as the mane seven (who told them all to come), and then Celestia said to all of her subjects "Everypony, listen! My sister as well as my seven most dearest subjects and I we all know you all hate humans the most, but you're all going to learn the real truth about humans and see that not all humans are evil creatures! We have a proof that will show you all we're right! Mares and gentlecolts, we want you all to meet my new daughter, Chloe!", and then Chloe slowly walked up to the huge crowd of ponies, who all stood and looked at her in shock and in a bit of anger as well.

Then, when Chloe stopped in front of the huge crowd of ponies, one mare said in pure disgust "What is this human doing here?!", and then a stallion added "Humans are not belong in Equestria!", and then a young colt shouted "She needs to be chased away from our world for good!", and this made Chloe to step aback from them all in shock and fear to know that almost everypony still hates her the most.

However, Celestia approached closer and stopped by Chloe's side and then she placed and wrapped a wing around her and then she said to everypony "Everypony, please! Don't be angry on her! She's not a bad human! She's very nice and kind and she needs friends because her own kind won't accept her, especially her very own family who betrayed her before she even got here!", and then Luna also approached the crowd and then she added "Celestia's right! Chloe is a good human, and when she first got here, she was afraid of us ponies due to her traumatic experience and deeply terrible fear of animals! Don't be harsh on her! She just wants to make friends with at least some of your foals! She needs friends whom are around her own age!".

"But what if she bites us?" a young filly from the crowd asked, and the mane seven all came forward and joined Chloe, Luna and Celestia, and then Twilight answered "Chloe's a good human, and she won't even bite anypony, and because she's not even a predatory animal!", and then Rainbow Dash added "Yeah! Chloe has a good heart, and she's been abused by her own family after her grandmother died! And she's been once being fed to the tigers at the zoo! By her very own brother! She got out of there very lucky without being attacked or wounded by the tigers! You all have to believe us, because she's really been through all this!".

When everypony heard what Rainbow Dash said about Chloe being once fed to the tigers at the zoo, they all gasped in shock to know that Chloe was been truly betrayed by her very own family, and then a red stallion came through the crowd and stopped right in front of Chloe and then he asked her "Is it true? Did your own brother tried to feed you to the tigers?", and Chloe answered "Yes, he did. He said this is all my fault my grandma is dead, and he and my parents all blamed this on me, though I had nothing to do with this at all!", and then the red stallion said "How could a brother like him feed his own sister to the tigers just because of believing she's responsible for her grandmother's death?! He's the most barbaric human I've ever heard of! I would never do the same thing to my sisters if I were him! Instead, I would be likely feeding HIM to the tigers instead for him being so cruel and heartless to his very own sister!".

When everypony heard what the red stallion said, who is actually Applejack's older brother Big Mac (who's full name is Big Macintosh), Applejack stepped forward towards her own older brother ann then she said to him "Big Mac, I can't believe you actually said that! So, do you really mean that you trust Chloe and you would like to befriend her?", and Big Mac answered "Yes, of course! I'll promise I'll be good to that human girl no matter what! I also promise I'll be like a family for her too! By the way, I would like to show her real older brother what it's like to be fed to the tigers instead!", and when everypony heard what Big Mac just said, some other ponies started to follow his words and they also began to accept Chloe too.

Then, four young foals came through the crowd and stopped right in front of Chloe and then one of them said to her "Are you the human girl who came to Equestria? That nice to meet you. What's your name?", and Chloe answered "I'm Chloe.", and then she asked them "And who are you four?", and then the yellow Earth pony filly answered "I'm Apple Bloom! I'm Applejack's younger sister!", and then the white Unicorn filly answered "I'm Sweetie Belle! I'm Rarity's younger sister!", and then the orange Pegasus filly answered "I'm Scootaloo! I'm Rainbow Dash's younger sister!", and then the light green Earth pony colt answered "I'm Randall! I'm Pinkie Pie's younger brother!", and then the four together said "And together we are" And then they shouted happily "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!", but this caused Chloe to cover her ears when they shouted all together, and when they noticed that Chloe is covering her ears because she couldn't stand their loud shoutings, Randall said "Oops, we're sorry, Chloe.", and then Chloe removed her hands from her ears and then she said to them "It's okay, and you all seems to be very friendly to me!".

"We'd like to be your new friends, Chloe!" Apple Bloom said, and then Sweetie Belle added "We're sorry we didn't met you at Ponyville Schoolhouse.", and then Scootaloo added "It's because we're not studying there anymore!", and then Randall added and explained "We're honorary students as well as supporting tutors in the School of Friendship!". When Chloe heard what Randall said, she asked "What's the School of Friendship?", and Sweetie Belle explained "That's the new school which opened in Ponyville, and there are not just ponies in that beautiful place, there are other students which are non-ponies, such as Dragons, Griffons, Changelings, Yaks and Hippogriffs!", and then Apple Bloom added "I'm sure you'll like to attend there and become a new student! There's more fun in the School of Friendship than in Ponyville Schoolhouse! There, you'll learn about the true meanings of friendship and about the elements of harmony!", and then Chloe answered "I would like to go to attend there someday! Thank you all for telling me about that place, my new friends!".

Then, more and more ponies began to love and accept Chloe as a friend and as an ally when they all became completely aware that she's indeed a good human who was entirely different from the three adult human males who messed up with ponykind and did bad things to Equestria. Once everypony accepted Chloe and allowed her to stay with their kind in their world, Chloe's nightmare was finally washed away from her mind, but one thing still puzzled her - who was that male black Bengal tiger who tried to save her in her nightmare from the evil Nightmare Moon? Is he a friend of Chloe? Or is he actually her foe? However, Chloe decided to not think about that right now, because her dream of being accepted by everypony as a friend to Equestria have finally became true.

When nighttime came and Chloe was back in her bedroom and was sleeping on the bed, she thought while still sleeping and dreaming about the male black Bengal tiger who tried to save her from Nightmare Moon before. Who is he? Why did he saved Chloe? Why didn't he just ate her like any other tiger would? Why is he even completely black like a panther? Chloe hoped that one day she'll meet the black tiger who saved her for real so she can thank him for what he did for her.


	11. Chapter 10:Chloe meets a new friend

A month has passed since Chloe have finally became accepted by everypony to Equestria, and it was also six months since she first arrived in Equestria, and she knew she'll turn 9 years-old in about two months later, and when she told that to her mother, Celestia, she promised her she'll experience a birthday party she'll never forget.

Chloe was still studying at Ponyville Schoolhouse, but now she's been accepted as a friend by everypony around her, and even the foals whom are all around her age accepted her and befriended her for knowing that she's indeed a good human and that there are both good and bad humans and not just bad humans, and Chloe was truly happy to study with the other foals at Ponyville Schoolhouse for as long as they love her as their friend.

One afternoon, Chloe left Ponyville Schoolhouse with all the other young foals, just as usual because they all always finish and end their studying in the afternoons every day. However, this time, Chloe was excited because she's going to turn 9 years-old in the next month, showing and proving that her birthday is coming closer and closer, and she hoped that her mother, Celestia, will promise her that her birthday will be something she'll never forget, just as she promised a month ago.

Chloe stopped by a lake to take a look at her own reflection in the water, and she saw herself looking a bit worried about her upcoming birthday, because she hoped that Celestia will not forget her birthday, but that still didn't made her completely trust her Alicorn mother yet.

However, as Chloe had thoughts about Celestia's promise to her, as well as about her ninth birthday, Chloe suddenly heard someone crying "Stop it, please! Leave me alone!", and when she heard the crying voice, she decided to go away from the lake and go to the direction where the crying voice suddenly came from, and when she reached to the source of the crying voice, her eyes widened in shock, and she looked in shock at what she saw in front of her eyes.

Chloe saw in front of her eyes three young colts bullying and abusing a young Pegasus filly, and she also saw that the Pegasus filly had some injuries and bruises on her body, and she also saw that one of the young colts, who is apparently the leader out of the three, came towards the Pegasus filly and she hears him saying to her with an evil smirk "Give me your doll, or I'll kick you again!", but then the Pegasus filly cried and begged "Please, leave me alone! I won't give my precious doll to some bullies like you who wants to steal it from me!", but the colts all just laughed at her before the leader of the colts managed to kick at the side of her body, and then he tried to grab at the doll and pull it out of her grip so he can steal it, or at least rip it apart like a paper.

However, when Chloe watched the awful sight from some distance away, her eyes began to fill with anger and then rage began to burn in her eyes as she couldn't believe that those three colts dares to take on a single filly at once, and then she screamed in anger at the colts "HEY YOU BULLIES! LEAVE HER ALONE!", and then she ran towards the three colts and the Pegasus filly, and then she began to attack the leader of the colts by punching him in the face, thus causing to let go of the doll and fall backwards, and the doll remained unharmed and didn't got ripped apart, thus allowing the Pegasus filly to take back her doll and get behind Chloe's back as the human girl faced the three colts.

Chloe didn't showed fear when she stood against the three colts because something new began to evolve and develop inside her heart - the caring feeling for friends whom are in trouble. Two of the colts growled angrily at Chloe, and then the third one (who is the leader) asked her "And who are you?!", and then he added "What are you supposed to be?!", and then he suggested "You're kind of an ape or something?!", and this made Chloe shout in anger "I'm not an ape! I'm a human!" and then she added "And I won't let you three steal that doll from that Pegasus filly! It's her doll and not yours! I don't fear you three because I've already suffered from abusive experience before and I managed to fight back sometimes, but I can't let some bad colts like you three bully and steal from a single filly! That's not fair for three to take on one! If you dare to come close, I'll have to fight you three to protect that Pegasus filly and her doll from you!".

However, the three colts laughed at her, and this caused Chloe to ask angrily "What was so funny?!", and then the leader of the colts said to her "I'm sorry, but I will not waste my strength on a filthy human! But my two friends can fight you, because I only take on stupid and weak fillies!", and then he told and ordered his two friends to come towards Chloe to attack her at once, but Chloe knew she can beat them both because sometimes one can fight against two, and Chloe's height and flexibility as a human gave her an advantage to outsmart and outfight the two colts whom are about to fight her.

Then, one of the colts jumped on Chloe and he began to kick her in the face, but she easily managed to pick him up and pull him away from her face with one hand by his back, and then she used her other hand to slap him across both sides of face repeatedly, and then she threw him to the ground, thus knocking him out. Then, the other colt jumped on Chloe, and then he managed to bite her on the wrist, causing her to scream in pain before she used her another hand to pull him away by his mane and then she managed to get her bitten hand and wrist out of the colt's biting grip and then she him punched directly in the face, and then she threw him away and he landed on his already beaten friend, thus getting knocked out too.

However, the leader of the colts managed to get past Chloe and then he tried to steal the doll from the Pegasus filly once more, but when Chloe heard the Pegasus filly screaming for help, the human girl turned around and saw the leader of the colts trying to steal the doll from the Pegasus filly once more, and so she began to attack him by kicking his butt and flank, and then she grabbed him and pulled him up to her height level by the left ear and then she gave the leader of the colts an angry glare before she said "Leave that Pegasus filly alone, or I'll make sure that you and your friends will suffer from more harm even more!", and then she threw him against his already beaten friends, knocking him out too, before all the three managed to get up and they all ran away for their lives, but the leader of the colts said to her as they left her and the Pegasus filly alone "Our mothers and fathers will hear about this!", and once the three colts were all gone, Chloe turned back to the Pegasus filly, who just looked at her in shock before she suddenly decided to approach her.

Then, she said to Chloe "Thank you for saving me from those bullies.", and then she gave her a hoof to shake, and Chloe decided to give her hand to the filly so she can shake her hoof with her hand, and then they began to shake each other's hand and hoof, and then Chloe said to the Pegasus filly "It's okay, it's fine, there's nothing for you to be afraid of right now.".

Then, Chloe said to the Pegasus filly "I managed to chase those colts who bullied you away from you, and I believe they wanted to steal that doll of yours, didn't they?", and the Pegasus filly said "Yes, this doll is the most precious thing in my life. My father bought it for me when I was little.". "Unfortunately, my father is not alive anymore." the Pegasus filly said, and Chloe asked her "What happened to him?", and the Pegasus filly answered and explained "My mother said he died in the Everfree Forest, and that she tried everything she could do save him, but she failed.", and then she added "Since his death, the doll he bought for me is the only thing left which reminds me of my father.".

"That's a very sad story, isn't it?" Chloe asked and the Pegasus filly answered "Yes, it's very sad, but thanks to this doll, I remember him in my heart for as long as I can.". Then, Chloe introduced herself and said "Anyway, my name is Chloe, and I'm actually a good human.", and then she asked the Pegasus filly "And what's your name?", and the Pegasus filly answered "My name is Aylene, and I have only a mother.". "That's very nice to meet you, Aylene.", and then she said "Anyway, I have to go back home, but I'd like to invite you to be in my birthday, which is going to happen one month later.", and Aylene said to her "I'd like to go to be in your birthday!", and then she added "For some reason, my mother doesn't let me go to be in anypony's birthdays.", and Chloe said to her "It's okay, because I invite you to my birthday so we can become closer friends and have lots of fun with each other and with everypony else!". "That sounds fun to me! I'd like to go to your birthday party!" Aylene said to chloe as she's also about to go back home, and then Chloe said goodbye to Aylene, who said to her goodbye in return before the two part ways and each went back to her own home.

When Chloe went back to the royal castle, it was already evening and so she went to her bedroom, entered it, climbed onto her bed, covered herself with the blanket and fell asleep, but while sleeping, she now hoped that two things will happen - one thing is that her mother, Celestia, will not forget her birthday, and the other thing is that her new friend, Aylene, will come to the royal castle to celebrate her birthday with her and with everypony else.


	12. Chapter 11:Chloe's birthday (part 1)

The time have passed quickly and Chloe's birthday came closer and closer, and now there's only one week left before Chloe will turn 9 years-old, and she got excited but also worried at the same time, as she hoped that her mother, Celestia, will not forget to celebrate her birthday, as well as she also hoped that her new friend, Aylene the Pegasus filly, will also come to her birthday party she's going to have.

When the day where Chloe supposed to celebrate her birthday have finally arrived, she went to tell her mother, Celestia, about it, but Celestia said to her that she's busy and that she have no time to be with Chloe right now, and so Chloe believed that her Alicorn mother have decided to forget about her birthday, and so Chloe went to ask Luna to help, but she said she's too busy to be with her too, and so Chloe decided to go to the Castle of Friendship to ask the mane seven if they have some time to be with her, but upon arriving there, she found that there's nopony inside, but she also found a letter that Twilight had left for her to read.

 _Dear Chloe, we're so sorry we couldn't be here for you right now, but we're busy too and we have no time to be with you, and please try to come back here later._

 _From Princess Twilight Sparkle._

When Chloe finished reading the letter that Twilight had left for her to read, she became saddened and confused, and so she left the Castle of Friendship and she went out of Ponyville and she went towards the Everfree Forest to have some time to be alone, because nopony would like to be with her right now.

In the Everfree Forest, Chloe sat down near a small lake and she looked down at her own reflection in the water, and then she said "Well, I guess no one will celebrate my birthday after all.", and then she added "I should've known I shouldn't trust everypony to throw me a birthday party, and now, there's no way I can celebrate my birthday at all.", and then she covered her face in her hands and she started to cry for not being able to celebrate her birthday.

However, just then, Chloe suddenly heard a fierce growl and when she turned around to see where the fierce growl came from, she saw an adult male Bengal tiger looking at her from right behind the trees, and she soon stood up on her feet and looked right at the tiger, but something impressed her about this tiger - instead of being orange with a white belly and black stripes, the tiger was completely black, just like a panther.

Then, the black tiger began to slowly approach Chloe, but this time she didn't backed away, because she tried to shake off the bad and traumatic experience she had with tigers back on planet earth. When the black tiger got even closer to her, she shouted at him "Go away! Leave me alone! I taste bad!", but the tiger still approached her as he didn't cared for what she just said, but when Chloe looked right into his eyes, she suddenly recognized the black tiger as the same one who appeared in her nightmare.

However, instead of suddenly speaking, the black tiger just growled at her, and Chloe said to him "Stop it, please! We know each other! You tried to protect me in my nightmare! Listen up!", but the black tiger just growled at her angrily like if he was trying to say to her that he don't even knows her or what she's even talking about. Then, the black tiger jumped on Chloe and pinned her to the ground with his paws, and then he's about to bite her on the neck to finish her off, just like other carnivores finish off their prey, but before anything bad could happen to Chloe, However, the totally unexpected happened.

A male voice suddenly called "Tony! Let that girl go! She's a human!", and the black tiger suddenly responded and he decided to let go of Chloe and he jumped off and away from her, though he still stayed nearby, and just then, and adult human male suddenly came into sight right from where the black tiger came from. The adult human male appeared to be at least around the age of 40 and it seems that he knows the black tiger very well.

Then, the adult human male approched Chloe and he said to her "It's okay, little girl. you have no reason to fear my black tiger. he won't do you any harm, and it's because of me as his responsible owner. I have raised him since he was just a newborn cub. his name is Tony Black, due to his pure black color mutation, which can be found in panthers such as jaguars and leopards.", and when Chloe heard what the adult human male said about he being the black tiger's owner, she asked him "So, does that means that this black tiger of yours obeys you because you raised him?", and the adult man answered "Exactly.", and then he added and introduced himself "My name is Yigal Peterson Yosefsberg, and I'm the youngest of my brothers. My tiger, Tony Black, also obeys my brothers too, but he's much more closer to me than to them.".

"My name is Chloe. Chloe Williams. I'm just 9 years-old but I also live in this world.", Chloe said to Yigal as she introduced herself to him, and then he asked her "Anyway, what are you doing here all by yourself?", and Chloe answered "I was supposed to celebrate my ninth birthday today, but no one will ever throw me my birthday party, just as usual.", and then Yigal asked her "What do you mean by that.", and then Chloe explained "Ever since my grandmother died, my family never celebrated my birthdays each and every year, and they didn't even wanted to, so there was no cake, no candies, no cookies, not even a birthday party. That's simply nothing.", and Yigal said to her "Oh, I see.", and then he asked her "Anyway, how did you even got here?", and Chloe answered "I ran away from my family and home eight months ago, then I accidentally entered a dangerous forest, got attacked by wolves, fell down a bottomless waterfall with one of them, and that's exactly how I got here.".

"So, I guess my brothers and I we're no longer the only humans living in this wretched pony world, isn't it?" Yigal said as he turned away from Chloe and towards his tiger, Tony Black, and then he asked him "What should we do with that poor little girl?", and Tony Black just stood there for a minute, before he turned around and ran away deeper into the Everfree Forest.

Then, Yigal turned back to Chloe and he said to her "Let's go, Chloe. My tiger wants to lead us to my house. There I'm sure my older brothers and the rest of our animals will throw you a real birthday party you'll never forget that you truly deserve after the way those ponies treated you when they didn't wanted to throw you a party to celebrate your birthday.", and then he began to follow in the direction where his tiger ran away to, and Chloe decided to follow Yigal close behind to see if she can trust him and his tiger better than she can trust the ponies whom are her friends.

Meanwhile, back at the royal castle, Celestia, Luna, the mane seven, the CMC, and Twilight's dragon assistant, Spike, were all working together and they're all preparing the birthday party they're about throw for Chloe, which it's exactly the reason why they said and/or wrote for Chloe that they're too busy and that they don't have time to be with her, and because they wanted to keep the birthday party a secret from her so they can throw the birthday party for her when she comes back to the royal castle, because they all wanted it to be a surprise for her.

Once everypony finished all the preparations and with everything they needed for the birthday party for Chloe to be successful, Celestia sent Twilight and Rainbow Dash to search for Chloe and to take her with them back to the royal castle so everypony can throw the surprise birthday party they all prepared for her.

Meanwhile, Chloe followed Yigal and his tiger, Tony Black, deeper into the Everfree Forest until she finaly stopped when she reached a huge house, and it was indeed where Yigal and his older brothers and their animals all live together, and so she decided to enter the house to see what's waiting for her inside. When Chloe entered inside and searched for Yigal and for his black tiger, she met two other adult human males, one of which is around the age of 43, and the other is around the age of 46, and they both seemed to look a bit different than Yigal.

Then, the younger of the two adult men appoached Chloe and asked her "Who are you, little girl? What are you doing in our house? Who let you in?", and then Yigal came out of nowhere and then he said "I did.", and then he quickly added "But don't be harsh on her. she's just nine years-old and she wants to celebrate her birthday, brothers.", and then he turned back to Chloe and he said to her "Chloe, i want you to meet my two older brothers.", and then he pointed at the approximately 43 years-old man and said to Chloe "This is Gilad, he's the middle brother among us.", and then he turned to the older man and then he pointed at him next and then he added "And this is Ezra, he's the oldest among us.", but then Gilad asked Yigal "Why did you brought her here, brother?", and then Ezra asked "What did I told you about bringing human children to our home?", but Yigal said to the two "It's okay, brothers, she might be a human girl, but I'm sure we can make a great ally out of her.", and then he added "I'm sure she needs our help for her being just a little girl who got lost away from her own family and needs to be raised into adulthood.".

Then, the four humans suddenly heard Tony Black growling, but roars, screeches, and even a loud trumpeting sound were heard all around them, and this made Chloe nervous and afraid as she stepped aback a little. Just then, Tony Black came out of nowhere, but he's not alone - five other animals from different species also came out of nowhere and surrounded Chloe, Yigal, Gilad and Ezra.

When Chloe saw the five other animals surrounding her and the others, she asked and said worriedly with great fear in her eyes "What's going on? Where all of those animals came from? I'm scared!", but then Yigal said to her "Don't be afraid of any of them. My brothers and I have raised them all ever since they're very young, just like we raised Tony.", and then Ezra said to the animals "It's okay, all of you. Yigal just brought here a young visitor. She's just a bit afraid of you all, that's all I can say about her.", and then Gilad said to the animals "Please, don't hurt her. She's just a little girl. She just needs to learn about you all before she gets some comfort.", and then Yigal turned to Chloe and said to her as he began to point at the five other animals "It's okay, Chloe. they won't hurt you. In fact, they're very nice and they always get excited when they meet new people, especially children around your age or younger.", and then he added as he began to introduce the five other animals to Chloe.

"This is Shujaa, he's an albino orangutan." Yigal said as he pointed at the adult male albino orangutan which stood with a brown panda by his left side and with a rhinoceros by his right side. Then, Yigal pointed at the brown panda who stood by Shujaa's left side and then he said "This is Kenai, he's a brown panda.", and then he pointed at the rhinoceros which stood by Shujaa's right side and then he said "This is Saut, he's a hybrid between a southern white rhinoceros and a northern white rhinoceros.", and then he turned around and pointed at the two last animals which stood behind him, his brothers and Chloe, and then he said to Chloe as she turned around to see a white lioness and a huge african elephant with thick layer of wool covering its huge body and with massive mammoth-like tusks protruding from right below his trunk, just like all other elephants and even mammoths, and then Yigal said as he pointed at the huge woolly elephant "This is Lin Raju, he's a cloned hybrid between an african elephant and a woolly mammoth.", and then he pointed at the white lioness who stood right by Tony Black's side "And this is Agatha, she's a white lioness, and she's the only female animal we raised among the six.".

Then, Agatha approached towards Chloe and then she stopped and gave her a paw, and when Chloe saw Agatha stretching her foreleg and paw close to her, the human gril asked what is she doing, and Yigal answered "She wants you to give her your hand. You know, like a handshake between an owner and his pet.", and when Chloe turned to Gilad and Ezra, the two nodded in agreement, and then she turned around to see Tony Black also approaching her and then stopping by Agatha's side and giving her his own paw as well, and Chloe reluctantly decided to give each of them one of her hands, by giving Tony Black her right hand to shake his paw, and by giving Agatha her left hand to shake her paw, and this made the two big felines growl smoothly and nicely as Chloe continued to shake her hands with their paws, and once she finally stopped shaking their paws, she let go and then she said to Tony Black "That's nice to meet your friends, Tony.", and the black tiger gave her a smile before he growled to the other animals to signal them that Chloe managed to get some comfort with them, and this also made Yigal, Gilad and Ezra very happy too, and then they decided to throw Chloe a birthday party, and when Chloe asked when it's going to happen and where, Yigal said to her that he, his brothers and their animals have all already thought about a place where they can celebrate Chloe's birthday, and so they took Chloe with them out of their huge house and they took her with them to the place where they're going to celebrate her birthday with her.


	13. Chapter 12:Chloe's birthday (part 2)

Twilight and Rainbow Dash continued to search for Chloe, but they still couldn't find any traces of her and they still don't know to where did she went either, and this started to make the two mares worried, and then Twilight said "I hope she's alright. We just need to search everywhere until we find her.", and then Rainbow Dash said "I hope so. I wonder where is she right now.", and they continued to search for Chloe everywhere.

Meanwhile, Chloe is walking with Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals into the place where they're going to celebrate Chloe's birthday, and while walking with them all, Chloe asked "When do we get to that place you talked about?", and Yigal said to her "Don't worry about this. We're going to get there really soon. Trust me, girl.", and then Gilad said with a rather angry face "Maybe you shouldn't talk until we get there, you annoying little girl?!", but then Ezra said to him "Don't be too harsh on her, Gilad. She's just a 9 years-old girl, and she just asked when do we all get there.", and then Gilad said "Fine.", but his face still looked a bit angry though as they all continued to walk towards the exact place where they're going to celebrate Chloe's birthday.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Rainbow Dash still searched for Chloe, but they still couldn't find her anywhere, and then Rainbow Dash said while being extremely worried "Where she could be? I feel like something bad have happened to her.", and then Twilight said "Don't worry. I'm sure she's okay somewhere, and I hope we'll find her before everypony runs out of patience.", and the two mares continued to search everywhere for Chloe in hopes they'll eventually find her.

Meanwhile, Chloe still followed Yigal and his brothers as well as their animals, and after walking with them and following them for a while, they all finally reached the exact place where they'll celebrate Chloe's birthday. The place they all reached to looked like if there's nothing but grass, but Yigal said that this is exactly the right place he, his brothers and their animals have thought about, and then he told Chloe to go there and check while they'll just stay behind and watch her. However, what Chloe didn't know is that this place is not a place where she can celebrate her birthday - the truth is that the place is actually nothing more than a trap.

However, soon enough, Chloe suddenly began to hear some twigs snapping right below her feet, and then suddenly the sounds got bigger as the entire ground below her began to snap and break apart, because it's actually made out of twigs and branches, and Chloe fell down screaming as a huge hole began to form on the ground, thus uncovering the trap.

Chloe ended up landing on the bottom of the huge hole, and then she looked up and cried out for help "Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, help me!", and so the three adult human males and their six special animals all came and they all stopped at the edge of the hole and they all looked down at her. When Chloe looked up at them, she cried to them all "Please, get me out of here!", but then Yigal and his brothers all laughed evilly at her while their animals all gave her evil smirks, before Yigal called to her "Goodbye, Chloe! It was been so nice to meet you, but unfortunately, you're useless and you're not worth apto any of us!", and then Gilad added "There's no way we can use you to fight those stupid and pathetic ponies and take over their world!", and then Ezra added "Three adult males like us don't need a stupid 9 years-old girl like you to help us destroy those disgusting ponies who hates us the most!".

However, when Chloe heard what the three adult human males just said to her, she asked them "What do you three mean?", and then Yigal explained "We tried to destroy ponykind and take over their beautiful world so we humans can rule over those filthy animals who call themselves good creatures, and our special animals, which none of them were ponies, will all help us to succeed in our revenge against ponly kind!", and then he laughed evilly, those revealing to Chloe that he and his brothers were the three adult human males who caused troubles to Equestria and threatened ponykind and other creatures alike.

"I should've known I shouldn't trust you three and your animals in the first place! You didn't tried to help me celebrate my birthday, you all led me to a trap!" Chloe cried as she looked up at Yigal, his brothers and their animals in anger, and then they all just laughed at her and then Gilad said to her "Exactly, you stupid little girl! Did you really thought that we're your friends?! You're absolutely dead wrong!", and then Ezra added "There's no way even children like you can trust us! Even if you're a human too, that still doesn't mean we don't dumb the useless behind!", and then Yigal called to her "You'll stay there and never come out of that hole ever again, little girl! Goodbye!", and then he and his brothers all laughed evilly as they turned and walked away from the hole, and their animals followed close behind them, thus leaving Chloe trapped in the hole all alone.

Chloe cried for help, but no one answered and no one came to find her and get her out of the hole, and this made Chloe very sad as she started to cry as she thought she's going to stay inside the huge hole for the rest of her life. "I guess I won't be celebrating my brithday after all, just like in all the other previous years! I should've known I shouldn't trust that Yigal and his brothers as well as their vicious animals! Now I'm trapped in a huge hole with no way out! I guess that for me everything's over, and this time, for good!" Chloe cried as she thought that she'll end up dying in the huge hole without being found and rescued.

However, just then, a voice called out her and so she looked up and saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash looking down at her before they both descended into the bottom of the huge hole, and once they reached the bottom, they approached Chloe, but she wasn't very happy to see them, and so she made a sour face at the two mares before she turned her head away from them.

"Chloe, Rainbow Dash and I We're been looking for you everywhere! What are you doing here at the bottom of this huge hole?", Twilight asked, but the human girl said to them "Just leave me alone, you two! I don't trust you two! In fact, I don't trust anyone from now on!", and then she started to cry again. Then, Rainbow Dash approached closer to her and asked her "What's wrong, Chloe?", and then she added "Don't you want to come with us so we can celebrate your birthday party?", but then Chloe turned to her with anger rising in her and then she said to the Pegasus mare "Or maybe to lead me into another trap like Yigal and his brothers as well as their evil animals did!", and then she added "I'm not going anywhere with anyone! I'm staying here!" and then she sat down while still looking away from her and from Twilight, showing them that she believes that she'll fall into the same trick twice if she trusts them.

However, Twilight said "You're coming with us, Chloe. We'll show you that you can trust us. We'll show you a real birthday party!", and then she used her magic to levitate Chloe, and then she place her down on her back, before she and Rainbow Dash took off while taking her with them, and so the three flew together back to the royal castle.

Once the three arrived back at the royal castle, Twilight and Rainbow Dash took Chloe with them to the place where everypony were all still waiting for Chloe to come, and once she entered the giant room along with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, everypony called to her happily "Happy birthday, Chloe!", and this made Chloe confused and then she suddenly asked "Why? Why did you all did all this for me? Is this some kind of a joke?", but then Celestia approached her and said to her "No, it's not, my dear daughter. This is real, and this is all for you! This is your birthday party you always wanted and always dreamed of!", and then she added and explained "The reason that my dear and beloved subjects and I told and/or wrote for you and we have no time to be with you it's because we wanted the birthday party to be kept a secret until we finish, and we also wanted to keep it a surprise for you!", and this shocked Chloe when she realized that everypony really cared about her and wanted to celebrate her brithday for her, and so she finally gave a happy smile to everypony in return for throwing her her birthday party.

Then, Chloe said to everypony "Thank you all, my friends! I should've known I can trust all of you all along! Now I'm so happy to finally celebrate my ninth birthday!", but then she suddenly realized something and then she asked "But wait a minute, where's Aylene?", and then Celestia asked her "Who?", and Chloe answered "Aylene is my friend, and she's Pegasus filly who is around my own age.", and then Luna asked her "How did you met her?", and Chloe explained "I saved her from some three bad colts who wanted to still her precious doll away from her, and that's how we became friends in the first place.", and then she added "That's too bad she haven't managed to go to my brithday party, because I've invited her to the royal castle to celebrate my birthday party with me and with all of you as well!".

Then, suddenly a familiar voice was suddenly heard and it said Chloe's name as a turquoise Pegasus filly with red mane and tail, magenta eyes and five flowers on her flank for a cutie mark came through the doors and approached Chloe as well as everypony else, and then she asked "Who said I won't be coming to your birthday party, Chloe?", and this made Chloe smile as she ran to Aylene and then she hugged her tightly and said to her "Oh, Aylene! I'm so happy you came to my brithday party after all! I thought your mother would stop you!", and then Aylene said to her in front of everypony "Stop me? Oh no, she won't! She don't even know I went to the royal castle to celebrate your birthday!", and when Chloe let go of her, she said to her Pegasus filly friend "Thank you so much for coming here, my friend!", and then everypony started to celebrate Chloe's birthday.

During the birthday party, Twilight introduced Chloe to her dragon assistant, Spike, and he explained to her that he's a good dragon who is extremely kind and friendly to ponies and other creatures alike, including other dragons, despite dragons are usually harmful and mean bullies and they always like to torment and humiliate, and that he's one of the only dragons in all of Equestria to be good, friendly and kind to his friends and surroundings.

Once the birthday party was over, everypony said goodbye to Chloe and they all went back to their homes, and Chloe also said goodbye to Aylene, who went back to her own home and hoped that her mother won't catch her on the way, and then Celestia and Luna took Chloe with them back to her bedroom, used their magic to place her down on her bed, and then they covered her body with the blanket, and then Celestia kissed the human girl on the forehead, before the two Alicorn princesses turned away and left the bedroom, and then they closed the doors behind them, thus allowing Chloe to finally fall asleep peacefully and quietly.


	14. Chapter 13:Chloe at the Crystal Empire

One month have passed since Chloe celebrated her ninth birthday, and it was also nine months since she accidentally arrived in Equestria, but now she feels great to live with the ponies who adopted her, and she also decided to call Luna and the mane seven as her aunties, just like she calls Celestia her mother.

However, one day, Princess Celestia received a letter from her niece, Princess Cadance, and from her nephew-in-law, Shining Armor, and it turned out that they want her, Luna or the mane seven to bring and show them Chloe, because of what they've heard about her that she's a good human, and so Celestia went to find Luna so she can tell her about this, and then the two went out of the royal castle and to the Castle of Friendship to tell the mane seven about this too.

After the mane seven being told of Cadance and Shining Armor wanting to see Chloe, they went with Celestia and Luna back to royal castle to wake Chloe up so they can tell her the news and show her the letter from Cadance and Shining Armor so she can read it too before they'll take her to the Crystal Empire to see them.

Then, Celestia used her magic to give Chloe the letter and then Chloe began to read what's being written.

 _Dear Princess Celestia,_

 _My husband, Shining Armor and I have heard about the human girl you adopted as your own daughter just nine months ago, and we'd like to accept her as a friend and as an ally so the crystal ponies can all see and learn the truth about humans that not all of them are cruel and heartless as we all once thought they were._

 _We'd also like to show her our baby daughter, Flurry Heart, to see how they'll get along with each other, and maybe in the future we'll give her the responsibility to sit for her while we're doing our royal duties. We hope she gets here to the Crystal Empire very soon so we can meet her fir the first time._

 _Yours truly, from your fellow princess and beloved niece,_

 _Princess Cadance._

When Chloe finished reading the letter, she asked everypony who are Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, and Twilight answered "Cadance is my sister-in-law, and Shining Armor is my older brother, and both of them are the rulers of the Crystal Empire, and their daughter, Flurry Heart, is my little niece I love to sit for the most, but since I got too busy at the School of Friendship lately, I had no time to sit for Flurry Heart while her parents were doing their royal duties.", and then Celestia added "You're going to meet Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, and my seven beloved subjects are going to take you with them to the Crystal Empire to see them, and I'm sure they'll like to meet you and see how good you are, especially because they've never met good humans before, and they both want to know what you're really like, Chloe.".

When Chloe heard that she's going to the Crystal Empire, the human girl said "Oh, I'd like to go with you to the Crystal Empire!", and then Twilight asked her "You're very excited to meet my sister-in-law, my older brother and my little niece, aren't you?", and then Rainbow Dash added "Don't worry, Chloe. I'm pretty sure they'll like you when they see you're indeed a good human.", and then Luna said to Twilight and to her friends "Now take Chloe with you to the Crystal Empire, our seven beloved subjects!", and then Celestia added "Luna's right, Cadance and Shining Armor were both so excited and they're waiting to meet Chloe and see what she's really like!", and then the mane seven took Chloe with them to the Crystal Empire.

Chloe and the mane seven first went to the Castle of Friendship to pick up Spike, and then they all went to the train station, bought tickets to get a ride on the train, and then they all got inside the train before it started to travel towards the Crystal Empire. On the way to the Crystal Empire, Chloe said that she's excited to meet Cadance and Shining Armor and she added that she hopes that they'll like her and accept her as a friend and as an ally of theirs, but Twilight said to her that there's nothing to worry about and that Cadance and Shining Armor always wanted to see the good side of humanity and understand that not all humans are cruel, heartless and evil, and that there are also good humans.

Once the train stopped at last, Chloe and the mane eight all finally arrived at the Crystal Empire. There, the crystal ponies all gathered around Spike (because of him being Spike the brave and glorious), but also around Chloe as well, as they're all willing to see how good she really is, and when Chloe explained to them all about her cruel past she have been through before she accidentally arrived in Equestria , the crystal ponies decided to accept Chloe as a friend and as an ally because of realizing that she's indeed a good human who suffered and got hurt and wounded who just wanted to make new friends, before the crystal ponies stepped aback from Chloe and from Spike to allow them and their friends to go the Crystal Palace to see Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.

Upon arriving at the Crystal Palace, they're all allowed to go inside because they're being told to as said in the letter being written by Cadance, and once they're all inside they finally met Princess Cadance, and Twilight once again did with her their special chant and hoof-shake they used to do when they're very young.

Then, Cadance noticed Chloe with Twilight's friends, and so she started to approach the human girl, and once she stopped in front of her, Cadance asked her "So, you're the good human girl I've heard of that accidentally arrived in our world nine months ago? This means that my aunt Celestia have adopted you as her daughter?", and Chloe answered "Well, yes. By the way, It's so nice to meet you too.", and then she introduced herself and added "I'm Chloe. Chloe Williams. I'm just 9 years-old.", and then she asked her "And you are Princess Cadance?", and Cadance answered "Yes, Chloe. Shining Armor is my husband, and Flurry Heart is our daughter, and I'm sure they'll like to meet you too, Chloe.", and Chloe hoped that she'll get accepted by Shining Armor too so she can gain the trust of all the crystal ponies whom are living in the Crystal Empire.

Then, suddenly, a white Unicorn stallion with blue mane, tail, hooves and eyes with a blue shield with a magenta sparkle and three bluish stars above it appeared and he approached towards Cadance, the mane eight and Chloe, and then he cleaned his throat before he asked "Am I interrupting something?", and then Cadance turned to Chloe and then she pointed at the Unicorn stallion and said "Chloe, I want you to meet my husband, Shining Armor.", and then Chloe approached him and when she stopped in front of him, she stretched her arm and hand to him and she said as she introduced herself "Hi, Shining Armor, That's nice to meet you.", and then she added "My name is Chloe, and I'm the human girl who accidentally arrived in Equestria just nine months ago, and Celestia also adopted me as her daughter. Now come and shake my hand with your hoof, if you like to of course.", but then Shining Armor looked at her in confusion and then he asked the human girl "What are you doing?", and then Chloe explained "I'm just showing you my hand so you can shake it with your hoof.", and then she added "Humans back in my world always shake each other's hands when they start forming trusting bonds between each other.", but then Shining Armor just ignored her and went past her and then he said backly "That's a bit interesting.", though he was completely uninterested in accepting Chloe as a friend.

Then he went towards Cadance and the mane eight, and when Chloe turned back to look at them, Cadance said to her "My husband and I we're going to be busy with our royal duties, so you can go and help Twilight and her friends to sit for our daughter, Flurry Heart, if you like to.", and then Shining Armor added "I hope you'll succeed, little human." as he looked at Chloe, but with a rather mischievous face, which caused Chloe to have some suspensions about him, before Shining Armor and Cadance turned to go, and then Twilight and her friends took Chloe with them to see Flurry Heart.

When Twilight and her friends showed Flurry Hear to Chloe, she looked at the baby Alicorn and saw she's the most beautiful baby filly in all of Equestria, and she also shows that she seems to be more powerful and maybe even more mature in her behavior compared to other baby foals and fillies around her own age, and when Flurry Heart showed her magic to Chloe, her horn started to glow in a yellow aura, and she started to levitate Chloe up into the air, before the Alicorn filly took off too and then she started to fly around Chloe in circles, until she stops right in front her, and then she got closer and then she hugged and nuzzled Chloe on the chest, thus impressing Chloe, and then she said to Twilight "Flurry Heart seems to be way more interested in making friends with me than her father.", and then Twilight said to her "Flurry Heart was also my niece and she's mostly nice, friendly and kind, and she likes to show and share her love with all kinds of creatures, in comparison to my friend Fluttershy, who mostly loves and cares about animals.".

Then, Chloe looked back at Flurry Heart and then she began to gently stroke her mane, before the baby Alicorn finally let go of her and then she went back down to the floor and stood on her hooves while still looking up at her. This is the first time Chloe have ever befriended a baby that was much younger than her, and in her case, the baby actually liked her from the first moments.

Then, Chloe said to Twilight "Your baby niece, she seems to be nice to me too, isn't she? I mean, she's so young and she's just a baby, but she still seems to have love for others, even if they're not around her own age.", and then Twilight said to her "Flurry heart likes you, and I think it's because you're new here at the Crystal Empire, and that you seemed to her to be far more different than those three adult human males who caused troubles to us and to our world.", and then Chloe asked "Oh, you mean Yigal, Gilad and Ezra?", and then she added and explained "They are the three adult human males who caused troubles to your world, and not to mention that they have six special animals who all obey them the most, and they all tricked me on my birthday by leading me into a trap, before you showed up after they all just left me alone at the bottom of the hole.".

Then, Rainbow Dash said to her "I really wondered how did you ended up at the bottom of that huge hole in the first place, but now I truly understand everything. Thank you for telling all of us about this, Chloe.", and then Chloe said back to her "I'm happy to tell you all, but I still must warn you about the leader of those six animals Yigal and his two older brothers have.", and then she explained "Tony Black is a pure black bengal tiger who is the leader among the six animals Yigal and his brothers have, and he's loyal especially to Yigal who he loves the most.".

"So Yigal is the leader out of the three, darling?" Rarity asked Chloe, and she answered "No, but he's actually the youngest of the three, with Gilad being the middle brother, and Ezra is the oldest brother, so I think Ezra is the leader among them due to him being the oldest, even though he appears to be something like 46 years-old, while his younger brothers appear to be 43 with Gilad and 40 with Yigal.".

However, suddenly, Shining Armor approached Chloe from behind her back and then he poked at her with his horn, causing her to cry in pain as she turned around a faced him, and then she asked him "What did you did that for?", and then he said to her "Are you trying to mess up with my sister and with her friends by telling them nonsense and in front of my daughter?!", but Chloe said "Nothing is nonsense, I just told your sister and her friends about the names of the three adult human males who caused troubles to your kind and to your world!", and then she added "Their names are Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and they have a group of six different animals which are led by a pure black bengal tiger named Tony Black!".

However, Shining Armor said angrily "I don't want to hear that, human girl!" and then he picked up Flurry Heart in his hooves and then he said to the mane eight "Come on, Twili! And bring your friends along! Let's go!", and the mane eight decided to follow him, thus leaving Chloe alone as she was bewildered, confused and wounded by Shining Armor's cruel behavior.

Later, when night fell, Chloe went to the throne room to talk to Cadance anout Shining Armor's cruel behavior he had against her since she arrived at the Crystal Empire, and when Chloe met up with Cadance, the Alicorn mare asked her "Oh, Hi again, Chloe. What's troubling you?", and then she tried to say "Cadance, your husband behaves cruelly towards me! You gotta help me!", but then she's interrupted by Shining Armor who cleaned his throat before he approached them, and then he said to Cadance "Can I speak to you for a moment, my dear?", and Cadance said to Chloe "I'd better go with him and see what he wants.", and en she went with Shining Armor into another room, where the two started talking with each other, and Chloe heard everything from a distant and so she went closer towards the door to have a peak at them to see what's going on.

When Chloe peaked through the door, she saw Shining Armor and Cadance talking to each other, and then she heard Shining Armor saying "Look, we need to talk.", and Cadance said to him "I'm here to talk.", and then Shining Armor said "It's about the human girl, okay?", and Cadance said to him "I- look, look, she's okay-" but then Shining Armor said to her "Just listen to me, alright?", and then Cadance said "Okay, fine then, I'm listening.", and then Shining Armor explained "I thought I made it clear I didn't wanted that human girl to be in the palace.", and then Cadance said to him "Look, I allowed her to come here because she's a good human.", and then Shining Armor asked her "And?", and then Cadance said to him "And I think she would make a good foal-sitter to our daughter, Flurry Heart.".

However, Shining Armor said to her "Are you trying to put our little daughter in danger by giving her to the malicious hands of a filthy human?!", and then Cadance said to him "Chloe is not a bad human! She's really nice!", but then suddenly she started to feel a sudden headache and so she held one of her front hooves to support her head as she felt the sharo pain from the headache attacking her mind, but then Shining Armor said to her "Oh, my dear. Are you getting a headache?", and then he started to use his magic and his horn began to glow and light up in a red aura and then he started to cast the spell around Cadance's head to ease her headache, but this also caused her eyes roll briefly as they turned red, and once Shining Armor finished casting the spell to apparently heal Cadance, he asked her "Feeling better?", and Cadance nodded as her eyes were still red, and this showed Chloe, who watched everything by peaking through the door that Shining Armor is casting a spell to brainwash Cadance, and then the human girl said as she witnessed everything "He isn't just racism and cruel. He's downright evil!", and then she turned around and fled from the throne room.

When Cadance finally shook off Shining Armor's spell from herself, she got out of the room and saw Chloe running away, and so she called for her, but Chloe didn't listened and she kept running away, before Shining Armor came out of the room too, but he looked at the fleeing Chloe with a scowl, before he turned his scowl into a fake smile when he turned to Cadance and then he said to her "Let her go.", before he started to nuzzle her, and Cadance said "Huh. It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me.".

The next day, everypony at the Crystal Empire listened to Shining Armor and to his demanding orders and attitude, and nopony even noticed or realized this, except for Chloe (who was been suspicious of his behavior from the start). However, when Cadance and the mane eight all realized that they haven't seen Chloe the whole day, Cadance asked "Where's Chloe?", and then Twilight said "We haven't seen her the whole day.", but then suddenly Chloe burst through the doors and then she said "I'm here! I'm not going to listen to your husband or to his demanding orders and attitude! By the way, I'm not going to stand close to him either! I suggest you should all do the same!", and Cadance looked nervously while the mane eight looked in shock, and Shining Armor (who was been with Cadance and with the mane eight most of the time) looked at Chloe with a disappointed face.

Then, Cadance turned to Shining Armor and then she said to him "I'm sorry, Shining Armor. I don't know why she's acting like this.", but then he said rudely "Maybe we should just ignore her or else she'll drive me into a nervous breakdown!", and then Chloe snapped and called "You all have to listen to me!", and then she's asked by the mane eight to tell what's wrong, but she only came forward and past them and she approached towards Cadance and Shining Armor and then she said "I have something to say about your husband, Cadance!", and then she pointed at Shining Armor accusingly and then she angrily said "He's evil!", and this caused everypony (except for Shining Armor) to gasp in shock and surprise to hear what Chloe just said.

Then, Chloe said as she approached and stalked Shining Armor in front of everypony "He's been horrible to me and ignored me! He's obviously racism to all humans! And if that wasn't enough, I saw him last night casting a spell on Cadance that made her eyes go all-!", and then she briefly rolled her eyes in the same way Cadance did when Shining Armor brainwashed her briefly, and then she approached Shining Armor very close and she looked at him in the eyes.

However, Shining Armor couldn't explain anything in front of everypony, and so he lit up his horn in a red aura once again, and this time she blasted at Chloe and he shouted angrily "ENOUGH!", causing her fly away a distance and land on the floor, and then he approached Chloe with an angry face and then he said to her "You shall be punished for threatening me like this, you filthy human girl!", but this only caused tears of anger form and roll down her eyes as she looked up at the face of the Unicorn stallion, and then she slowly got back up on her feet, and then she slapped him across the face before she cried "I've never received such disrespect from a cruel stallion with a bad attitude like you!" and then she added "I hate you and I don't want to see you ever again! You're the most heartless stallion I've ever known!", and then she turned around and ran away from the Crystal Palace in tears as everypony watched her leaving from a distance.

Then, the mane eight went after Chloe in hopes to calm her down and comfort her, and Cadance was about to do the same, but first she looked at Shining Armor one last time before she angrily said to him "I'm going to make sure that Chloe doesn't twists an ankle or breaks a foot out there, and then you and I we're going to have a serious talk!", and then she turned to go and she took off and flied out of the Crystal Palace after the mane eight to help them search for Chloe, but Shining Armor just stood and remained behind with a scowl on his face, before he said "I'm going to find that human girl and punish her for nearly exposing who I really am!", and then he gave out an evil smirk, before he used his magic to teleport himself out and away of the Crystal Palace in an attempt to search for Chloe.

Meanwhile, Chloe managed to run away from the Crystal Empire, and Cadance and the mane eight lost sight of her and they had no choice but to search for her outside the Crystal Empire. Chloe ended up reaching and entering the Everfree Forest once again, and there she walked aimlessly before she finally stopped dead in her tracks and sat down below a tree, before she covered her face in her hands and she began to cry again.

While crying all alone below the tree in the Everfree Forest, Chloe said as she continued to cry "Mommy (Celestia) and Auntie Luna must hear about how that cruel and heartless Shining Armor have treated me! He's a dumb racism stallion who hates humans, even if they're good like me! He looks handsome on the outside, but he's pure evil on the inside! I'm not going to the Crystal Empire to meet him or his wife and daughter ever again!", and then she buried her face in her knees and cried out her very soul, but she didn't heard some hoofsteps which started getting louder as the pony who made their sounds got closer and closer, and when the hoofsteps finally stopped, Chloe suddenly felt something stroking her head, and when she looked up to see who's touching her, she saw to her surprise that it was Shining Armor who is gently stroking her head with his front right hoof, and when she looked at him a bit closer, she saw that he's actually smiling kindly while looking down at her.

Chloe asked herself on the inside of her mind if she should actually apologize to Shining Armor for insulting him before she ran away, and then she made it up in her mind and she let it out and said to Shining Armor "I'm sorry. I'm taking back everything bad I said on you. Please, forgive me.".

However, shortly after Chloe apologized to Shining Armor, she looked a bit more closer at him, and then something scary happened right in front of eyes - Shining Armor's eyes suddenly turned malevolently red, and when they turned back to their normal blue color, Shining Armor's face became cruel and heartless, and then he looked at Chloe with an angry and evil face and he said to her "You will be!", and then his horn lit up in a red aura once again, and Chloe looked in shock and horror as she couldn't believe Shining Armor would threaten her even after she apologized for insulting him.

Then, red magic flames started to surround Chloe and when she looked at the magic flames that began to surround her, her face immediately became terrified, and she cowered in fear and trembled and shook in terror as the magic flames began to engulf her until they soon turned into a red magic ball of flames which surrounded Chloe, and when Shining Armor finished casting his spell on Chloe, his eyes turned malevolently red once more as he looked at her while giving her an evil smile, before his eyes turned back to be blue and normal, and then the red magic ball of flames that engulfed and surrounded Chloe started to sink into the ground while taking Chloe with it, and Shining Armor turned to go, but then he stopped and looked at the disappearing red magic ball of flames and at Chloe (who is trapped inside it) one last time, before he turned and walked away with a sinister smile on his face as he also let out an evil smirk, and once Chloe and the red magic ball of flames were completely gone and can no longer be seen, Shining Armor used his magic to teleport himself back to the Crystal Empire.


	15. Chapter 14:fight at the Crystal Empire

Underground, Chloe cowered in the drakness and she called "Hello?" and her calls echoed, revealing to her that she's in an underground cave, and when she began to walk aimlessly in the dark underground cave, she called "Is anyone there?", but then she bumped against a rocky wall, but then she heard an evil laugh that can be heard from something like a mile away, and this made Chloe cower some more before she asked "Where am I?".

However, just then, an image of Shining Armor suddenly appeared on her left out of nowhere and then he said "The caves beneath the Crystal Empire. Once home for cruel and heartless ponies whom are known to hate and misuse friendship for the most.", and then it disappeared and reappeared behind Chloe and then he added "And now - your prison, filthy human girl!", as he looked at her with an evil smile, causing Chloe to turn to see him, and then she ran away from the image and cried "Help! Help! Help me!", but then the image said as it disappeared and reappeared on Chloe's right "It's no use! It's useless! Nopony and no other creature can hear you down here, and no one will ever think to look for you either!".

Then, the image of Shining Armor disappeared and reappeared above Chloe and then he said evilly "Most ponies and most non-ponies have completely forgotten that these caves even exists, which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones trying to interfere with my plans!", and then he burst into an evil laughter as he pointed a hoof down at Chloe, and then she asked him "Plans? what plans?", and he said to her back "The plans I have for your mother, of course, stupid human girl!".

However, this made Chloe clench her hands into fists as she looked up at Shining Armor's image, and then she shouted angrily at him "Don't you dare do anything to my mother, you, you monster!", but the image laughed at her and then he said "The only way you can stop me it's to catch me!", and then he laughed again as he disappeared and reappeared behind Chloe, and then he called for her "Over here, human girl!", and this made Chloe run as fast as she could towards him and she readied her fists so she can punch him in the face as she looked at the image with an angry face, but then the image of Shining Armor disappeared before she can punch him, thus causing her to punch against one of the walls of the cave instead.

Then, the image suddenly appeared below her feet and then he said evilly "No! Over here, human girl!" and then he laughed as Chloe cowered in fear, before he disappeared and reappeared once again in front of her, and this made Chloe to chase after Shining Armor's evil image, but then he disappeared one last and stopped reappearing around Chloe, but his evil laughs are still heard throughout the caves.

Chloe became fully enraged and angered and so she began to punch and kick against one of the cave's walls until it suddenly broke off, and this created a hole and an opening which leads into another part of the cave, but she also saw a bruised, wounded and a bit scared Shining Armor sitting down right in front of her, and this made Chloe look at him with rage and madness burning in her eyes as she clenched her hands into fists once again, and she readied herself to attack the Shining Armor who was sitting down in front of her.

When the bruised, wounded and the bit scared Shining Armor saw Chloe charging at him, he cried "No! Please, wait!", but Chloe ignored what he said and she charged at him and tackled him to the ground, causing defend his face behind his own hooves in an atempt to protect himself and he said "Please, dont hurt me!", but when he looked up at Chloe and saw her face-to-face as she looked down at him with an angry face, Shining Armor said to her "Chloe, it's me! I know you!", and this shocked and confused the human girl to see that the Shining Armor she tackled down actually knows who she is, and then she asked him "Wait, how do you know who I am?".

Then, Shining Armor said to her as he tried to introduce himself "Please, Chloe! Listen to me! I know who you are! I'm the real Shining Armor! I'm been imprisoned like you! The Shining Armor who insulted you and brought you down here was an imposter!", but Chloe didn't believed him and so she said to him back "Likely story!" as she gave him a sour face, believing he's lying to her.

However, Shining Armor slowly got away from Chloe, and then he stood up on his hooves, and then he used his magic and lit his horn in a magenta aura, and when Chloe saw his meganta magic glowing from his horn, she realized he's the real Shining Armor, because when she also looked close into his eyes, she saw that they didn't changed their color into a malevolent red and that instead they're blue and looking friendly and kind, and these clearly proved to her that the Shining Armor she just encountered in the caves is the real Shining Armor, proving that the one who insulted her, had red magic and eyes and brought her down to the caves was an imposter, and this made her smile as she looked at the real Shining Armor, who smiled at her as she realized he's the real one.

Then, Chloe jumped on Shining Armor and she wrapped both of her arms around his neck and she began to hug him and then she said to the Unicorn stallion "You really know me!", and then he sat down on his haunches and he wrapped his front hooves around Chloe and then he said to her "Of course I do! My wife, Cadance, and I wanted to see you after what we heard from ponies who live in Ponyville and in Canterlot about you that you're a good human! This gave me and Cadance the idea of having you as Flurry Heart's foal-sitter while we're doing our royal duties and while Twilight and her friends were all teaching at the School of Friendship!", and then he added "I'll never do you any harm on purpose, and I won't insult you for being a human! I truly like you, just like my wife, Cadance, does! You're indeed a good human and you can be trusted by all of ponykind! Everypony should like you for the most for you being the first good human who arrived in our world!".

However, after Shining Armor said all of these good things to Chloe, the two suddenly heard the imposter's evil laughter echoing through the caves, and when Shining Armor alooked behind Chloe's back, he saw a sparkle of light at the horizon, and then he and Chloe let go of each other and then Shining Armor's face became determined, and when Chloe got to his side, she said to him "We gotta get out of here!", and he nodded as they began to travel together in the caves, and then Chloe added "We have to stop him!" as she and Shining Armor continued to travel as fast as they could inside the caves in an attempt to find their way out.

Meanwhile, the false Shining Armor managed to use his magic to brainwash Cadance to make her forbid Chloe from becoming Flurry Heart's foal-sitter and also to consider her as an enemy for being a human, and the mane eight didn't noticed what he's doing because they're too caught up in their duties and missions he gave them, thus they couldn't and wouldn't be able to see his deception.

Back at the caves, Chloe and the real Shining Armor were both still traveling together throughout the caves in an attempt to find a way out, but when they finally got close to find their way out of the caves, they're suddenly got cornered by three random stallions whom are an Earth pony, a Unicorn and a pegasus, and the three said to them in unison "You're not going anywhere!", as they looked at them both with their eyes glowing red, because the false Shining Armor managed to use his magic to brainwash and control the minds of these three stallions and then he teleported them to the caves to prevent from Chloe and from the real Shining Armor from escaping the caves.

Back at the Crystal Empire, the false Shining Armor, the now brainwashed Cadance, the mane eight and Flurry Heart were in the throne room, with the false Shining Armor talking to the mane eight about that Chloe will never be accepted at the Crystal Empire anymore, and he also added that she's dangerous to Flurry Heart and to all other baby foals, and he also added that he's going to take care of Flurry Heart all by himself.

However, just then, Chloe cried and called "I'm back, my friends!" as she suddenly appeared at the opening of the throne room, and this made the false Shining Armor ask in anger "How dare she comes back here after what I said about humans don't belong at the Crystal Empire?!", but when everypony (except for the still-brainwashed Cadance) turned to him, he tried to fake a cry and he showed fake tears in his eyes as he said on Chloe yet another insult "How dare she comes back here to steal my precious daughter?!", and then he let out a fake cry, but then the real Shining Armor said to him "Because, she's not YOUR precious daughter! She's MINE!" and then he appeared at the opening of the throne room and he stood be Chloe's side with a determined face.

Everypony looked shocked as they saw the real Shining Armor standing by Chloe's side, before the imposter asked "What?! but how did you escaped my stallions?!", and then Shining Armor and Chloe looked at each other with smiles on their face, and then a flashback revealed how did they managed to escape the three brainwashed stallions - Shining Armor used his magic to create an illusion of a mare, and then he made the stallions to fall in love with the illusion, and then he sent the mare-shaped illusion away, causing the three stallions to chase after the fake magic-made mare as they all cried in unison "I WANT HER!", and once the stallions were distracted and they're gone, Shining Armor and Chloe were able to escape the caves and come back to the Crystal Empire, thus proving how they both managed to get back to the Crystal Empire in the first place.

Then, the false Shining Armor said to both Chloe and the real Shining Armor "Clever, but you're still not going to have your wife and your daughter!", and then Applejack asked in confusion "I don't understand - how can there be two of them?", and then the real Shining Armor explained "His name is Lysander, the shape-shifting crocodile!" and then he added "He hates humans and he even hates ponies and non-ponies, and he used his magical abilities to impersonate me and insult, taunt and abuse Chloe for being a human!", and this made the imposter growl in anger as his eyes turned red and his horn began to glow in a malevolently red magic aura, and then he began to engulf himself in his own magic, thus slowly dropping his disguise and showing to Chloe, Shining Armor and to everypony his true form, before he let out an evil laugh and then he said to Shining Armor after he transformed back to his true form "Right you are, captain of the royal guards!".

Then, Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile said with an evil smile on his face "And as the king of my crocodile float, it's up to me to find food for my family!", and then said as he slowly approached Chloe and Shining Armor "Humans are the most hated creatures I've ever met and ever known! My crocodile float will be able to DEVOUR that little human girl, and they'll receive a good meal for a while that they've ever dreamed of! That human girl is probably as tasty and as fresh as all young animals and other creatures my float and I always used to eat!", but Shining Armor stood in front of Chloe to defend and protect her as he loked at Lysander in the eyes and then he said back to him "I'll never let you eat Chloe, you heartless beast! Neither Cadance will let you do this!", but the evil shape-shifting crocodile laughed evilly and then he said "I completely doubt it!" and then he turned to the still-brainwashed Cadance and then he said to her as he used his magic from inside his mind which caused his forehead to glow in a red light "Isn't that right, my dear?", and Cadance nodded as she was now under Lysander's total control, thus shocking Chloe, Shining Armor and the mane eight.

Then, Lysander said to Cadance "Now, Cadance, make yourself useful to me.", and then he added "Blast Shining Armor and eliminate that little human girl! NOW!", and Cadance said as she was brainwashed by Lysander's magic "As you wish, my king.", and then she took off into the air and then she began to blast at Shining Armor, who had no choice but fight his own wife to protect Chloe from her, but after a short fight with Shining Armor, Cadance came out the winner as she managed to blast Shining Armor and knock him aside, thus allowing her to eliminate Chloe.

Then, Cadance descended back to floor and then she slowly began to approach Chloe while looking at her with a brainwashed face, and then she began to attack and harm Chloe on behalf of Lysander, and after slapping and kicking at Chloe for about a minute, she managed to knock Chloe down, and then she tried to use her magic to blast at Chloe and eliminate her, but then Shining Armor jumped on her and knocked her away from Chloe, thus allowing Twilight and Rainbow Dash to get her away from the fight.

Then, Shining Armor managed to get her right onto her back, and then he cried to her "Cadance, please! Snap out of it! You're not supposed to do this!", but she angrily cried "Shining Armor! Be gone!", and then she tried to blast at him with her magic to eliminate him, but then Flurry Heart was heard screaming "MAMA STOP!" and then she managed to get to her parents to help Shining Armor get Cadance out of Lysander's magic control, and then she began to hug Cadance around her neck, causing Cadance to not blast at Shining Armor as she slowly looked at her daughter, who hugged her and showed tears rolling down her eyes as she begged her mother to snap out of Lysander's magic.

Then, Flurry Heart and Shining Armor used their magic together to help Cadance snap out of her brainwashing, and their love to her was strong enough to break Lysander's evil spell off Cadance. Then, Cadance shook her head as she finally snapped out of her brainwashing and then she asked "What happened? Is everypony okay?", and Chloe and everypony smiled before Lysander jumped in front of Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart and then said with an evil smile "It's all okay, Cadance!", and then he laughed evilly at the stallion, mare and their baby filly, before he started to approach them.

Then, Lysander managed to turn with his backside to them and then he wiped them away with his tail, and then he turned to the mane eight and Chloe, and then he began to charge towards them to get the human girl from them, but Spike used his ability to spit fire at Lysander's face to force him to step aback, before the young dragon used his ability to fly up and then he struck down at the evil crocodile's head, causing Lysander to roar in pain as he shook his head before he managed to wipe Spike away with his tail, thus sending him back towards Chloe and the mares, knocking Chloe out of Twilight and Rainbow Dash's hold, and giving Lysander the advantage to finally eat her for lunch.

However, before Lysander could eat Chloe, Cadance swooped down and landed in front of Chloe and she looked at the evil crocodile with an angry face, and then she angrily said to him "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU IMPERSONATING MY HUSBAND AND BRAINWASHING ME JUST SO YOU CAN HAVE CHLOE FOR LUNCH?!", and then she added "YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR DISGUSTING DECEPTION, YOU HORRIBLE SCALY BEAST!" and then she punched Lysander on the side of his head and face, thus knocking one of his teeth right out of his mouth and jaws, causing him to snarl in pain as he shook his head from side to side in an attempt to shake off the pain, but then Cadance scooped Chloe up in her hooves and then she tried to fly up in an attempt to get away with her from Lysander, but he managed to jump up into the air and clamp with his jaws right on Cadance's tail and then tried to pull her back down, but then Twilight used her magic to blast at Lysander's head as she shouted "Get your evil jaws off my sister-in-law!", and then she managed to blast at Lysander's left eye, thus temporarily blinding him and so he let go of Cadance who took and carried Chloe with her to safety.

Then, Cadance put Chloe with Rainbow Dash and the other mares before she joined Twilight in the fight against Lysander, and then she angrily said "And for good measure!" before she blasted with her magic at Lysander's right eye, thus temporarily blinding him completely as right now he couldn't see anything, and then Shining Armor used his magic to blast at Lysander's scaly and thick hide until he began to get through and under the skin, thus almost making it to the flesh and Lysander snarled and roared in pain as he felt the pain poking through his hide, and so had no choice but to run away from the Crystal Palace, but before he left, the evil crocodile said to Chloe and to the ponies "I'll get you all next time and I'll have the human girl for lunch! Just wait and see!", and then he began to crawl and run away from the Crystal Palace and then from the Crystal Empire and all the way back to his float which was living in one of the darkest forests in all of Equestria.

With Lysander gone, Cadance turned to Chloe and she asked her "Are you okay, Chloe?", and the human girl answered "Yes, of course, but look down to your hooves!", and Shining Armor asked her "Why?", and Chloe pointed down to the floor as she saw the crocodile tooth that Lysander have left behind and then she said "Because you must see this!", and then when everypony looked down to their hooves, they all saw the crocodile tooth that Lysander have left behind, and then Shining Armor said "Oh, now I see! That's one of Lysander's teeth, isn't it?", and Twilight added "It's so huge, and sharp!", and then Cadance added "I've never seen a crocodile tooth before!", and the Flurry Heart used her magic to surround the crocodile tooth in a light yellow aura and then she levitated it up into the air and then she slowly moved it towards herself so she can touch it, but she also tried to avoid being stabbed by the sharp tip of the crocodile tooth, because crocodile teeth were big, sharp and extremly dangerous, and after Flurry Heart moved the crocodile tooth in 360 degrees to scan and study it, she moved the crocodile tooth away from herself and then she placed it down at Chloe's feet.

Chloe looked down at the crocodile tooth and then she asked "What are you giving me that for?", and Flurry Heart said while talking just like other baby foals "Dis is 4 yu, kloe! dat's a gift from me! tek it 4 yurself!", and Chloe who barely understood a half of what the baby Alicorn said decided to lower down and take the crocodile tooth as she realized that Flurry heart is giving her the crocodile tooth as a gift, and so Chloe decided to keep the crocodile tooth as one of her first things she just received in Equestria.

Then, Chloe said "Thank you! Thank you all!", and then she said "I've never received such nice and respecting manners from you three, and so I decided to include you too in my family, just as I already did with Celestia being my mother, Luna being my main auntie, and also with Twilight and with her friends too!", and then she added "I'd like to have you, Shining Armor, as my uncle for being nice to me, unlike Lysander who impersonated you, and for helping me escape from the caves with you so we can expose his deception! Thank you, uncle Shining Armor!", and the Unicorn stallion gave a warm smile to her and said "I like being called an uncle by you! You're the nicest human I've ever met!", and then Chloe said to him "Thank you, uncle Shining Armor!".

Then, she turned to Cadance and then she said to her "Thank you for being nice to me too, except for the part when Lysander had brainwashed you! But still thank you for saving me from getting eaten alive by that evil shape-shifting crocodile! Without you, I would be ending up as crocodile food!", and then she added "In return for what you did for me, I'd like to have you, Cadance, as another one of my aunties, just like Twilight and her friends!", and the Alicorn mare gave a warm smile to her and said "Thank you for calling me your new auntie! You're the most nicest human who ever looked up to and loved everypony, including me!", and then Chloe said to her "Thank you, auntie Cadance!".

Then, Chloe turned to Flurry Hear and then she said to her "Thank you for being nice to me too, and also for showing love and respect for me, even if I'm a human! By the way, I'm so happy you even gave me a gift, which is actually Lysander's tooth! I've never had a crocodile tooth before, and it's because my cruel and heartless human family told me that I'll never receive that or anything else as a gift, and they only looked down to me and left me behind to fend for myself!", and then she added "You looked up to me and even showed the respect I truly deserve, and in return I'd like to have you as my cousin for your nice and playful attitude!", and this made the baby Alicorn giggle as she looked up at Chloe, before she flew right onto her and hugged her chest, and Chloe looked down at her and hugged her too and she said to her "Thank you for what you did for me, Flurry Heart, my new cousin!", and this made the baby Alicorn to kiss the human girl on the cheek, before she and Chloe let go of each other and then Flurry Heart flew back to her parents.

Then, Twilight said "It's so nice to see you three bonding with Chloe like this, but I think it's time for us to go back home!", and then Rainbow Dash added "Yeah, that's right!", and then Chloe and the mane eight said goodbye to Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, and then Chloe waved for them before she and the mane eight left the Crystal Palace, and after they all went out of the Crystal Empire and went to the train station, they bought tickets to get on the train back to Canterlot.

Once they're all back in Canterlot, Chloe and the mane eight went back to the royal castle, and at the throne room, Chloe is reunited with her mother and main auntie, Celestia and Luna, and she explained to them about her crazy adventures she had in the Crystal Empire and how she and the mane eight had to fight a new villain known as Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile, who impersonated Shining Armor and tried to have her as his lunch, but thanks to the real Shining Armor, Lysander is defeated and she received one of his teeth as a gift, much to Celestia and Luna's amazement.

When nighttime came, everypony went back to their homes and fell asleep, and so Chloe went back to her bedroom to go to sleep too, and once she's lying down on her bed and with the blanket covering her body, Chloe finally closed her eyes and fell asleep, but inside her mind, she hoped that one day she'll gain in Equestria the one and only thing she's still missing the most - a new father.


	16. Chapter 15:Chloe helps Aylene

A month have passed since Chloe met Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart, but it's also a month since she also met the new villain - Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile, from whom she recieved one of his teeth after he's defeated, though not for good because he managed to escape the Crystal Palace, but now Chloe is happy, though she still needs a father in Equestria.

It was been ten months since Chloe have accidentally arrived in Equestria and it was also been two months since she turned 9 years-old, but now she got her newest allies as her new auntie, uncle and cousin, and she's also very happy to live in Equestria, and with the course of time, most foals at Ponyville Schoolhouse began to like and befriend her, but the filly she loves the most (who also loves her too after she saved her from a trio of bullies) is Aylene, and the two were close friends and their friendship grows stronger with the course of time, but what if Aylene's mother will find out that her daughter is friends with Chloe? Will she accept Chloe as Aylene's best friend or not?

One day, Chloe went out of Ponyville Schoolhouse with all the other foals when the day is over, but on the way back to Canterlot, Chloe spotted and saw Aylene sitting down and crying, and this made Chloe concerned and worried and so she quickly ran towards her friend to see what's wrong with her.

When she finally got close enough to Aylene, Chloe gasped in shock and horror when she saw what happened to her friend - Aylene has lots of injuries and bruises all over her body and on her flank too, and then Aylene turned around to see Chloe, before the turquoise Pegasus filly jumped onto Chloe and hugged her while she cried out her very soul, and then Chloe snapped out of her shocked and horrified state and then she asked Aylene "Aylene, what happened to you? Who did this to you? Where did you got all of those injuries and bruises?", and Aylene cried "I can't tell you! If I'll tell, I'll be punished!" as she still hugged Chloe.

"Please, tell me, Aylene! I promise you I will help! I know how to fight, and if that wasn't enough, I'll just tell mommy Celestia and auntie Luna so they'll come to help you!", and Aylene sniffled as she wiped her tears away from her eyes and then she looked up at Chloe, who gave her a warm and reassuring smile. Then, Aylene took a deep breath and then she began to explain what happned to her and who or what or caused her injuries and bruises on her body.

"My mother, she blamed me on my father's death, and so, she took my doll my father bought me when I was a baby filly away from me, and then she torn it apart in front of my eyes and made me cry, before she began to beat me up as she continued to say that it's all my fault!" Aylene explained as she sniffled and then she started to cry out loud again, but then Chloe hugged her tightly and said to her "It's okay, Aylene. I'll talk to her for you. Now, tell me where you live. Take me to your home.", and then she let go of Aylene to allow her to take and lead her to her home so she can talk to Aylene's mother.

Then, Chloe and Aylene began to walk, with Aylene leading the way to her home so Chloe can talk to her mother about her actions against her daughter. Whn they finally arrived at Aylene's home, Aylene opened the door to allow Chloe and herself go inside, but Aylene's mother wasn't home at the time, so they had no choice but to wait for her to return and then Chloe will talk to her about her actions against Aylene.

When it was afternoon, Aylene's mother finally returned back home, but when she entered and got inside her home, she saw Chloe sitting down on the couch in the living room while she gave her a dark glare, before Chloe got off the couch and then she walked towards the Pegasus mare and then she stopped right in front of her, looking at her face-to-face in the eyes, and this made Aylene's mother ask Chloe "Who are you, little human? What are you doing in my house?", and Chloe gave her an angry look on her face as started to speak up to the Pegasus mare "I know what you did to your daughter! How could you do this to her?! She's just a filly! She don't even deserve that!", and this shocked Aylene's mother as she stepped aback from Chloe a little and then she asked her "Wait, how do you know my duaghter?", and Chloe answered "Because I'm friends with you daughter after I saved her from a trio of bullies!".

Then, Aylene's mother asked Chloe "Very well then, what's your name, little human?", and Chloe answered "Chloe.", and then she added "And your daughter, Aylene, is my best friend!", and this shocked Aylene's mother to know that Chloe is friends with her daughter, and then she asked her "What do you want from me?", and Chloe explained "You blamed your daughter on something she didn't even done on purpose, didn't you?!", and then the Pegasus mare asked her "What do you mean?", and Chloe answered "You torn apart Aylene's doll which was the only thing she had from her father, and you also beaten her all over her body, didn't you?!", but then Aylene's mother said as she stepped aback from Chloe and gave her a fake smile "Listen, I did shouted at her and I blamed her on my husband's death, but I didn't torn apart her doll and/or beaten her all over her body like that!".

However, this made Chloe to shake and tremble in anger as her eyebrows furrowed and she clenched her hands into fists, and then she said angrily as she's about to attack Aylene's mother "Do you think you can fool me with your lies?!", and this made the Pegasus mare step aback from Chloe as she started to shake in fear as she looked at the angry human girl in the eyes, and then Aylene showed up and stood by Chloe's side, much to her mother shock to see that her daughter is indeed friends with Chloe.

Then, Aylene's mother looked in anger at her daughter and then she angrily shouted at her "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU DELIBERATELY DISOBEYING ME AND TELLING ON ME TO THAT FILTHY HUMAN GIRL?! YOU'RE GOING TO BE PUNISHED! RIGHT NOW!", and this made Aylene to tremble in fear as she stepped aback and hid herself behind Chloe, and Chloe understood her and that she's scared of being punished by her mother, and so she said to Aylene's mother "I'm not gonna let you punish Aylene, you big bad mare!", and then she added "If you want to punish your daughter, you have to go through me first!" as she stood proud while looking angrily at the Pegasus mare in the eyes while protecting Aylene behind her back.

However, the Pegasus mare suddenly stepped aback as her anger got suddenly replaced by fear, and then she cowardly said as she didn't wanted to mess up with Chloe because of her being a human "No, thank you!", and then she cowardly turned around and ran away from the house, and at some point she flew up into the air and disappeared into the skies, and then Chloe turned to Aylene and then she said to her "It's okay, Alyene. Your mother is gone, you can calm down.", and when Aylene heard that, she stopped trembling in fear as she looked up at the Aylene, and then she said to her "Thank you, Chloe. Thank you for saving me from further harm.", and then Chloe said to her "No problem, but I suggest you should come with me to the royal castle so I can explain everything to mommy Celestia and auntie Luna about what your mother did to you so their royal guard will go into the inside of your house to investigate and consider what really happened at your house at the time your mother torn your doll apart and beaten you like she already did.".

When Aylene heard what Chloe said, the Pegasus filly said to her "Oh, yes, I want to come with you! I always wanted to see Princess Celestia! I'm the only filly who have never met her before! My mother forbade me to mention her name, and she also forbade from going to the royal castle to meet her and see what she's really like!", and when Chloe heard what she said, she asked Aylene "Why would she forbid you from meeting my mommy, Celestia?", and Aylene answered "Because she told me fake stories about Celestia being evil, cruel, selfish, unkind and heartless, and that she likes to harm and even destroy little fillies when she first meets them!".

"How could your mother speak such nonsense about mommy Celestia?! And especially to a young and innocent filly like you who haven't even met her yet?!", and Aylene answered "It's because my mother hates Celestia so much she even tried to attack her and steal her magic once!", and Chloe asked her "Why?! How?!", and then Aylene explained everything she knows about her mother's fight against Celestia.

"My mother wanted to steal Celestia's magic so she can become the most powerful pony in all of Equestria. That's when she decided to go to Canterlot to invade the royal castle, but she wasn't alone - three adult human males whom are accompanied by six different animals joined her and teamed up with her to help her steal Celestia's magic, but Celestia managed to outfight them all, and then she blasted my mother, those three adult human males and their six animals out of Canterlot and into the Everfree Forest, defeating them.". Aylene explained as she finished telling Chloe the story about how her mother wanted to fight Celestia and steal her magic but failed and got defeated by her.

Then, Chloe asked her "So you're saying that Yigal, Gilad and Ezra actually teamed up with your mother to help her invade Canterlot so they can fight mommy Celestia and steal her magic?", and Aylene answered "Well, yes. I didn't know those three adult human males actually have names. My mother didn't even told me that.", and then Chloe said "Then I suspect your mother might be a friend of Yigal and his brothers, Aylene.", and the Pegasus filly asked her "Are you sure?", and Chloe said "I would be so sure after what you told me about them helping your mother!", and then she added "We must go and tell everything to mommy Celestia, auntie Luna, and auntie Twilight and her friends about all this!", and then she said to Aylene "Let's go!", and then the two left the house together and they went together to the royal castle.

Chloe led the way to allow Aylene follow her all the way to Canterlot, and once they both arrived in Canterlot, Chloe still led the way for Aylene until the two arrived at the entrance of the royal castle, but two royal guards were blocking Chloe and Aylene's path. However, when the two royal guards recognized Chloe, one of them asked as he and his partner also saw Aylene cowering in fear behind her "Oh, Hi, Chloe! It's nice to see you again! Welcome home!", but then he quickly added "But I still must ask you something - who is this little Pegasus filly who is cowering in fear behind you.", and Chloe answered "Don't frighten her! Her name is Aylene, and she my best friend!", and then she added and expalined "I brought her hear so she meet mommy Celestia face-to-face for the first time, because she never met her before due to her mother forbiding her, and she's now injured because of her own mother wounding her and blaming her on her father's death!".

Then, after hearing what Chloe said about Aylene, the two royal guards looked at each other for a moment, and then they turned back to the human girl and Pegasus filly and then the other royal guard said "You both can go inside! Celestia would like to understand your friend, and I think she might even help her!", and then they moved to the sides to allow both Chloe and Aylene to go inside the royal castle, and then Chloe said to them "Thank you two so much!", and then she told Aylene to follow her behind so she can meet Celestia for herself and maybe even talk to her and explain to her about herself and her life story.

Then, Aylene confessed to Chloe as the two are getting closer and closer to the doors which are leading right to the throne room "I'm sorry, I have to admit.", and Chloe asked her "Excuse me? admit about what?", and Aylene took a deep breath before she said "I did saw Princess Celestia before, but only once - when we all celebrated your ninth birthday, Chloe.", but Chloe smiled down at her and then she said "It's okay, because I know you did saw her just this once, but the real reason which I believe I know why you're scared it's because you believe she'll hurt you purposely just like your mother told you she will. Isn't it the real reason to your fear?", and Aylene nodded and then she said "Yes, I'm afraid she might use her magic to blast me off and eliminate me when I'll try to talk to her.", but then Chloe placed her hand on Aylene's back and then she said to her "It's alright, you'll see how good Celestia really is when we first enter the throne room. Is that fine?", and Aylene nodded as she continued to follow Chloe until they finally reached the doors which led to the throne room, and then Chloe opened the doors to allow Aylene and herself go right into the throne room to meet Celestia and Luna.

When Chloe and Aylene entered the throne room, they met Celestia and Luna, who sat on their thrones, before Celestia got up on her hooves and then she descended down from her throne and towards Chloe and Aylene to greet them both, and when Celestia got close enough, she stopped in front of Chloe and then she said to her "Welcome home, Chloe.", and then Chloe threw herself at Celestia and hugged her chest, thus leaving Celestia to hug her back by wrapping both of her wings around the human girl and then she placed both of her front hooves around her to give her a tight embrace, but then they broke off their loving embrace when Celestia saw Aylene watching them from a distance.

Then, Celestia approached Aylene and then she asked her "Hi, there young filly! What's your name?", and Aylene answered as she was still a little bit scared of Celestia's presence and appearance "M-my name is Aylene, and I'm friends with Chloe.", and then Celestia said to her "Yes. I do know you. Your father told me so much good things about you.", but then Aylene said as tears began to form and roll down her eyes "My father...he's gone!", and then she went down onto her haunches and then she covered her face in her hooves and then she started to cry.

This shocked Celestia to hear that Aylene's father had died, and then she turned to Chloe and asked her if she's telling the truth, and Chloe said "Yes, he died, a long time ago.", and then she added "Look at her, mommy. She's wounded! She needs our help to heal those injuries and bruises she just received!", and when Celestia turned to look back at Aylene and looked closer at her, she saw all the injuries and bruises that she received from her mother, and this made the Alicorn princess gasp in shock and horror to see her like this.

"Who did this to her?" Celestia asked Chloe, and she answered "Her own mother did this to her on purpose. She even said that Aylene's father's death is all Aylene's fault, and that's why she not only beaten her up like this, but she also torn apart the doll she received from her father before he died, which was the only thing she had to remember her father.", and when Celestia gasped in shock and turned back to look at Aylene, she saw the wounded Pegasus filly looking up at her and she nodding in agreement with everything Chloe have said about her father's death and about her mother's cruel behavior.

"How could she beat up her own daughter like she did?! She's barbaric and outrageous! How could she even blame her own daughter on her father's death despite she done nothing bad to him but instead loved him the most?! Aylene's mother must be imprisoned for such cruel behavior against her own daughter! I can't and I won't accept or let a mare like her who commits foal cruelty on her own daughter walk and roam freely! I'll send my royal guards to investigate Aylene's home!" Celestia said as anger began to grow in her eyes, and Chloe said to her "That's an excellent idea of sending the royal guards to investigate Aylene's home, but there's one problem left for us to solve.", and then she asked "Where will Aylene live after her mother will be imprisoned?", and Celestia answered "She'll live here in the royal castle with me, with Luna and with you, Chloe.", and then she added "I can see clearly that you're carrying for her and worrying about her because of her being your best friend, so I'm doing her a favor which is allowing her to stay and live in the royal castle for as long as her mother is in imprisonment.".

When Chloe and Aylene heard what Celestia just said, and Chloe turned to Aylene and then she said to her "Now you believe me you can trust mommy Celestia? She's willing to help you get rid of your cruel and heartless mother and start a new life in the royal castle with me! You and I will be closer to each other than we've ever dreamed of!", and this made Aylene to cry tears of joy when she heard what her best friend said to her, and then she jumped on Chloe and hugged her tightly and then she said to her in excitement and happiness "Oh, thank you, Chloe! Thank you so much for helping me finally escape my bad life I had with my mother! And for addition, we can now live closer and closer to each other more than ever!".

Then, Celestia said to Aylene "Tomorrow, my royal guards will go to investigate your home and to deal with your cruel and heartless mother for committing foal cruelty on you! From now, you're staying and living in the royal castle, with Chloe, with luna and with me!", and Aylene approached the Alicorn princess and then she hugged her and cried in joy "Thank you, Princess Celestia!", and then she said back to the Pegasus filly "Now it's getting late, I suggest you two should go to your bedroom to go to sleep together, and tomorrow, my royal guards will go to investigate your home and they will put your cruel mother in imprisonment.", and then Luna also got up onto her hooves and descended down from her throne and then she approached Chloe and Aylene and she said to them both to come with her, and so she led the two of them right into Chloe's bedroom, and then she opened the door to allow Chloe and Aylene to go inside, and then the human girl and Pegasus filly entered the bed together and then Luna used her magic to cover both Chloe and Aylene's bodies with the blanket and then she said to them "Goodnight.", and then she approached Aylene and then she kissed her on her forehead, before she turned to go and then she went out of the bedroom and then she used her magic to quietly closed the door behind her, thus alowing Chloe and Aylene to finally go to sleep together, and deep inside their minds, the two knew together that tomorrow will be the day that will finally end Aylene's nightmare for good.


	17. Chapter 16:Aylene's adoption

The next morning, Celestia and Luna sent their royal guards to Aylene's home to investigate and capture Aylene's mother so she can be punished for foal cruelty she already did on Aylene before. However, when the royal guard finaly arrived at Aylene's home to investigate, it was too late to capture Aylene's mother, who managed to escape before the royal guards have arrived at her home.

"Looks like that cruel and heartless mare have managed to escape her home before we even arrived!" one of the royal guards said, and then another added "You're right, she's not in this house! But let's investigate the house anywhere so we can find any clues about what really happened to Aylene at the time her mother abused and beaten her up!", and then the royal guards all began to investigate every part of the house to find any clues that could explain what really happened at the time Aylene's mother abused and beaten up her own daughter.

However, the only clue the royal guards found throughout the whole investigation is Aylene's torn apart doll, and so one of them decided to take all of the torn apart doll's parts so he can bring them to Celestia so she can use her magic to restore the doll back to normal, before the royal guards all left Aylene's home and they all went back to the royal castle to explain about their investigation and to ask Celestia to use her magic to restore Aylene's torn apart doll back to normal.

When the royal guards arrived back at the royal castle, three of them went to the throne room to explain to Celestia and Luna about, and then one of them who was actually the royal guard who collected all of Aylene's torn apart doll's parts showed them to Celestia and Luna and asked them to use their magic to restore Aylene's torn apart doll back to normal, and Celestia said to him and to the other royal guards that she'll fix the doll and restore it back to normal in no time, and then she told the royal guards to go back to do their duties, and the three royal guards obeyed Celestia and they turned around and walked away and they all left the throne room, leaving Celestia and Luna to fix Aylene's torn apart doll back to normal.

Celestia asked "How could a mare like her tear apart and destroy the doll which was the only thing her daughter received from her father before he died?", and then Luna added "You're right, how could a mare like her cruelly beat up her own daughter for nothing she done?", and then Celestia said "Aylene's mother need to be captured, and these three adult human males, whom are also known as Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, as well as their six animals all need to be captured as well, one-by-one or all together!", and then she began to use her magic to restore Aylene's doll back to normal, and once she finished, the doll is whole and all the parts were put back together and were all attached to the right places, and it looked cute and beautiful like if it was new and had never been torn apart before, proving that Celestia have managed to fix and turn the doll back to normal.

The next day, Celestia opened the door to Chloe and Aylene's bedroom and then she waked them both up and then she presented to them the newly fixed and restored doll, before she used her magic and she gently placed the doll down in Aylene's hooves, thus making her happy again, before the Pegasus filly jumled out of the bed and hugged Celestia in return for fixing and restoring her doll back to normal, and she added that in return, she'd like to become Celestia's adopted duaghter, and of course by Chloe's side, because Aylene has her will to dump her cruel and heartless mother behind herself so she can live with Chloe in the royal castle, and Celestia said to her "Of course I'll adopt you too! Once we get adoption papers for you so we can sign them, your real mother will never be touching you or getting close to you to beat you up ever again!", and then Chloe added in agreement "Yeah, that's an excellent idea, mommy! I'd like to have Aylene as not only my best friend, but also as my beloved sister! That way I'll help you and auntie Luna make sure Aylene's real mother will never be able to harm her or get near her ever again!", and this made Aylene excited and happy to know she's accepted in the royal castle just like Chloe so she can become her sister and also live a new life with her side-by-side.

Two months later, Celestia finally received the adoption papers for Aylene, and so she and Aylene accepted and signed the adoption papers to become a mother and a daughter, thus making Chloe Aylene's sister at last, and once Aylene finally became Chloe's sister, the human girl and Pegasus filly started to play together and they truly grew closer and closer towards each other, until at some point their friendship made them inseparable, which was also a good advantage for them both because with Chloe and Aylene are finally sisters and are inseparable, Aylene's real mother will not be able to make any more moves to harm Aylene ever again.

However, Aylene's mother had some evil plans in her mind, and so after she escaped from her home, she went to the Everfree Forest and she found where Yigal and his brothers were living, and so she decided to build a shelter somewhere near their house in hopes that nopony will be able to find her and take her to imprisonment. However, when nighttime came, Timberwolves began to stalk Aylene's mother's shelter, and this woke up and provoked Yigal and his brothers so they went out of their house to find Aylene's mother crying and begging for help inside her shelter which was now being surrounded by three Timberwolves whom are trying to get her.

At first, Yigal and his brothers didn't wanted to help her, but then Yigal changed his mind when he saw her evil laughing inside her eyes, which was exactly the same as his and his brothers's, and so he decided to go and help Aylene's mother by fighting the Timberwolves to rescue her from them, and his older brothers, Gilad and Ezra, also joined him in the fight, and they're son being joined by their six animals, who managed to help them fight and destroy the three Timberwolves by turning them into three piles of firewood upon defeating them, and once Yigal and his brothers and their animals were done, they all turned to Aylene's mother, who slowly approached them all until she suddenly stopped in front of all of them.

Then, Aylene's mother said to Yigal and to his brothers "Thank you for saving my life, humans!", but then Yigal asked her "Who are you, Pegasus mare? And what are you even doing here?", and then Aylene's mother introduced herself and said "I'm Black Heart, and I'm using foal cruelty. Well, at least I used to do so against my one and only duaghter until she betrayed me for that filthy human girl!". However, upon hearing what Black Heart said about herself being abusive towards her own daughter, this made Yigal and his brothers curious as they suddenly started to get some interest in her for what she just said, and then Yigal asked her "So, you're saying to me and to my two older brothers that you actually abuse young foals and fillies? From your very own kind?!", and Black Heart answered "Well, yes, I used to until that filthy human girl befriended my only daughter and then she and that rubbish Princess Celestia took her away from me!", and then Yigal said to her "I think I remember you from somewhere we've been together before, but I just forgotten when did it happened." and then he added "By the way, that black heart cutie mark on your flank really do hence your name." as he suddenly pointed at Black Heart's cutie mark which hence her name, and then Black Heart said to him "Well, anyway, in return for saving my life from those Timberwolves, I'd like to team up with you and be your friend!", and this shocked Yigal at first when he heard what the evil Pegasus mare just said, but then he agreed with her a d then he said to her "Okay! Fine then! You can stay and live with us, and maybe one day we'll get revenge on that Chloe and get your daughter back to you!".

Then, Black Heart said to Yigal "I think I do remember you from somewhere we've been together before, but I too just forgotten when did it happened.", and then he said to her "It's okay, Black Heart! You're still welcome to live with me and with my brothers, as well as with our six animals, and maybe one day we'll work together to get our revenge on Chloe and defeat that pathetic Princess Celestia, and that way we'll be able to get your daughter back to you!", and when she heard what he said, Black Heart said to Yigal "That's an excellent idea!", and then Yigal introduced himself and said "Anyway, Black Heart, my name is Yigal and these are my two older brothers - Gilad and Ezra.", and then Gilad said to her "Hi, Black Heart!", and Ezra added "That's so nice to meet you! I think we might form together a pretty good and formidable team!", and then Yigal said to Black Heart and to his older brothers "Let's go inside our house, and inside I'm sure that no Timberwolves will be able to touch you again!", and then Black Heart said to him "Thank you, Yigal!", and then she followed him and his two older brothers right into their house, and their six animals also followed close behind until they entered the house, and then the animals went to their places and fell asleep, while Black Heart, Yigal, Gilad and Ezra all slept together away from the animals, and Black Heart hoped that one day she'll be able to get her daughter back.

When morning came, back at the royal castle, Chloe and Aylene enjoy their lives being both best friends and new sisters, but what both of them didn't know is that Aylene's mother, Black Heart, is now a close friend of Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and she's now working with them and she's planning to help them defeat Celestia and get their revenge on Chloe so she can get Aylene back, but right now, everything will be okay for Chloe and for Aylene, and one day, the two will finally receive the one and only thing both of them are missing for the most - a father.


	18. Chapter 17:the changeling kingdom

Two months have passed since Chloe and Aylene have become sisters (and since Aylene got adopted by Celestia), and it was also fourteen months (one year and two months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria), and it was also six months since Chloe turned 9 years-old, but there's still somthing both Chloe and Aylene are missing and that they still need for the most - a father.

Celestia and Luna were the mother and main auntie for both Chloe and Aylene since Black Heart abused Aylene and escaped before she can be capture and imprisoned, but they still wanted to find the perfect father figure for both Chloe and Aylene, because they knew that that's exactly what they're both still missing and waiting for the most, and so she decided to send both Chloe and Aylene to the changeling kingdom so they can befriend the colorful and love-filled changelings, whom are the loyal following subjects of the king of the changelings who dethroned the original ruler, Queen Chrysalis, and banished her from the changeling hive - King Thorax.

One day, Celestia and Luna decided to send both Chloe and Aylene to the changeling kingdom to befriend the friendly, kind and love-filled changelings, and so they called the mane seven (and Spike), and another pony, a Unicorn mare who is a traveling magician who was once an enemy of the mane seven (before and after Starlight's redepmtion), now an ally and a good friend, Trixie Lulamoon, to take Chloe and Aylene with them to the changeling kingdom so they both can make friends with the changelings, and maybe even pick up one of them as a father figure for the both of them.

On their to the changeling kingdom, Trixie introduced herself to Chloe, and explained that she was once the enemy of Twilight and of her friends, but also quickly added that she eventually changed and became a better pony, and that her most closest friend is Starlight, much to Chloe's amazement, and then Trixie referred herself in front of Chloe as "The Great and Powerful Trixie.", due to because she tends to talk about herself in a third person, or in her case, in a third pony.

Once everypony finally arrived at the changeling kingdom, Chloe and Aylene were both amazed to see how beautiful everything around them looked like, and then everypony too them both with them to introduce them to the changelings, and then they took them to the throne, where an adult male stag-like changeling with two large antlers which are shaped like ant mandibles, and a bit smaller but older male stag-like changeling with two smaller antlers which are also shaped like ant mandibles sat side by side. They where Thorax, the king of the changelings, and his older brother, whose name is Pharynx.

When Thorax met Chloe and Aylene for the first time, he reconized Chloe because of her being a human, and then he said to her "I've already heard of you as the good human who arrived in our world and is now living here!", and then he added "Cadance and Shining Armor told me so much about you, and thanks to them I also know your name is Chloe, and that Celestia have adopted you as her daughter!", and then he said as he warmed up to her "And every human who is good and kind and is adopted and respected by the Alicorn princesses as a son or daughter is also a friend of us non-ponies too!", and then Pharynx also began to speak to her.

"Wow, you're really a human, and I've never seen a human like you before!", and Chloe explained to him "That's because I'm a female human, and I'm also a girl and not a full grown woman!", and then she added "Anyway, it's so nice to meet your brother, Thorax the king of the changelings! He's the most benevolent father figure for all of the changelings in his kingdom!", but then Pharynx said to her "But I'm actually his older brother, and before I've changed, I was an aggressive and harmful changeling, just like all the changelings have been like in the past, when Chrysalis ruled, except for one changeling who was benevolent from the day he hatched - my younger brother, Thorax! And today he's both the leader and the king of the hive, but he rules in a good way by teaching us changelings not to feed on love and instead share it with others, and that's how all the changelings have changed! Well, except for Chrysalis!".

Then, Twilight introduced Aylene to Thorax and Pharynx and then she explained to them about her becoming Chloe's sister after she's been adopted by Celestia too, and that the reason for this it's because her real mother, Black Heart, abused her, beaten her and blamed her on her father's death, and she also forbade her from befriending both other ponies as well as all kinds of non-ponies, including all kinds of forest animals.

When Thorax heard everything about Aylene's life, he asked Chloe what her own life was been like, and Chloe explained that before she arrived in Equestria, she's been abused by her own parents as well as her older brother after her grandmother died, and that they blamed her on her grandmother's death and even tried to feed her to the tigers at the zoo to get rid of her for being kind and gentle and because they hated her so much, and that she suffered the same or worse life compared to Aylene's life.

Thorax was shocked to know that both Chloe and Aylene were been abused by their own families (respectively), and so he said to them both "You can stay here and befriend my changelings, and maybe one of them will be a father figure for the both of you!" and then added "Now go and befriend my changelings! They all truly like to share their love and friendship with the ponies who gave them these, as well as with other creature alike!", and then Twilight said to them "Go and have fun with the changelings!", and then she and her friends all turned to go, and Chloe asked them what they're doing, Twilight explained that she'll come back with her friends to pick her and Aylene up tomorrow afternoon, because she and her friends want to give both her and Aylene enough time to find and choose one of the changelings as a father figure for the both of them, and then Twilight used her magic to teleport herself and her friends back to Canterlot to inform Celestia and Luna about the mission they gave Chloe and Aylene which is to find and choose the changeling they love for the most as their father figure, thus leaving Chloe and Aylene behind in the changeling kingdom.

Meanwhile, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all have arrived at the changeling kingdom and they're now searching for both Chloe and Aylene, and they're not alone - their six animals also came with them to make sure Chloe and Aylene won't be able to escape them. "When we find my daughter, I'll be cruelly trapping her in a basement for the rest of her life if she ever dares to befriend a bunch of filthy changlings!" Black Heart said with an angry face, but then Yigal placed a hand on her shoulder and then he said to her "It's okay, Black Heart, we'll find her and that stupid girl, Chloe, and then we'll give the both of them just what they truly deserve for being such a couple of disappointments to us!", and then they all continued to search for Chloe and Aylene in the changeling kingdom.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Aylene managed to befriend some of the adult changelings, but they still don't know which changeling they should choose as their father figure. Then, the two met a young male changeling who is around their own age, and when they asked him if he wants to be their friend, and he accepted befriending them both, before he stretched his hoof out for them to shake it. However, as Aylene was about to be the first to shake the young changeling's hoof, some larger hoof suddenly came out of nowhere and punched him hardly in the face and it caused him to fall down as he got knocked unconscious.

When they both saw the young changeling being knocked unconscious right in front of their eyes, Chloe and Aylene both looked in shock, before Black Heart suddenly jumped out of nowhere and appeared right in front of them with an angry face, before she approached her daughter and then she came close to threaten her as she shouted angrily at the Pegasus filly "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!", and Aylene asked in shock "Mother?! Is that you?! What are you doing here?!", but then she slapped Aylene across the face and then she shouted at her "Changelings are dangerous non-ponies! You deliberately disobeyed me! You're not even supposed to make friends with them! Even if they're around your own age!", and then she slapped Aylene's face again, causing th Pegasus filly to cry in pain as she couldn'y bear the new and fresh injuries that started to form on her face, and this made Chloe angry as she's about to attack Black Heart to come to Aylene's help, but then she's grabbed and got pulled back by one of her wrists by force, and when she turned her head to see who's pulling her back, her eyes widened in shock and horror to see Yigal pulling her towards him by her wrist to prevent her from saving Aylene.

Then, Gilad came out of nowhere and then he slapped Chloe twice across the face, and then Ezra also came out of nowhere and then he said to her "You and your friend are ours and ours alone!", and then he, Gilad and Yigal all laughed evilly, before Gilad managed to grab at Chloe's other wrist to capture her, while Ezra came for the back of the neck to restrain Chloe like a wild animal, and then Tony Black came out of nowhere with a strong rope in his mouth, before he stopped dead in his tracks when he reached Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart, the black Bengal tiger dropped the rope from his mouth to allow Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart to tie up both Chloe and Aylene to make sure neither of them escapes, and so Yigal and his brothers cruelly tied up Chloe, and Black Heart joined in by cruelly tying up Aylene with the human girl together, thus capturing them both at once.

"Let us go, you monsters!", Chloe shouted at the three adult human males and at the Pegasus mare, and then Aylene asked "What do you want from the both of us?!", but then Yigal slapped them both across the faces with his large hand at once, and then he evilly said "You two are coming with us! Do you both understand?! You're not going anywhere without us! You two are ours and ours alone!", and then he, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all lifted and carried the two tied friends and sisters up and then they placed them both on top of Lin Raju's back, and then Ezra told the Mammophant to go, and he obeyed his human owner, and so Lin Raju began to walk away while taking Chloe and Aylene captive with him, and then Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and all the five other animals followed close behind as they all began to leave the changeling kingdom.

When nighttime came, every changeling went back to the hive to go to sleep, except for their king, Thorax, who is still worried about Chloe and Aylene since he haven't seen either of them in hours, and so he decided to go and search for them so he can take them to the hive to sleep with the rest of the changelings. However, after Thorax searched everywhere in the changeling kingdom for Chloe and Aylene and haven't found them, he realized that they're gone because they got kidnapped by Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart and their animals (upon finding their footprints which they all left behind), and after he followed the footprints, he ended up seeing them leading out of the changeling kingdom, much to his shock and horror to know that they all took Chloe and Aylene hostages and took them away from the changeling kingdom.

Thorax said "Oh no! Chloe and Aylene got kidnapped! I must send a letter to Princess Celestia! She must know about this!", and so he began to write a letter to Celestia about Chloe and Aylene's disappearance, and once he finished, Thorax sent it to the royal castle, and he hoped that by the morning Celestia, Luna, the mane eight and the royal guards will help him, Pharynx and their changelings to search for Chloe and Aylene so they can find them and give Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart what they all deserve for kidnapping the human girl and Pegasus filly and taking them hostages.


	19. Chapter 18:a new father

The next morning, Thorax's letter have arrived at the royal castle, and when Celestia awakened from her sleep, two of the royal guards gave her the letter that Thorax have sent to her, and Celestia decided to answer the letter to see if Chloe and Aylene have managed to see and find one of changelings as their father, but when she opened the letter and began to read it, she got curious and surprised when she began to write the letter.

 _Dear princess Celestia,_

 _I want to tell you that I got a totally unexpected problem with Chloe and Aylene - They both disappeared from my kingdom! They both got kidnapped and I really need your help so we can work together to find them!_

 _I fear that the kidnappers took them both hostages so they can keep them both for themselves and themselves alone! You gotta help me, and please bring Princess Luna, Twilight and her friends, and your royal guards along so they can all team up with my changelings so we can find Chloe and Aylene and imprison the kidnappers who took them!"_

 _Truly yours, from the king of the changelings,_

 _Thorax._

When Celestia finished reading the letter, she was shocked to know that Yigal, Gilad and Ezra have managed to get to the changeling kingdom and kidnap Chloe and Aylene, and so she alerted Luna, Twilight and her friends and the royal guards and she said to them that they must go to the changeling kingdom to help Thorax and his changelings find and rescue Chloe and Aylene from Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's evil hands.

When everypony arrived at the changeling kingdom, Celestia and Thorax told the changelings and the royal guards to search outside the changeling kingsom to see where the kidnappers took Chloe and Aylene, and the ponies and changelings listened to the two rulers and they all decided to work together in an attempt to search for Chloe and Aylene everywhere, and eventually, four of the royal guards and six of the changelings found together lots of footprints which are made by three humans, one pony, two felines, one ape, one bear, one rhinoceros and one elephant.

Then, the four royal guards and the six changelings all decided to follow the footprints and eventually they all reached to the Everfree Forest, and so they decided to enter to see where the footprints will lead them, and eventually, they all reached Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's house, and then they all suddenly heard a human girl and a filly screaming for help, but then the voices of three adult males and one adult female suddenly shouted at them to stop crying for help or else they'll feed them to their beasts.

When the royal guards and the changelings heard the voices of Chloe, Aylene and their kidnappers, they understood clearly that they've reached the right place where they all are, and so one of the royal guards and one of the changelings told the others to go and tell Thorax and Celestia about that they managed to find the kidnappers's house, and they all obeyed and they went back to tell Thorax and Celestia about it, while the lone royal guard and the lone changeling decided to approach closer to the house and then they managed to climb up and peek through one of the windows, and they saw Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart abusing Chloe and Aylene and shouting at them and threatening them that they'll feed them to their beasts if they don't stop cry for help, much to the royal guard and the changeling's displeasure.

"That's extremely cruel and barbaric! Nopony and no creature should shout at little foals or other young creatures like that! That's simply illegal and also cruel and heartless!" the royal guards said in anger, and then the changeling added in agreement "Someone must put these three adult human males and one Pegasus mare in prison for such crimes! No adults should ever threaten children that they'll feed them to wild animals! Thorax and Pharynx, as well as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna should sentence these four to a maximum punishment of 40 or even 50 years in imprisonment!".

The royal guard and the changeling both continued to watch in anger and in disgust until Celestia, Thorax, and all the other ponies and changelings finally arrived at Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's house, and upon peeking thourgh the window, Celestia was shocked and horrified to see that Black Heart is now friends with Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, who are the three adult human males who caued troubles to Equestria.

Then, Celestia decided that it's better to imprison Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all together, and so used her magic to blast and break and shatter and then go through the window, and she's soon being followed by Luna, Pharynx and Thorax, who all looked at the three adult human males and one Pegasus mare with angry faces, much to the four villains's shock and horror to see that Celestia and Thorax and all the ponies and changelings have managed to find them all.

"How dare you?! How dare you kidnapping and abusing these human girl and Pgeasus filly just like you four are doing right now?!" Thorax said in anger, and then Pharynx added "You four should be ashamed of your yourselves for what you're all doing!", and then Luna added "You don't deserve to roam freely in our world! That now includes you too, Black Heart!", and then Celestia said as she lit her horn in a yellow aura "We're all going to put you four in imprisonment for what you done to Chloe and to Aylene, you monsters!" and then she blasted at them and threw them out of their house, and the four all landed on their backs, thus allowing the royal guards and the changelings to trap them all together in a pile so they won't be able to escape.

However, Tony Black and the other animals all came and attacked the royal guards and the changelings, and they managed to save Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart from them, before the six beasts left with them, but not before they vowed to Celestia, Thorax, Luna and Pharynx that one day they'll have their revenge on both ponykind and on all changelings as well, and then the six beasts managed to escape with their owners and with Black Heart.

Then, once the threat is gone, Thorax used his magic to untie the ropes from Chloe and Aylene, and then he approcached the two and then he hugged them with his front hooves and said "I'm sorry, girls. Sorry I couldn't watch over you two, because if I could've done so, those bad guys and that new Pegasus mare friend of theirs wouldn't be able to kidnap you two like they already did.", but then Chloe placed her hand on his chest and then she said to the changeling king "It's okay, Thorax. We both understand, and even though I'm speaking for both Aylene and myself, I still want to say that it's not your fault that Yigal and his brothers, as well as Aylene's real mother have kidnapped the both of us. I'm pretty sure that they somehow knew where we went, and so they all planned to kidnap us.", and then Aylene added "That's true, Thorax. By the way, Both Chloe and I were impressed and amazed to see you confronting Yigal, his brothers and my real mother, and even standing up to and willing to fight them while glaring at them all in anger because you wanted to save the both of us.", and then she placed hoof on Thorax's chest next to Chloe's hand.

Then, Chloe said to Thorax "You showed the both of us you're as brave, willing and even determined as mommy Celestia, and in return for saving us, I'd like to have you as my father.", and this shocked Thorax for a moment, before he turned back to everypony and to all the changelings, and then Celestia nodded in agreement and then she said to him "You'll be a great father to both Chloe and Aylene, Thorax! Just like as I'm their mother!", and then the royal guards and changelings all began to cheer up for him, and this made Thorax confident and sure enough to accept Chloe and Aylene as his daughters, and then he hugged the human girl and Pegasus filly more tightly in his hooves and then he said to them "Yes, I'd like to be your father! I'll promise to be a good father for the both of you! I'll do everything for you and I'll do what's needed to keep you both safe from harm and away from danger!", and then everypony and every changeling all began to call and shout in happiness as Chloe and Aylene finally found the father they both needed for the most.

Then, Chloe, Aylene and Thorax all let go of each other and broke their hug with one another, and then Thorax said to the human girl and Pegasus filly "Now it's time for you two to go back home with your mother. But remember, I want you both to know that you're always welcome to see me in my kingdom and my changelings will all like you to be around too! Pharynx will also be your uncle and maybe one day he'll be able, if I'm too busy, to teach you both about how did we became from scarred creatures which once fed on love into colorful love-filled creatures which now share love with one another and with ponies and other creatures alike, and how Chrysalis is dethroned before I took her place and became the king of the changelings!".

With these loving words Thorax said to Chloe and Aylene, the two said to him that they'll always love him and Celestia as their parents no matter what, and they also said to Luna and Pharynx that they are their best aunt and uncle ever, much to the Alicorn and Changeling's surprise to know that Chloe and Aylene truly like them both as their aunt and uncle, and then Pharynx said to them "Of course I'd like to be your uncle! You two are welcome in the changeling kingdom whenever you want!", and then Chloe and Aylene went with the ponies as they started to depart from the changelings and then Chloe and Aylene said together to Thorax and to Pharynx "Goodbye, daddy Thorax and uncle Pharynx! We'll promise to visit your kingdom whenever we can!", and then they waved for them and for all the other changelings, before they all went back to the changeling kingdom, while Chloe, Aylene and everypony else went back to Canterlot.

When nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene were already sleeping together in their bed, and the two whispered to each other while sleeping that they finally managed with great success to find the father they've always dreamed of and that they have almost nothing to worry about, except for Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart to come back and get their revenge on them.


	20. Chapter 19:Lysander is back

Two months have passed since Chloe and Aylene chose Thorax as the father they needed for the most, and it was also sixteen months (one year and four months) since Chloe accidentally arrived in Equestria. Now, Chloe and Aylene live together as close and inseparable sisters whom are both being adopted by Celestia as their same mother, since Chloe's real family abused her back in her world, and in Aylene's case - her own mother abused her much worse compared to Chloe.

Chloe and Aylene are now sisters for four months and they're enjoying living in the royal castle, but also visiting the changeling kingdom to meet king Thorax whenever they wanted to, and also because they both chose him as their father, but they also knew that Yigal and his brothers, as well as Black Heart too will all return to have their revenge on the both of them.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went outside to play together, and when they got tired, they sat down on the grass and then they lied down under a tree to have shelter from the sun, as well as from the scorching heat, and then Chloe said "This is so great to have you with me as both my sister and my friend, and now the only thing that we need to get out of our lives for good is just gettng Yigal and his brothers, as well as your original, yet now former mother in jail.", and then Aylene said to her back "Yes, You're right, Chloe. Once that filthy Yigal and his brothers, as well as my former mother will be out in jail, we can both live in peace away from abuse, danger and evil.".

Then, Chloe said to Aylene "Now that we have Thorax as our father, he'll now give us protection for as long as we're both around him and his changelings, and with mommy Celestia by our side too, nothing will dare to snatch and mess up with the both of us!", and then the human girl and Pegasus filly laughed together as they knew that one day, all the threats whom are still seeking revenge on them will eventually die out.

However, suddenly, four screams were heard from a bit far away, and when Chloe and Aylene both heard those screams, they knew that somepony is danger, so they decided to go to the source of the screams to see who or what is screaming. When the two finally reached the source of the screams, they found the CMC being surrounded and threatened by Lysander and his float, whom are all closing down on the four foals and were trying to snatch and eat them one-by-one.

Then, Chloe and Aylene heard Apple Bloom screaming "Help! Somepony help us!", and then Randall cried "Get those evil crocodiles away from us!", and when Chloe and Aylene saw the four foals hugging each other in a tight group hug and trembling all together like leaves, their faces turned angry to see the crocodiles getting closer and closer to snap at the four foals while they're hugging each other in fear and terror, and so they both ran towards the crocodiles to save the CMC from them.

When Lysander is about to take the first bite out of the CMC, Chloe came from behind his back and then she climbed on him and once she reached his head, she punched him hard in the right eye, and then Aylene came from the side and then she punched hard at his left eye with her hoof, thus briefly blinding him, but once he regained his strength to open both of his eyes, the crocodile king looked in shock and anger to see both Chloe and Aylene protecting the CMC from him and from his float.

When the crocodile king recognized Chloe, he said to her "So, aren't you that stupid and filthy human girl who dared to mess up with me once before?!", and then he said to his float "Crocodiles, attack her and that Pegasus filly who is standing by her side too!", and so the crocodiles began to surround both Chloe and Aylene and they growled and snarled at them both in anger, but also in hunger because they're also hungry and starving and wanted to each some meat for lunch.

Then, Lysander laughed evilly at Chloe and Aylene and then he said to the two of them "It's no use to mess up with my crocodile float without getting eaten alive! I have here five crocodiles with me, and you're only two! We've got you both outnumbered!", and then he laughed evilly again as the five crocodiles began to approach Chloe and Aylene, and they're all ready to finish them both at once.

"Five or six against two isn't even fair! Why wouldn't you dare to fight the both of us on your own?!", Chloe said angrily as she and Aylene stood their ground and faced the evil crocodiles, and then Aylene added "Chloe's right! You and yiur float are all big and strong crocodiles! the two of us together can take down only one of you at the time!", and this made Lysander laugh as the shape-shifting crocodile king said back to the human girl and Pegasus filly "Is that so?! Is that what you really think?!", and then he said to one of his float, a big and strong male crocodile to attack both Chloe and Aylene on his own to test and see how strong the two together are really against just one crocodile at the time.

Then, the male crocodile began to attack Chloe and Aylene by snapping at them with his powerful head and jaws, but they both managed to get away from him, and instead they split up and got around him to face him from both of his sides, and then they tried to pierce through his thick skin and spiky hide by climbing onto him and then punching him in the back and wounding him with their hands and hooves, until they both managed to poke tiny holes through his thick hide, thus getting closer to defeat it, and when the crocodile felt the pain, he tried to shake them both off his back, but the human girl and Pegasus filly together were a formidable team that even he and his thick hide surprisingly cannot stop from being able to harm him until they eventually defeat him for good.

Eventually, Chloe grabbed a large rock from the ground and then she smashed it right at the crocodile's head and skull repeatedly until she finally finished him and eliminated him for good by breaking apart the crocodile's skull, and with Aylene helping her by punching the crocodile in the eyes with her hooves repeatedly until he recieved permanent blindness, thus leaving Lysander with just four crocodiles, and this shocked and horrified him and his float to see that Chloe and Aylene are both indeed strong and smart enough together to outfight and even eliminate just one adult crocodile at the time.

"There! Now who wants to be next?!" Chloe shouted at Lysander and at the other crocodiles, and this made the crocodiles run away in fear, and then Lysander also turned to go, but not before he said to both Chloe and Aylene that one day he'll have his revenge on the both of them, before he also retreated and went after the rest of his float, thus leaving Chloe, Aylene and the CMC alone.

With the threat is now gone, Chloe and Aylene turned back to the CMC, who all looked at them with shock in their eyes as they're surprised to see how strong Chloe and Aylene are together against a huge fully grown crocodile, and this made the four foals approach their two saviors and then Sweetie Belle said to them both "Thank you both for saving our lives from these ferocious crocodiles!", and then Scootaloo added "We surely would've died if you two haven't came in time to save us!", and this made Chloe to say back to them "Thank you four for calling me and Aylene your saviors, despite we actually just killed that crocodile!", and then Aylene said "I can't believe we both actually killed a huge fully grown male crocodile like we just did!", and then Randall said to her "And we're so grateful, and despite I may be speaking for all four of us rather than for myself, I still want you to know that you're the bravest filly we've ever met!", and then Apple Bloom said to Chloe "Yes, and you too, Chloe! We've never seen you and your friend fighting together willingly against a huge crocodile before!".

Then, the CMC began to hug both Chloe and Aylene for saving them, with Randall and Apple Bloom hugging Chloe's legs, and with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hugging Aylene's back and flank, much to two heroines's pleasure, before Chloe said to them "Now I suggest you four should go back home!", and then Aylene added "And by the way, you can tell your older sisters about what we did for you when we saved your lives and killed that ferocious crocodile!", and once the four foals let go of Chloe and Aylene, Randall said to them "Goodbye, Chloe! Goodbye for you too, Aylene!", and then he added "It was my and my friends's honor to respect and love out new saviors and heroes who just saved our lives!", and then he and his three filly friends all turned and ran away back to Ponyville to tell their older sisters about what Chloe and Aylene have done for them.

Chloe and Aylene said to each other "We're saviors! We managed together to fight and kill a ferocious crocodile! The CMC loves us!", and then they both ran back to Canterlot to tell Celestia and Luna about what did they both just did today, and when they finally arrived back at the royal castle, Celestia and Luna welcomed the two back home, before Chloe explained to them how she and Aylene fought together against one of Lysander's crocodiles and eventually killed him before he and his float, as well as Lysander himself, can devour the CMC for lunch, and this shocked and surprised the two Alicorns at first, but then Celestia said to the both of them "I'm so proud of you two. You both just learned to fight and destroy your enemies who will not redeem on their own and will instead fight to the very end.", and then Luna said to them "It's time for you two to go inside and eat some dinner, because I'm going to raise the moon and it will be time for everypony to eat dinner and then they'll all go to sleep.".

Then, after eating dinner, Chloe and Aylene went back to their bedroom and when they entered and got inside, they climbed on their bed, covered themselves in the blanket and then they closed their eyes and fell asleep side by side, and they knew that one day all their enemies will be gone forever, and that they managed to accomplish doing so and take one step forward by just fighting killing one of Lysander's crocodiles and then chasing him and the rest of his crocodiles away, and they also knew that they, as well as Yigal and his brothers, and Aylene's former mother, Black Heart, will be also gone one day and that will make Chloe and Aylene's lives happy and peaceful.


	21. Chapter 20:Yigal's letter

Three months have passed since Lysander's float's attack on the CMC and Chloe and Aylene's interference, and it was now 19 months (one year and seven months) since Chloe accidentally arrived in Equestria, as well as it was now seven months since Chloe and Aylene have become sisters, and there's also one month left before Chloe will be turning 10 years-old, as well as one month before she'll celebrate her new upcoming birthday.

However, Yigal and his brothers, as well as Black Heart all had an evil plan that will make Chloe and Aylene believe they're not really loved by everypony and by every creature all across Equestria, and they also wanted to take them both to introduce them to Queen Chrysalis so she can tell them how Twilight and her friends 'abused and tormented' her twice before and why they shouldn't be trusted.

Yigal began to write a false letter to Chloe and Aylene, and once he was done he sent it away to the royal castle in hopes it will get into Chloe's hands or to Aylene's hooves so they can read it and lose trust with everypony and every creature they loved, and he also added that if they don't believe him, his brothers or Black Heart, then they should come with them to meet Queen Chrysalis, on which he wrote about that she's been 'abused and tormented' by Twilight and her friends twice before.

Three weeks later, a week before Chloe is going to turn 10 years-ols and celebrate her birthday, the letter finally arrived at the royal castle, and when the royal guards found the letter, they gave it to Celestia and Luna, and when Celestia saw on the letter's cover that it's for Chloe and Aylene, she took the letter with her to Chloe and Aylene's room to show and give them the letter.

Once Celestia entered Chloe and Aylene's room, she gave them the letter and then she turned around and walked away and left their room, and after Chloe and Aylene closed the door, they opened the letter and they began to read it.

 _Dear Chloe and Aylene,_

 _Do you both honestly believe that everypony and every creature loves you two? Well, Black Heart, my brothers and I can say that all that love and friendship those ponies as well as the changelings and the other non-ponies give you is nothing but fake! That's right, you two! Everypony and every creature actually hates you both for the most!_

 _In other words, everypony and every creature, especially and including Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Twilight and her friends and the changelings were all only trying to fool the both of you by showing love and friendship, but that's nothing but fake! Your mother, Celestia, and your father, Thorax, were both on the inside are tyrannical beasts that likes to mess up with little girls and fillies and lie to them all the time!_

 _By the way, Twilight and her friends who you both thought were heroes of this wretched world are actually abusive monsters, and the same can be said on your aunt, Luna, and on your uncle, Pharynx, and it's because they don't really like you as their family and friends at all!_

 _They all may be trying to look and behave nicely, kindly and gently towards you two, but I know they're ferocious tyrants and that all the love and friendship they're all giving you two was nothing but fake! Then, when the right time comes, they'll all destroy you two with their magic and with the elements of harmony, and that could actually happen on Chloe's tenth birthday, if not sooner!_

 _However, we know a good friend of ours who was been abused and tormented by your so-called families and friends, and she can tell you both the truth about them, and also about how she's also been treated harshly and was been left outnumbered and defenseless!_

 _If you want to know the truth about your families and friends, Then you two should come with me and with my brothers, as well as wil Black Heart, and then we'll take you two to see our friend who was been abused and tormented by your families and friends twice before._

 _From tomorrow, my brothers, Black Heart and I we'll give you two six days to choose if to come with us to see our friend or not! Consider this, you fools! If you don't come with us to see and know the truth from our friend, you'll never be able to find the truth about your friends and families who you both believe that they all love you for the most!_

 _Your truly, from me - Yigal._

When Chloe and Aylene finished reading the letter, they became shocked and surprised to know that Yigal would dare to send to them such a horrible letter, and they're also shocked to believe that their friends and families who all love them for the most actually hates them deep inside their hearts, but they're also comfused about one thing - who was that friend of Yigal and his gang he was talking about in the letter? Who could she really be?

This made Chloe and Aylene question themselves and each other as they wanted to know if Yigal's horrible letter is telling the truth or is actually lying. "What Yigal is trying to tell us through this letter? And who was that friend of his he talked about that was been abused and tormented by our families and friends?" Aylene asked Chloe, and the human girl answered "I don't know about who was that so-called friend of Yigal, but what I do believe is that Yigal's horrible letter he sent to us is 100% lying to us!".

"Well, I don't think the same, and besides, I bet Yigal just wants to alologize to the both of us for his and his gang's cruel and heartless behavior! And for addition, I bet he's only trying to warn us about something dangerous we don't even know about!", and this made Chloe change her own mind as she said "Okay, fine then, we'll go to Yigal's house on the day I'll turn 10, and if I find out that our families and our friends won't celebrate my birthday with us, then will go to see him so he can take us to his mysterious friend he's been talking about in the letter he sent to us!".

Then, when nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene fell asleep, but they also knew that there are only six days before Chloe will turn 10, but they also wondered if Yigal have changed and that he's only trying to warn them about a dangerous threat that is apperently deep inside their families and friends.


	22. Chapter 21:the nightmare 2

For the next five days, Chloe and Aylene didn't wanted to go to see Yigal and his brothers, because Chloe thought it might be nothing but yet another trap he and his brothers, as well as Black Heart were all planning for the both of them. However, on the night of the fifth day, Chloe and Aylene started to have a dreadful nightmare about Chloe's birthday being ruined and about everypony turning against the both of them.

Chloe and Aylene found themselves and each other in a dark void, and then they tried to search for a way out, but then they both heard a crowd of sinister laughs coming from all around them, and then Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all came out of nowhere and then they approached Chloe and Aylene, who cowered in fear, and right behind them, they're accompanied by three more people Chloe never wanted to see ever again - her real father, Jeff, her real mother, Jane, and her real older brother, Mike.

Then, Jeff said to Chloe in an evil tone "Do you really think and believe ponykind likes you and would like to celebrate your tenth birthday, Chloe? Well, you're dead wrong, young lady!", and then Jane added "I see that you managed to make close and best friends with that Pegasus filly, but ONE pony does not indicates the rule!", and the Mike said to his former younger sister "Well, sister, do you really think all ponies love you around else than just this stupid Pegasus filly of yours?! Well, I can say you totally brainwashed her into your side, Chloe!", and then he and his parents laughed evilly.

However, Chloe snapped in anger and then she said "No! She's not even brainwashed! Her name is Aylene, and she's truly my best friend AND my sister!", and then Aylene added "Chloe's right! I chose to live with her and become her sister after everything bad my own mother did to me!", but then Yigal laughed at them and said "Yes, that's true you're both friends and sisters, but nothing will change the fact that you managed to corrupt Aylene, and the fact also tells that from now on, both you and your Pegasus sister are now hated for the most, but not only by the entire ponykind, but also by the changelings as well!", and then Yigal laughed evilly at the human girl and Pegasus filly who both stepped aback in fear and terror.

Then, Black Heart said "Yeah, that's right! Nopony and no other creature will like and love you two around because you're biologically related to us! I'm very disappointed at you Aylene for deliberately disobeying me, and also for insulting my human friends like this!", but then Aylene snapped and cried "THAT'S NOT TRUE! I'M NOT CORRUPTED! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE ALL LYING TO THE BOTH OF US! I CHOSE TO LIVE WITH CHLOE BECAUSE YOU ABUSED ME AND BLAMED ME FOR MY FATHER'S DEATH!", but then Ezra came forward and then he slapped both Chloe and Aylene across the faces twice, and then he said "It's true that your friendship to one another is strong and un-breakable, but now you two are in even bigger troubles you two never considered before!", and then he laughed evilly at the human girl and her Pegasus sister.

Then, Black Heart said evilly "I'm actually the pony who helped Yigal and his brothers to take down Celestia, because I also hated her so much, but she defeated me and my friends, and she used her magic to erase our memories before we managed to escape, but now we remember everything, and this makes me know and understand why I'm a bad pony who doesn't respects Celestia or obeys her rules!", and then she laughed evilly.

Then, Gilad came forward and then he said to the human girl and to her Pegasus sister "You two want to see some proof which will tell you two you're not accepted in this wretched world after all?!", but Chloe cried "I don't wanna see any proofs! Leave me and my sister alone!", and then Aylene added "Yeah, we don't even wanna listen to you two after everything bad you've done to us!", but Gilad said to them as he suddenly held a smoke bomb in his right hand "You two are going to understand that nopony and no other creature always hated you for the most! Now, girls! Behold when you both see THIS!" and then he threw the smoke bomb and it hit the ground in front of Chloe and Aylene, and when the bomb exploded, it released a huge cloud of smoke which caused Chloe and Aylene to choke as Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart and Chloe's real family all disappeared in the huge cloud of smoke.

When the cloud of smoke cleared, Chloe and Aylene found themselves together in ponyville, but it was nighttime, and everypony were asleep. However, when they turned around, the two found themselves that they're in front of Sugarcube Corner, but they also heard someone crying and sniffling, and they both recognized and understood from who the cries and sniffles came - the cries and sniffles came from Pinkie Pie, who is inside Sugarcube Corner.

When Chloe and Aylene came close to the front door, they suddenly heard Mr. Cake talking behind the door to Pinkie Pie. Mr. Cake said "Oh, Pinkie Pie, we knew that human girl and her new Pegasus friend are nothing but trouble to all of us after what their traitorous mother and kind have done to us and to our world.", and then Pinkie Pie said to him while she still sniffled "You're right, Mr. Cake, they're both trouble to us all, and even though that Pegasus filly is one of our kind, she's still the daughter of that traitorous mare who helped Yigal and his brothers and tried to kill our ruler, Celestia, and take over our world!".

Then, Mrs. Cake also spoke up and she said to Pinkie Pie "How about I'll fix you something to eat, Pinkie?", and Pinkie Pie nodded as she still cried and sniffled, and then Mrs. Cake went to the kitchen and left Pinkie Pie, and then Mr. Cake said to the pink party mare "You'll feel a lot more better when we'll fix you something to eat, and just forget these two traitorous scams. We'll make sure Randall and his friends won't make any good contact with these human girl and her Pegasus sister after what their mother and kind have done.", before he also went to the kitchen after Mrs. Cake and left Pinkie Pie alone.

Then, Chloe and Aylene knocked on the door in hopes Pinkie Pie will hear them and she'll open the door for them, and when Pinkie Pie heard them knocking on the door, she went to the door and opened it and then she looked down at them, but her mane and tail were flattened and her coat, mane and tail were all grayish instead of pink, and she didn't looked very happy to see the human girl and her Pegasus sister.

Then, Pinkie Pie asked them "Oh, so it's you two. What are you both doing here?", and when Chloe and Aylene noticed the change in Pinkie Pie's appearance on both the outside and the inside, Chloe asked her "Are you okay, Pinkie Pie?", and then Aylene added "You look very gray. What happened to you?", but then Pinkie Pie angrily snapped at the both of them and then she shouted out loud "HOW DARE YOU TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU TWO TINY WHINY MEANIE PANTS! YOU BOTH ARE NOTHING BUT TRAITORS! I ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE DONE TO US ALL! LEAVE US ALONE AND NEVER COME BACK!", and this caused Chloe and Aylene to fall backwards and hit the ground, and then tears started to form in their eyes as they both started to cry at Pinkie Pie's sudden outburst on them.

Then, Chloe asked while she and Aylene still cried "What's gone into you? What have we done that made you angry at us?", and then Pinkie Pie growled angrily at them and then she shouted at both of them in the faces "YOU TWO ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TO US AND TO ALL OF OUR WORLD! NOW LEAVE BEFORE I'LL SHOOT YOU BOTH OUT OF MY PARTY CANNON!", and this caused Chloe and Aylene to quickly get up on their feet and hooves, and soon they both ran away from Pinkie Pie while they're both still crying, but then she started to chase after them as she became determined to harm the both of them.

However, Chloe and Aylene managed to lose Pinkie Pie, but she still shouted in anger and searched for the both of them everywhere, and the two knew that they have to find some place to hide in and wait until Pinkie Pie calms down from her sudden wrath, and eventually, the two arrived at Fluttershy's cottage and then they knocked on the door in hopes that Fluttershy will let them inside and will deal with Pinkie Pie in case she comes to get them.

Then, Fluttershy answered and opened the door for Chloe and Aylene, and then they asked her to help them. "Please, help us, Fluttershy! Something's wrong with Pinkie Pie! She's gone completely insane on us and she's hunting us down! You gotta help us!" Chloe cried, but then Fluttershy cruelly punched both Chloe and Aylene in the faces with her hoof and then she shouted at them "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE COME TO MY HOME AFTER WHAT YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE ALREADY DONE TO US AND TO OUR WORLD?!", and then she growled at them in anger as she looked down at human girl and at her Pegasus sister, who both cowered and whimpered in fear as they both trembled like leaves.

Then, Chloe asked her "Fluttershy? you too?", and then Aylene added "What did we do to deserve this horrible disrespect from you?", and then Fluttershy angrily shouted at them "YOU TWO ARE JUST LIKE YIGAL AND HIS EVIL BROTHERS, AS WELL AS THE TRAITOROUS PEGASUS MARE, BLACK HEART, WHO ALL TRIED TO KILL OUR BELOVED RULER, CELESTIA, SO THEY CAN TAKE OVER OUR WORLD FOR THEMSELVES! LEAVE US ALONE OR MY FRIENDS AND I WILL MAKE SURE YOU'LL BOTH PAY FOR THE CRIMES YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE DONE TO US AND TO OUR WORLD!", and when she said all those hateful words at Chloe and Aylene, the two knew that they have no choice but to run away, and so the two quickly got away from Fluttershy and they both ran away from her, but then she also started to chase after them as she too became determined to harm the both of them.

However, Chloe and Aylene managed to lose Fluttershy, but she still shouted in anger and searched for the both of them everywhere, and they two knew that they have to find some other place to hide in and wait until Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy calms down from their sudden wrath, and eventually, they found a cloud floating in the sky, but they also saw Rainbow Dash sleeping on it, so the two decided to call for her to wake her up so she can help them deal with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in case they come to get the both of them.

When Rainbow Dash heard the human girl and Pegasus filly calling for her, she soon woke and then she turned and looked down to see Chloe and Aylene calling for her, and so she flew down and descended from the cloud until she landed on the ground below, and then she started to approach Chloe and Aylene, but like Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, she also looked at them with a rather angry face as she got closer to the two of them.

When Chloe and Aylene noticed the sudden change in Rainbow Dash, Chloe asked her "Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?", and then Aylene added "Why are you too angry at us?", and then Rainbow Dash angrily snapped at them and then she violently punched and shoved the two backwards, making them both fall on their backs and hit the ground, and then Rainbow came towards them and then she trapped Chloe and Aylene between her forelegs as she looked down at them with an angry face.

Then, Chloe tried to speak and then she said "Please, Rainbow Dash! You gotta help us! Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy have gone completely insane on us and they're both trying to hunt us down!" but then Rainbow Dash angrily shouted at the both of them "HOW DARE YOU TALKING TO ME ABOUT MY FRIENDS LIKE THIS, YOU TWO YOUNG IDIOTS?! WHERE DID YOU GOT SUCH BAD EDUCATION?! FROM YIGAL AND FROM HIS BROTHERS, OR FROM BLACK HEART?! TELL ME RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL BEAT UP THE BOTH OF YOU FOR NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS!", and this made the human girl and the Pegasus filly to whimper together in fear and terror as they looked at Rainbow Dash's angry face and eyes, as she also started to bear her teeth at the both of them.

Then, Aylene spoke up and asked "What's gone into you, Rainbow Dash? Don't you know who we are? Have you suddenly forgotten us?", but then Rainbow Dash angrily slapped both Chloe and Aylene across their faces with her hooves and then she shouted angrily at them "DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU TWO YOUNG IDIOTS! I ALREADY KNOW THAT YOU'RE FOLLOWING YIGAL AND HIS BROTHERS, AS WELL AS THAT TRAITOROUS BLACK HEART! DONT YOU TWO?!", and this made Chloe and Aylene to start to cry again as they begged for mercy, but then Rainbow Dash angrily roared at them "ANSWER ME!", and this made Chloe to say "We don't follow Yigal and his brothers, and we don't follow Black Heart either! Why don't you believe us?", and this made Rainbow Dash shout at them "YOU BOTH ARE LIARS! LEAVE US AND OUR WORLD ALONE, YOU TRAITORS!", and this made Chloe and Aylene to crawl away from Rainbow Dash until they're no longer between her forelegs, and then the two got up on their feet and hooves and they started to run away from Rainbow Dash, but then she started to chase after them as she too became determined to harm the both of them.

However, Chloe and Aylene managed to lose Rainbow Dash, but she still shouted in anger and searched for the both of them everywhere, and the two knew that they must find some other place to hide in and wait until Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash calms down from their sudden wrath, and so they went to Sweet Apple Acres to ask Applejack to help them deal with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and when they finally arrived in Sweet Apple Acres, the two knocked on the door in hopes Applejack will answer and will open the door for them, and after a short moment, Applejack finally opened the door and came to see Chloe and Aylene, but she too looked angry when she saw them.

Then, Chloe begged from Applejack "Please, Applejack! help us! Three of your friends are hunting us down! They gone completely insane on us, and they want to harm us!", but then Applejack shoved both Chloe and Aylene to the ground, and when the two turned back, they saw Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all looking down at them with evil smirks and with evil smiling faces, causing Chloe and Aylene to swallow hard as they're now trapped between the four mares.

Then, Applejack approached the human girl and her Pegasus sister, and then she stopped and looked down at them and then she said to them "I'm not going to help you two for what your mother and your kind have done to us and to our world! You two are a disgrace to Equestria, and everypony and every creature knows it! My friends and I we're going to teach you two a lesson!", and then she said to her friends "Hold these two still so I can rope them and tie them up so they won't be able to escape!", and the three mares obeyed, and so Fluttershy managed to trap Aylene under her hooves, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash managed to sit down on Chloe's back to prevent the both of them from escaping them.

Then, Applejack went inside the barn and then she came back out and returned with two long and strong ropes, and then she began to lasso and rope both Chloe and Aylene around their necks, wrists, ankles and hooves, and then she told her friends to let go of the captive human girl and Pegasus filly, because now they're both tied up and they can't and will not be able to escape.

When Chloe and Aylene found themselves being roped and tied up, they turned to Applejack and they cried "Applejack, get these ropes away from us! You can't leave us being tied up like this! Please, set us free!", but then Applejack shouted at them in the ears "SHUT UP, YOU TWO LITTLE VARMINTS!", and then she turned to her friends and then she said "Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, help me take these two traitorous scams with us!", and then Rainbow dash placed the now tied-up Aylene on Fluttershy's back, while Pinkie Pie placed the now tied-up Chloe on Applejack's back, and then Applejack said to her friends "Now we go! Next stop - the Castle of Friendship!", and then the four mares took the tied-up human girl and Pegasus filly with them all the way to the Castle of Friendship, where Twilight, Starlight and Rarity were all waiting for them.

When the four mares finally arrived at the Castle of Friendship, Applejack called for Twilight to open the door for them so they can all come inside, and Twilight answered and opened the door for them to allow them all to go inside, and when Twilight saw the tied-up Chloe and Aylene on Fluttershy and Applejack's backs, she said as she smiled evilly "Well, I see you brought here some two special guests!", and then she laughed evilly, as Applejack and Fluttershy kicked the human girl and the Pegasus filly off their backs and they hit the floor.

Then, Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and their friends all surrounded the tied-up Chloe and Aylene who swallowed nervously as they looked at the seven mares, who all smiled at them evilly, before Twilight came forward, and then she used her magic to surround both Chloe and Aylene in a purple aura and then she lifted them up to look at them in the eyes, and then she wickedly said to the both of them "Now you two listen to me and to what I have to say to you both and don't speak, understand?", and then she used her magic to sqeeze at both Chloe and Aylene, making them both whimper as they sadly nodded to Twilight, and then the Alicorn said to them "Good. Now, Chloe and Aylene, we're all very disappointed in you two for believing we're your friends after what your mother and your kind have done to us. Not to mention, you're not welcome and you don't even belong in out world anymore, you filthy, hairless, ape-like monster, and a traitor who dared to betray her own kind!".

"No! I'm not a monster! Listen to me!" Chloe cried, and then Aylene added "Chloe's not a monster and I'm not a traitor! Listen to us!", and the two begged for mercy, but Twilight squeezed at their bodies with her magic again and then she angrily shouted at the both of them "I TOLD YOU TWO NOT TO SPEAK, DIDN'T I! YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP AND DON'T CUT ME WITH YOUR NONSENSE LIKE THIS, STUPID HUMAN AND A TRAITOR WHO DARED TO BETRAY HER OWN KIND!", and then she took a deep breath before she said to Chloe and Aylene "No, we don't love neither of you, and we don't even want you two here either. For what three adult males from your own kind as well as your mother did to us and to our world, we're doing you two the same thing they did to us so both humankind and traitorous ponies will see what happens to those who dares to mess up with us and to ruin our world forever!".

Then, Twilight squeezed at both Chloe and Aylene wih her magic one last time, before she dropped the two down to the floor violently, and then she gave Starlight the turn to torment the helpless and still tied up human girl and Pegasus filly.

Then, Starlight stepped forward and then she used her magic to surround both Chloe and Aylene in a light blue aura, and then she began to lift the two up and then she said to them evilly "I wish you two were gone forever! I shouldv'e known that even a human girl and a Pegasys filly from our very own kind are nothing but traitors all along!", and then she squeezed at the two of them before she raised her voice up and shouted angrily at the human girl and Pegasus filly "YOU HORRIBLE BEAST AND A TRAITOROUS PONY! YOU TWO DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE WITH US PONIES AND OTHER CREATURES ALIKE AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN WELCOME IN EQUESTRIA FOR WHAT YOUK MOTHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE ALREADY DONE TO US BEFORE!" and then Starlight used her magic to squeeze at Chloe and Aylene once again, and then she dropped the human girl and the Pegasus filly to the floor violently, thus giving Rarity her turn to torment both Chloe and Aylene for pleasure.

Then, Rarity stepped forward and then she used her magic to grab at both Chloe and Aylene and life them up from behind their backs by surrounding only the tip of Chloe's cloth and also Aylene's mane in a blue aura, and then she said to Chloe and Aylene with an evil tone "You two are a foolish human girl and a traitorous filly, and you're both quite dummer than I thought you are! Do you two think either of you can outsmart and fool us ponies just because you're a human, and that Pegasus filly who betrayed us just because she's your friend?! Well then, I can say about it that you two are dead wrong!".

Chloe cried and begged "Please, Rarity! Listen to me! I'm not trying to outsmart you or your friends at all! In fact, I wanna show you all how nice and gentle humans can really be!", and then Aylene added "And Chloe proved this to me when she protected me from those three bullies when they tried to attack me and steal my doll when we first met each other! Chloe's not trying to outsmart you, and I'm not trying to do so either! Chloe showed me through being smart that she's indeed gentle and kind! There are good humans, and Chloe is one of them!", but Rarity didn't listened to either of them, and then she just surrounded them both completely with her magic before she violently squeezed at their small bodies.

Then, Rarity said to both Chloe and Aylene "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's very rude to interrupt an older lady, Darlings. What's more important to say about you two, I'd like to cut your head off and mount it over the opening of my boutique to show your kind how barbaric and mindless they are when they cut animals's heads off and mount them over their fireplaces back in where you live, Chloe! And as for you, Aylene, I'd like to put you in Tartarus so you'll suffer forever in a cage next to Cozy Glow, another Pegasus filly who tried to steal all the magic from our world so she can become the ruler of all of Equestria!", and then she added "And I thought you two are different, but I'm sorry to say that, but unfortunately, you're not even kind or generous, Chloe! And you, Aylene, are evil just like that Cozy Glow! You two are a despicable beast and a traitor who don't even deserve to roam freely in our world!", and then she squeezed at both Chloe and Aylene once again before she finally dropped the human girl and Pegasus filly back to the floor.

Then, Chloe and Aylene suddenly heard a familiar voice saying "My dear subjects, what's going on?", and then Twilight said "Look what we got here! A human girl and a traitorous Pegasus filly! Just for you two!", and when Chloe and Aylene turned their heads, they saw Celestia and Thorax walking towards them and towards the mane seven, and then Thorax suddenly said to the mane seven "I hope these two aren't much of a bother.", and then Rainbow Dash said "It was nothing! Applejack managed to tie up these two traitorous scams by their necks, wrists, ankles and hooves so they won't be able to escape!", and then Pinkie Pie added "That was totally easy to capture and restrain these two deceptions!", and then Celestia said to them "Good, and Applejack, now you can remove the ropes from around their necks so Thorax and I can speak to them, okay?", and Applejack said to Celestia "Sure!", and then she went over to Chloe and Aylene and then she finally removed the ropes from around their necks, but she still kept them both tied up by their wrists, ankles and hooves, thus preventing them from escaping.

Then, Celestia and Thorax approached towards the still tied up Chloe and Aylene and then Celestia used her magic to surround both the human girl and the Pegasus filly in a golden aura and then she lifted the two up so she and Thorax can look at them in the eyes and then Celestia said to them "Hello there, Chloe sweetie. You too, Aylene.", but with a rather low and disturbing tone. Then when Chloe and Aylene looked at Celestia and Thorax in the eyes, they both saw that Celestia and Thorax are both looking at them with faces which looked a little evil as the Alicorn and the changeling king both gave them an evil smirk.

When Chloe and Aylene noticed something with Celestia and Thorax also seems to be wrong, and so they both asked them "Mommy? Daddy? Are you both okay?", but then Celestia and Thorax looked at them with an evil face, and then they both slapped the two across their faces with their hooves, and then Celestia squeezed at the both of them with her magic, and then she shouted angrily at the human girl "HOW DARE YOU TWO CALL ME YOUR MOMMY, YOU HAIRLESS BEAST AND A TRAITOR!", and then she added "I KNOW THREE OF YOUR KIND AND YOUR REAL MOTHER HAVE CAUSED TROUBLES TO US PONIES, AS WELL AS TO THE CHANGELINGS AND TO OUR WORLD!", and then Thorax shouted angrily at the two "I'M SO SORRY I ALLOWED YOU TWO CALL ME YOUR DADDY AFTER WHAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT THE BOTH OF YOU! YOU'RE BOTH MONSTERS AND NOPONY, NO CHANGELING AND NO OTHER CREATURE SHOULD EVEN BEFRIEND YOU TWO AFTER WHAT THESE THREE HUMANS AND THAT TRAITOROUR MARE HAVE DONE TO US TO OUR WORLD!", and then he briefly used his magic to surround both Chloe and Aylene in a green aura, and then he tok them away from Celestia before he slapped the two across their faces, and then he squeezed hard at them, causing them both to cry in pain, as they couldn't believe their mother and father would've do that to them, before the changeling king gave them back to Celestia so she can continue to torment abuse the human girl and Pegasus filly.

Then, Celestia slapped across Chloe and Aylene's faces once again, and then she shouted at the two angrily "YOU TWO WERE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TO US PONIES AND TO OUR WORLD! YOU TWO ARE JUST A COUPLE OF STUPID LITTLE CRYBABIES AND YOU BOTH HAVE THE NERVE AND HEARTLESSNESS TO DESTROY EVEN THE SMALLEST AND MOST DEFENSELESS CREATURES! I TRULY REGRET I TOOK YOU BOTH IN, YOU TRAITORS! NOW GET YOUR FLANKS OUT OF EQUESTRIA OR ELSE THORAX AND I WE'LL HAVE TO KICK YOU BOTH OUT BY FORCE!", and then she squeezed at both Chloe and Aylene one last time, before she finally untied Chloe's wrists and ankles, as well as Aylene's hooves and set the two free, but not before she dropped them both to the ground violently, causing the human girl and Pegasus filly to cry in pain.

Then, Thorax angrily shouted at Chloe and Aylene as he looked down at the both of them with an angry face "I DEMAND YOU TWO TO LEAVE OUR WORLD AND NEVER RETURN! GET OUT OF HERE, RIGHT NOW!", and then he screamed angrily "GOOOOOOOOOO!", and Chloe and Aylene barely managed to get back up on their feet and hooves, before they looked at the mane seven, who all looked at the two of them with evil smiles and smirked at them evilly, and Chloe and Aylene couldn't take such harmful, meaning and insulting damage anymore as they both completely lost their trust in everypony and every creature they loved, and so they both ran away from the Castle of Friendship in tears, and the two ended up in the same dark void where they last met Yigal and his brothers, Black Heart, and Chloe's family.

Then, a blue light suddenly appeared, and then a familiar voice called out Chloe and Aylene's names as the blue light apprached towards both Chloe and Aylene, and it turned out to be Luna with Pharynx walking by her side, but just like the mane seven, Celestia and Thorax, Luna and Pharynx also had evil smirks on their faces, before Luna bellowed down and shouted angrily at the human girl and Pegasus filly "DIE!", and then she's about to blast at the both of them with her magic, but just then, the totally unexpected happened.

A male voice angrily shouted at both Luna and Pharynx "LEAVE THE GIRL AND FILLY ALONE!", and then Tony Black suddenly appeared right in front of Chloe and Aylene, and when the two saw the black tiger approaching them, Chloe cried "No! Go away!", and Aylene added "Leave us alone!", but then when he got close enough, Tony Black placed a paw on Chloe's shoulder and then he said to her and to Aylene "It's okay, girls. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you two. I'll promise you two I'll keep you both safe. Turst me.", and when Chloe and Aylene both heard everything from what Tony Black just said to them, the twi became confused to know he's not going to hurt the two of them, and that instead he's actually wiling to protect them both from the ponies and changelings who just betrayed them.

Then, he's joined up by Agatha the white lioness, who was also his adoptive sister due to both Tony Black and Agatha being raised together and also because they're both felines, and so the two big felines walked away from Chloe and Aylene and they both placed themselves between them and Luna and Pharynx, and while facing the Alicorn mare and the changeling with the will to fight them two-on-two to save Chloe and Aylene from them and from everypony and every creature who turned on the both of them.

"Let's fight, evil mare! Bring it on!" Tony black angrily said to Luna as he was willng to fight her, and then Agatha spoke up and said angrily to Pharynx "Let's see what an evil changeling like you can do to me!", as she was willing to fight him too, and the two felines knew that if they win in the fight, Chloe and Aylene will be okay, but if Luna and Pharynx win in the fight, they will be blasted by Luna's magic alongside Chloe and Aylene.

Luna and Pharynx made together the first moves with Luna blasting at both Tony Black and Agatha with her magic and Pharynx tried to swipe at both Chloe and Aylene, but the two big felines managed to turn to Chloe and Aylene, snatch the both of them by their cloth and mane with their teeth without harming either of them, and then they both jumped out of the way with them to save the two of them alongside themselves. Then, they let go of Chloe and Aylene and they placed them both down, and then they turned to Luna and Pharynx once again and then Tony Black said to them "This battle is two-on-two! If you both win, you can blast both the two of us and the girl and the Pegasus filly off with your magic, but if we both win, you'll have to leave us alone and never return!".

Then, Luna suddenly transformed into her evil form - Nightmare Moon, and Pharynx transformed back to his scarred, black and evil form, before he transformed himself into the same monster he used to transform into before he became a good changeling, and then Nightmare Moon used her magic to blast at Tony Black and seriously wound him, and then Pharynx in his monster form used his enormous size to charge and maul down at Agatha, thus seriously wounding her too, and Chloe and Aylene both just stared and looked in shock as both Tony Black and Agatha got heavily wounded by Nightmare Moon's evil magic and by Pharynx's ability to maul down at them in his monster form, before the two felines fell down onto the sides of their bodies, both are unable to continue to fight.

When Chloe and Aylene saw Tony Black and Agatha heavily wounded, they both suddenly went up to them and then Chloe dropped down to her kness and hugged Tony Black's black fur, while Aylene jumped and landed on Agatha and then she hugged her white fur, and then the two cried to them. "No! Please, don't go away! Why did you two tried to save us?", and Tony Black looked up at Chloe while Agatha looked up at Aylene, and then Tony Black said as he and Agatha barely moved their left forelegs and paws each one around and above Chloe and Aylene's bodies and gently placed them down around their backs without causing either of them any harm "Because you're both our friends, but we're so sorry we couldn't protect you, girls. We both lost in this battle. Goodbye...", and then Agatha said "Goodbye, girls...", and then they both finally closed their eyes and their heads fell onto their sides, and when Chloe and Aylene saw them both dying, they cried "No! Please, don't die! Please, don't leave us!", and then they both buried their faces and cried into their black and white furs.

However, Nightmare Moon and Pharynx both laughed evilly from the tragedy, and then Pharynx said to Chloe and Aylene "Don't cry about these two scams! They both got exactly what they truly deserved!", and then Nightmare Moon added "It's time for you two to say goodbye too!", and then she shot a blast of magic at the human girl, the Pegasus filly and at the now dead Tony Black and Agatha, and when it nearly hit Chloe and Aylene, they both screamed together "NOOOOOOOOO!", before they both finally woke up from their nightmare.

Then, Chloe and Aylene turned to look at each other, and then tears started to from in their eyes, before the two hugged each other tightly and then they started to cry together as they couldn't believe that everypony and every creature they know and love will randomly turn on the both of them this easily and would even dare to harm, abuse and torment them despite they're both friendly and innocent and won't do or mean any harm to anything in Equestria.


	23. Chapter 22:Crocophant attack and rescue

When morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up again after they both suffered from an evil nightmare they shared together, and they also knew this is the day when Chloe is going to celebrate her tenth birthday, but Chloe and Aylene didn't wanted to have a birthday party because they're both still full of distress after both the letter Yigal have sent to them, and also because of the nightmare they shared in which everypony and every creature they loved harmed, abused and tormented the both of them until they both completely lost their trust in everyone they loved except for each other.

However, since they both knew it was just a horrible nightmare they just shared, Chloe and Aylene still knew that nopony and no creature will ever randomly turn on them, and so they went to the dining room to eat with their mother, Celestia, and with their main aunt, Luna, but when they got to the dining room, they both found nopony, but there was a letter from Celestia which said to them when they began to read it that she and Luna are too busy to be with either of them right now, and this made Chloe and Aylene confused as they both believed that Celestia and Luna don't want to celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday, which made Chloe more saddened than Aylene, but even she was sad to because she also believed that the mother and aunt who adopted the both of them suddenly decided to ignore and avoid them by leaving them alone with just a letter, which made the human girl and her Pegasus sister very sad, before the two went out of the royal castle and towards the Castle of Friendship so they can talk to the mane seven and see if they have the time to be with the both of them.

However, upon reaching to the Castle of Friendship, Chloe and Aylene received a letter written for them by Twilight that she and her friends aren't in the Castle of Friendship because they're to busy to be with either of them right now, and the letter also told them to come back when Twilight and her friends were all available, which made both Chloe and Aylene bewildered and confused, and so they went to the changeling kingdom to in hopes that their father, Thorax and uncle, Pharynx, were not busy and will have the time to be with the both of them.

However, upon arriving at the changeling kingdom, the changelings turned Chloe and Aylene away after they said to them that Thorax and Pharynx left the hive and won't be around at the time to be with either of them because they're also too busy to be with the two of them, causing Chloe and Aylene to leave the changeling kingdom in tears and the two ran together towards the Everfree Forest, and then they both entered and then went to the nearest lake in the forest to drink some water so they can both calm down, and after the two drank some water from the nearest lake in the Everfree Forest, Chloe and Aylene sat down together under one of the nearby trees, but they're both still sad, bewildered, confused and even wounded to know that nopony and no creature wants to be with them right now.

"I don't understand - why would everypony and every creature we love for the most won't like to be around us right now?", Chloe asked, and then Aylene added "You're right, Chloe. Why would our friends and even our mommy, daddy, uncle and auntie won't like us anuwhere around right now? What have we done wrong?", and then the two thought for the right answer, but nothing came up in their minds, and so the two just sighed hopelessly as they're now believing that nopony and no creature loves them or wants them to be around anymore.

Then, suddenly, the two heard someone clapping his hands and/or hooves, and when the sounds of the clapping started to get louder and closer to them, Chloe and Aylene tunred to se Yigal suddenly approaching them while clapping his hands, and once he got close enough to the human girl and Pegasus filly, Yigal stopped clapping his hands and then he said to the two "Well then, you both made it here! Thank you two for finally deciding to show up, girls!" and then the adult human male chuckled mischievously at Chloe and Aylene, who both looked at him in shock and confusion.

Then, Chloe asked him "What do you want from us, Yigal?", and then Aylene added "Why did you even clapped your hands for us? What did we both do good to deserve this?", and then Yigal said to the both of them "Because you two finally think that your family truly loves you both, girls!", and then he added "Anyway, would you like to come with me?", and then he explained "Do you want to meet that friend of mine I talked and explained about in the letter I sent to the both of you?", and Chloe said "I don't know, I don't follow.", and then Aylene added "Yeah, me neither.".

However, Yigal tried harder to persuade both Chloe and Aylene to come with him, and so he said to the two of them "I promise you two that this time you can truly trust me, and by the way, that friend of mine I talked and explained about in the letter I sent to you two will be a guest of honor in the girl's tenth birthday!", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what he said, the two tried to reconsider together and agree with each other if to listen to him or not.

"Can you say that again, please?" Chloe asked Yigal, and he answered "Of course, I will!", and then he repeated "I said that I promise you two that this time you can truly trust me, and by the way, that friend of mine I talked and explained about in the letter I sent to you two will be a guest of honor in the girl's tenth birthday!", and once he finished, Aylene asked Chloe "Should we really trust Yigal this time?", and Chloe said "Well, yes, I guess so, because if he willingly repeated his words to us so we can understand him better, this proves he maybe have changed.", and Yigal said "Yes, of course! You two can totally trust me this time! I won't hurt the both of you because I only came here to take you both with me to the birthday party we all have planned and prepared for the girl!", and then he said to the human girl and Pegasus filly "And now, follow me!", and then he started to walk away from them and deeper into the Everfree Forest.

Chloe and Aylene still didn't knew if they should trust Yigal after all, but then they both changed their minds and they decided to follow him deeper into Everfree Forest to see if he's telling the truth, and also to see that friend of his he talked and explained about in the letter he sent to them, and also to see what does he his friend looks like and how does he or she behaves and will react when he or she sees the both of them for the first time.

Chloe and Aylene followed Yigal until they finaly reached to his huge house, where they meet up with him, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart, who all waited for the both of them to come, and then Yigal said to Chloe and Aylene that it's time for them to meet that friend of his, and so he and his brothers and Aylene's former mother all took Chloe and Aylene with them to meet that friend of theirs in the darkest part of the Everfree Forest.

Meanwhile, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and the mane seven were all working together and they're still busy preparing Chloe's tenth birthday party back in the royal castle, which was the real reason why they left letters Chloe and Aylene which said to the two of them that they can't be with them right now, and the reason that they didn't told the two of them that they're preparing Chloe's birthday party it's because they all wanted to keep the birthday party a surprise for Chloe and Aylene when they come back to the royal castle, and after working very hard on everything they all prepared for Chloe's tenth birthday party, everypony and every creature finally finished with all the preparations for Chloe's tenth birthday party, but what they all didn't know is that Chloe and Aylene won't come back to the royal castle to celebrate the birthday party with everyone, because the two were going to celebrate the birthday party in the wrong place, and worst of all - with the wrong guests.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Aylene still followed Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart until they finally stopped when they finally arrived at the darkest part of the Everfree Forest, and then Yigal called out for Queen Chrysalis to come out of the shadows and face him and the others, and after a short moment, a tall female changeling wearing a crown on her head, with black coat, green saddle on her back, blue mane and tail, a pair of fangs coming out of her mouth, green midsection, green eyes, holes in her mane, tail, wings and legs, and a twisted horn which also had holes came out of the shadows and approached Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart, Chloe and Aylene. Yigal and his brothers and Black Heart all knew who that black and scarred changeling is - it was Queen Chrysalis, the original and former queen of the changelings.

When Queen Chrysalis stopped right in front of the group of humans and ponies, she said "Well, isn't that Yigal who caused troubles to Equestria?", and Yigal answered "Yes, my brothers and I even wanted to take Celestia down, but we all failed.", and then Black Heart said "I admit I'm a pony, but I'm still evil like you and like my human friends here.", and then Chrysalis said to her and to the humans "Very well then.", and when she turned and noticed Chloe and Aylene cowering together behind Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart, the former changeling queen asked "Yigal, who are these little human girl and that little Pegasus filly?", and Yigal said "Oh, these are the two my brothers, our mare friend and I all wanted to show you!", and then he pointed his index finger at Chloe and then he said to Chrysalis "Chrysalis, I want you to meet Chloe. Today she just turned 10 years-old.", and then he pointed at Aylene and said "And this is Aylene, her best friend, or should I say in other words - her adopted sister.", and then Black Heart said "Yeah, Exactly! I was once Aylene's mother, but that daughter of mine have betrayed me for Celestia, who became her new mother.", and then she added "Not to mention, Thorax, that new king of the changelings is now my daughter's new father.", and then Gilad added after Black Heart finished "Both Chloe and Aylene were adopted by Celestia who became their mother, and then Thorax also showed up and became their father.", and when Chrysalis heard everything the three adult human males and one Pegasus mare said about Chloe and Aylene, the former changeling queen said "How interesting.".

Then, Chrysalis turned to Chloe and Aylene and then she said to them "Well, that's so nice to meet you two and get to know the both of you at the same time!" and then she laughed evilly, thus scaring Chloe and Aylene as they stepped away from her a bit, and then Chloe asked her "Who are you?", and Chrysalis said "I'm Queen Chrysalis, the queen of the changelings!", but then she quickly added "Well, I was once, until your father, Thorax, dethroned me from my position and became the king of the changelings instead! But who needs my changelings that I have Yigal and his brothers, as well as that Black Heart as my companions?", and then she said to Chloe "I've heard you've turned 10 today!", and then she asked "Is that right?", and Chloe swallowed nervously before she said "Well, yes, technically, I guess.", and then Aylene added "Yigal told us that you'll be a guest of honor when we celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday party.", and this made Chrysalis ask the Pegasus filly "What did you just said?", and Aylene answered "Yigal told us you're going to celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday party with us.", and when Chrysalis heard what the young filly said, she turned back to Yigal and the others and then she asked "Yigal, is that true?", and he answered "Well, yes, Chrysalis. Now, take the girl and the filly with you to the exact place where we planned to celebrate the girl's birthday party. Black Heart, my brothers and I will use our animals to catch up with you three. Now go!", and then Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart all went and called for their animals, thus leaving Chloe and Aylene with Chrysalis.

Then, Chrysalis sat down onto her haunches and then she said to Chloe "Hop on my back, girl!", and Chloe was at first unsure is she should do so, but then she decided to accept Chrysalis's offering, and so she went to the former changeling queen and so she climbed up onto her back before she sat down on the green saddle on her back, and then Chrysalis stood back up on her hooves, and then she took off and satrted to fly away with Chloe, and Aylene was able to catch up to them because she also knows how to fly (and because Aylene was a Pegasus), and so the three flew together towards the exact place where they'll celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday party with Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals.

Meanwhile, back at the royal castle, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and the mane seven all waited for Chloe and Aylene to come so they can finally celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday with them, and Spike and the CMC were also present, but after a while, they all suddenly started to worry abour Chloe and Aylene because they didn't came back to the royal castle, and there's no sign of the both of them anywhere around or nearby.

Everypony and every creature were so worried about Chloe and Aylene, and so Celestia and Luna sent Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to search for Chloe and Aylene everywhere, and the three searched for them from the skies, and eventually they all flew into the Everfree Forest to search for the both of them there.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and Chrysalis all flew in the Everfree Forest and after a while, the three finally landed in the exact place Yigal planned to celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday party, and it seemed like he and his brothers, and Black Heart and their animals all have managed to arrive at the place first, and then Chrysalis let Chloe to climb down from her back once they landed on solid ground, while Aylene landed on the ground safely after she flew for a while with Chloe and Chrysalis.

Then, Yigal said "Now it's the time to celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday party!", and then he and all the others, including Chloe and Aylene cheered up and called out loud all together, and then Black Heart said "Now it's the time to show the human girl and my former daughter the surprise we all have planned for the both of them!", and then Gilad said "Yes, of course!", and then Ezra said "Chloe, Aylene, you two must come with me if you both want to see the surprise we have for the both of you!", and Chloe and Aylene agreed to go with him as the now approximately 47 year-old adult human male began to lead the way, until Chloe, Aylene and all the others finally stopped in front of a large cage that was being covered by a very long red blanket, and then Chrysalis said "Behind that red blanket and inside that large cage, you'll both find out and see what's the ultimate surprise we all have prepared for the both of you!", and then she started to fly up and then she landed and stood on top of the large cage.

Then, Chrysalis used her magic to surround the red blanket that was covering the large cage in a green aura, and then she said to Chloe and Aylene "We'd like to present you two the most beautiful creature your eyes have ever seen! Behold when you both see the large and majestic creature which has the appearance of both a crocodile and an elephant! Meet the Crocophant!", and then she started to lift the red blank off the cage with her magic as she took off to the air, and when the red blanket was removed completely from the large cage, Chloe and Aylene could both see a large, scary and intimidating creature which has the appearance of both a crocodile and an elephant. Potentially more dangerous than both the Timberwolf and the Maulwurf, this creature was the only creature to have at least a part of its body with the appearance of an elephant, and its large size allowed it to potentially trample its enemies to death before it ate them, and by its scary appearance it had from both an elephant and a crocodile, this creature is known as the Crocophant, and they're extremely dangerous towards ponies, humans, changelings and other creatures, especially when these creatures has their own babies with them.

When Chloe and Aylene looked at the huge crocodile-elephant beast, it turned its head to them and them it nailed its eyes and face at the human girl and Pegasus filly, before it roared at them like an angry dinosaur and then it started to charge against the bars of the large cage in an attempt to set itself free so it can devour Chloe and Aylene, but then Lin Raju the mammophant grabbed a large piece of meat in his trunk and then he got his trunk inside the cage to give the hungry Crocophant the meat, but then the Crocophant turned to him, and then it bit Lin Raju on the trunk when it tried to snatch the meat from him, but then Ezra used a whip to attack the Crocophant to force him to let go of Lin Raju's trunk, and after being whipped three times by Ezra's wipe, the Crocophant finally let go of Lin Raju's trunk, but it still snatched the meat he dropped for it, and so the Crocophant picked up the piece of meat and then it started to eat it, but Chloe and Aylene both stepped aback in fear and terror when they both realized how dangerous is the Crocophant.

Then, Yigal turned to Chloe and Aylene and then he asked the two of them "Do you want to stroke this giant beast?", but Chloe said "No, no! I don't want to!", and Aylene added "Me neither! I don't even want to stand close to this beast!", and then Chloe said "She's right! That monster can easily destroy each of us in just one bite!", but then Black Heart said to them as she started to push the both of them towards the cage "But this is the ultimate gift we've been planning for you! both of you!", and as she started to push both Chloe and Aylene towards the large cage, Chloe screamed "Stop! Please, stop!", and Aylene added as she also screamed "I don't wanna be this close to this thing!", but then when Black Heart stopped pushing the both of them towards the cage, Chrysalis used her magic to open the cage so the Crocophant can come out of it and can be set free, and once Chrysalis opened the cage, the Crocophant came out of it as it was finally got set free, and then it fixed its eyes on both Chloe and Aylene who looked at the huge beast in fear and terror as it started to approach closer and closer to them, until it suddenly stopped right in front of them, and when they saw how big the Crocophant really is, the two swallowed nervously as they realized this creature is even bigger than Lin Raju the mammophant, causing them to shake and cower in fear and terror as the large beast just looked down at the both of them.

Then, Yigal said to the terrified human girl and Pegasus filly "Now, if you both excuse us, we all need to go!", and then Black Heart added "Enjoy your new ultimate birthday gift, Chloe! You too, Aylene!", and then Queen Chrysalis said "Goodbye girls!", and then she's about to use her magic to teleport herself and the others away, but then Chloe cried "Please don't the two of us all alone with this thing!", and then Aylene added "I don't want to stay anywhere near this evil monster! He can eat the both of us in any given moment!", and then the two cried out loud together "PLEASE TAKE US HOME!", but Gilad said to them "Let's see how you two will get along with the Crocophant!", and Ezra added "Yeah! I hope he doesn't eats either of you!", and then Queen Chrysalis said "Enjoy your new ultimate birthday gift we gave you two! Goodbye, girls! Have fun with your new beast!", and then she and the others all laughed evilly before she teleported herself and all the others away, thus leaving Chloe and Aylene all alone with the Crocophant.

Then, the Crocophant gave both Chloe and Aylene an evil smile full of sharp crocodile teeth with two large elephant tusks also protruding from its upper jaw, thus scaring the two as they finally decided they should run away while they can, and then they both started to run away, but the Crocophant also gave on a hot pursuit as it also tried to chase after the human girl and Pegasus filly whom he considered as his next meal.

Meanwhile, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all still searched for Chloe and Aylene, until they all suddenly heard someone screaming and then the screaming voices were followed by a monstrous roar, thus showing and proving the three mares that they're all getting close to find Chloe and Aylene, and they knew by the roars that something really big and extremely mean and cruel is chasing them and is trying to hunt them both down, and so Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all flew in the direction where the roars and screams all came from.

Back with Chloe and Aylene, they're both still running away for their lives from the ferocious and evil Crocophant who is doing everything it can and will to get the both of them as his next meal, and eventually Chloe and Aylene got trapped against a dead end, thus finally giving the Crocophant the chance it's been waiting for, and once it got close enough to the terrified human girl and Pegasus filly, it managed to trap them against the dead end and have them both cornered and surrounded, and this made Chloe scream for help "Somebody, help us!", and then Aylene screamed "Somepony, save us!", and then they both cowered in fear as the Crocophant approached closer and closer to the both of them as it was ready to devour them.

However, before the Crocophant was able to devour Chloe and Aylene, a familiar female voice suddenly shouted at it "Leave them alone!", and this made the Crocophant turned its head and see who's calling it, and when it looked up into the sky, it saw Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Fluttershy all flying down towards it, and so it decided to fight them all first before it's going to eat Chloe and Aylene as its next meal.

Then, Rainbow Dash flew down towards the Crocophant and then she punched the huge beast across the face with her hooves, but it did almost no effect on it, before it used its long and muscular elephant trunk to slap at the Pegasus mare and throw her out of its way, before Twilight flew down towards it and then she blasted at the huge beast's body with her magic, but it also did no effect due to its thick hides of both an elephant and a crocodile protecting it and making it tough and strong when it comes to Unicorn and Alicorn magic attacks.

Then, Fluttershy had no choice but she had to use her infamous star which was able to scare the Cockatrice and force it to leave the CMC (before Randall joined them) alone and to turn Twilight and one of Fluttershy's chickens back to normal, and she did managed to cause the Crocophant to turn away in fear as it never saw a pony that was able to use the stare on it, so Fluttershy decided to keep using her infamous stare to continue to scare the Crocophant which tried and kept avoiding her in shock and fear before it tripped over a rock and fell to the ground, and its head struck the ground and it caused the huge beast to be finally knocked out as it fell unconscious.

Once the Crocophant was defeated, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all turned to Chloe and Aylene, and the three mares approached them and then Twilight and Rainbow Dash placed their hooves on Chloe's shouldres and they began to say her name softly, while Fluttershy place her hoof on Aylene's head and then she began to stroke her mane and softly said her name, causing the two to finally look up and see the three mares looking down at them with soft and warm smiles, and then Twilight said to Chloe and Aylene "Thanks Celestia, you're both alright!", and then Rainbow Dash added "Yeah! You're both lucky we heard you both screaming for help so we can follow you and save you both from that ferocious beast that was trying to eat you!", but Chloe just said to the three mares as she turned away from them and looked away "I don't want to talk to you about my birthday! Everything's ruined! This is hopeless!", and then Aylene added "Just leave us alone, you three! We already know you don't want us to be anywhere around or near you all! Please, go away!", before the Pegasus filly also turned away from them and looked away alongside Chloe.

When the three mares heard what the human girl and Pegasus filly just said, Twilight said to them "That's not true at all! We all left you two these letters because we've been to busy preparing for your tenth birthday party, Chloe!", and then Rainbow Dash added and explained "We kept your birthday party a secret from Aylene and you just because we wanted your tenth birthday party to be a surprise!", but then Chloe snapped and said "No, you don't! You don't care about my birthday! I think you three are just lying to us about celebrating my birthday party!", and then Aylene added "I think so too! Yigal told us that he and his brothers, my former mother, and Queen Chrysalis will be celebrating Chloe's tenth birthday party with the both of us! We truly trusted him at first, but what kind of gift did we both received in the end? We nearly got eaten by a ferocious Crocophant!", and then Chloe said to the three mares "We're staying here so we don't get ourselves in any more trouble!", and then she and Aylene turned with their backs away from them.

"Chloe, Aylene, this time you two will celebrate the birthday party because we all have already prepared everything for it!", Rainbow Dash said to the two wounded sisters and best friends, but they both still kept themselves not looking at the three mares, and this made Fluttershy to finally stop into action, and so she started to go around Chloe and Aylene and then she stroked their hair and mane with both of her hooves and she softly and kindly said to them as they're both about to cry upon being tricked by Yigal and the others and almost getting themselves eaten by the Crocophant "There, there, little ones. It's okay, I know you're both angry and sad about falling for Yigal's dirty tricks he planned for you two. But it's okay, I'm angry at you two, and nor my friends. Please, come back with us to the royal castle. I promise you two that this time you'll get to celebrate the birthday party.".

Then, Fluttershy said to Chloe "Now get up and climb on Twilight's back, Chloe.", and then Rainbow Dash added "We'll be back in the royal castle in no time!", and when Chloe and Aylene wiped away their tears from their eyes and looked up at Fluttershy's reassuring smile, they both finally rebuilt their trusting bonds with their friends, and so Chloe got up on her feet, and then she went to Twilight and then she climbed on the Alicorn's back, while Aylene started to take off and fly on her own as the three mares all started to take off and fly, with Aylene following them close behind as they all left the Everfree Forest and went back to the royal castle.

Once they all arrived at the royal castle, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy led Chloe and Aylene with them towards the large room where the Grand Galloping Gala is held and used to celebrate the completion of Canterlot after Equestria was founded, and when the three mares opened the doors, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and all the others called out for Chloe all together "Surprise!".

At first, Chloe and Aylene were confused as they saw everything already prepared for the birthday party, and then Chloe asked "Why are you all here?", and Aylene added "What's all that supposed to be?", and Celestia said "It's for your tenth birthday, Chloe!", and then Thorax added "Yeah, that's right! Everything you both are seeing here right now is for the birthday party! Everything's real!", and this made Chloe ask "What?", and then Luna said "We've been preparing for your birthday party the whole time!", and then Pharynx added "And now that you're both here in the right time, we can all celebrate the birthday party we prepared for you!", and then everyone (except for Aylene) said to Chloe all together "Happy birthday, Chloe!", and this finally made Chloe and Aylene happy to know that they're not forgotten and/or rejected after all, and so they all started to celebrate Chloe's tenth birthday party.

Once the birthday party is over, it was already evening, and so everypony and every creature went back to their homes, while Chloe and Aylene went back to their bedroom, then they both entered it, and then they climbed onto their bed and covered themselves in the blanket, before the two finally yawned and then they both closed their eyes and fell asleep together, and for both Chloe and Aylene, it was a wonderful time they'll never forget.


	24. Chapter 23:the amazing rescue plan

Two months have passed since Chloe have turned 10 years-old and celebrated her tenth birthday, and it was also ten months since she and Aylene become sisters, and to the top of all, it was been 22 months (one year and ten months) since Chloe accidentally arrived in Equestria, but right now she started to get to know more new creatures who live in Equestria, such as Queen Chrysalis for an instance.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went outside the royal castle and they went to Ponyville to meet the CMC, and they searched for them everywhere until they managed to find the three fillies and the colt in their clubhouse, and when Chloe and Aylene entered inside to meet them, the four young foals greeted and welcomed them both into their clubhouse, and they started to tell teach Chloe and Aylene about what they're all doing and also about their activities they do every day.

Then, the CMC took Chloe and Aylene with them outside so they can all play together, and after they did all the activities the CMC always do, the six went and sat down below a tree after they all got tired from doing all the activities for today.

However, just as they thought everything will be peaceful and quite with the exception of singing birds, they all suddenly heard a male voice screaming in pain and crying "Let me go!", and when Chloe and Aylene looked everywhere, they saw nopony and/or no creature anywhere around or nearby. However, the CMC heard the male voice screaming in pain again, and it came from the bottom of the hill, and so the four young foals ran in the direction where the screaming voice came from, and when they got closer, they started to hear evil growls coming from the same direction as the screaming voice, and Chloe and Aylene aslo heard the evil growls too, and so they joined the CMC until the six ended up on the edge of the hill, and when they all looked down, they saw a huge male rhinoceros pony-napping a teenage stallion in his mouth and dragging him on the ground while taking him away hostage with him, and the helpless teenage pony screamed in pain and cried for the rhinoceros to let him go, but the rhinoceros just gave him back some evil growls, before he gave the hostage teenage stallion an evil smirk while still holding him in his mouth and dragging him away with him.

"What is that rhinoceros doing to him?!" Sweetie Belle cried, and then Scootaloo added "He's downright evil for a rhinoceros!", and then Randall added "Yes! I think so too! He's pony-napping that teenage stallion!", and when Chloe and Aylene recognized him by how he looked like, Chloe said "It's Saut!", and when the CMC heard what she just said, they all turned back to her and then Apple Bloom asked her "Who is Saut?", and then Chloe explained "He's the rhinoceros who is taking that teenage pony hostage!", and then Aylene added "Yes! I know him too! His owners had filly-napped the both of us before!", and then Scootaloo asked "What are we goind to do?", and Chloe said "I suggest we should follow him and see where is he taking that poor teenage pony along with him!", and then Aylene added "Then, we'll try to fight him together to distract him away from that teenage stallion, and while he's distracted, two or three of us will have to help the teenage stallion to escape!", and when the CMC heard what Chloe and Aylene said about the plan, Randall said to them "You know what? We're in! Now let's go and kick some big bad rhino's butt!", and so the six friends went together after Saut and they started to follow him to see where he's taking the teenage pony he captured and took hostage with him.

Saut took the teenage pony, whose name is Sandbar, who is also the only pony among the young six, as his captive so he can give him to Yigal and his brothers to eliminate him, but what the evil southern/northern white rhinoceros hybrid didn't know is that Chloe, Aylene and the CMC were all following him behind his back, and they came up with the right plan to get Sandbar away from him and take him back to safety.

Eventually, Saut reached to the Everfree Forest and he entered it with the captive Sandbar, and the hybrid white rhino dragged him along with him until they finally reached to a lake where he finally let go of the injured Sandbar, and then he started to drink as he finally got his eyes away from the wounded teenage pony, who is unable to move and escape because Saut have managed to bite and wound Sandbar's right hind leg and hoof when he pony-napped him and took him hostage.

However, just then, a lone Timberwolf came out from behind the trees and it began to stalk the wounded Sandbar behind Saut's back, but when Sandbar turned to see the Timberwolf approaching, the teenage pony cried "A Timberwolf! Help me!", and when Saut heard him and turned back to see what's going on, he saw the Timberwolf coming closer towards Sandbar who is unable to move and avoid his fate, and this is when Saut ran towards the Timberwolf, charged at it and he started to fight it one-on-one as Sandbar watched the fight from a distance, but as Saut is busy fighting the Timberwolf, he completely forgotten about Sandbar, and this is when Chloe, Aylene and CMC (who all followed Saut and Sandbar into the Everfree Forest) finally managed to get to Sandbar, and then they all tried to help Sandbar to get back up on his hooves, and they supported him in an attempt to help him escape with them, but Saut have managed to destroy the Timberwolf by smashing it until it became a pile of firewood, thus finally turning his attention back towards Sandbar.

When the hybrid white rhinoceros saw the girl and foals trying to help Sandbar escape, his face turned angry and so he started to charge towards them all in an attempt to wound them, but they all barely managed to move out of the way, and then Chloe and Aylene stood together against Saut in a fight on two-on-one, but in that case, it's two small ones against a very big one, which means for Chloe and Aylene that Saut can outfight the both of them together due to his large size compared to theirs.

However, Chloe and Aylene still had the will power to fight against Saut and outfight him together all by themselves and without anyone else helping them. Then Chloe and Aylene both charged towards Saut and they aimed at both sides of his large body, and then Chloe and Aylene both managed to reach Saut's sides, and then they both climbed up onto his back, causing him to growl in anger as he tried to throw the both of them of his back, and then he ran and charged and kicked in anger in his attempts to remove both Chloe and Aylene from his large back, but the two still held tightly onto him and neither of them let go of him, much to the CMC and Sandbar's amazement.

Then, Sandbar gave Chloe and Aylene a little help on his own by barely kicking at a single stone and throwing it towards Saut, thus giving Chloe and Aylene their adventage to harm the evil hybrid white rhinoceros. When Chloe and Aylene looked down and saw the stone that Sandbar barely kicked and threw to them, Aylene let go of Saut and so she flied down to get the stone, and once the stone is in her hooves, she flew up and back to Chloe and so she landed right on Saut's back once again and then she gave the human girl the stone to allow her wound the evil hybrid white rhino for pony-napping Sandbar like he already did.

Then, Chloe grabbed the stone in one hand and then she began to scratch against Saut's face with the stone in an attempt to injure him, but Saut fought back and eventually he managed to throw both Chloe and Aylene off his own back, and then he turned to them and he prepared to eliminate the two of them at once by smashing at them, but then Chloe moved the stone in her hand and she managed to scratch across Saut's face, and she managed to aim at his left eye and wound it with the stone, thus blinding him in the left eye and causing him to growl in pain as the pain that blinded his left eye was strong and painful enough to distract him away from Chloe and Aylene, before he turned away and ran into a tree and he charged against it and got his horn stuck, thus allowing Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar to escape.

When Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and the injured Sandbar were all out of the Everfree Forest, they took the injured teenage stallion with them back to Ponyville so somepony will be able to treat and heal his injuries he received when Saut bitten him in his right hind leg and hoof, and once they all arrived in Ponyville, they took Sandbar with them to Ponyville Hospital so the nurses can treat and heal his injuries, and once Sandbar is finally inside Ponyville Hospital, the human girl and the five young foals all cheered up together as they managed to save the life of Sandbar before either Saut, the Timberwolf or even Yigal and his brothers can destroy him for good, and that's how the CMC became even closer to Chloe and Aylene for their shared intelligence and amazing plans which they both used together to fight, outsmart and wound Saut before he can give Sandbar to Yigal and his brothers.

The next day, Twilight and her friends thanked Chloe, Aylene and the CMC for saving Sandbar's life, and so Twilight decided that they all should officially become students in the School of Friendship where she and her other friends are teaching the students about the true meanings of friendship, and the CMC accepted to finally become officially students at the School of Friendship which is also the place where they always wanted to study ever since the School of Friendship has opened by Twilight and her friends, but Chloe and Aylene decided they should attend and become new students at the School of Friendship when Sandbar's injuries and broken right hind leg and hoof will completely heal within the next two months, and Twilight and her friends accepted Chloe and Aylene's decision, before they took the CMC with them to the School of Friendship to make them officially students of the School of Friendship for helping Chloe and Aylene rescue Sandbar and save his life from Saut, while Chloe and Aylene went back to the royal castle to tell Celestia and Luna about what they and the CMC did today.

After Celestia and Luna being told about the fight against Saut and about Sandbar's rescue plan, they were both so proud of the both of them and so they allowed Chloe and Aylene to go and attend and become new students at the School of Friendship when Sandbar has healed completely from his wounds he received when Saut bitten him and dragged him away, and Chloe and Aylene said that they'd like to attend and become new students at the School of Friendship two months from now, and so they went to the dining room to eat some dinner, and after they finished, the human girl and Pegasus filly both went to their bedroom together, and then they opened the door and went inside, and then they climbed onto their bed, and then they covered themselves and each other in the blanket, before they yawned and finally closed their eyes and fell asleep, and Chloe and Aylene both knew that two months later they'll find themselves studying in a much better place, which is of course the School of Friendship.


	25. Chapter 24:Chloe meets the young six

Two months have passed since Chloe, Aylene and the CMC fought Saut and saved Sandbar's life, and right now Sandbar's injuries have healed completely and he can now return to the School of Friendship to be with his five best friends again like he always used to ever since the School of Friendship was opened. It was also two full years since Chloe accidentally arrived in Equestria, and it was also a full year since she and Aylene became inseparable sisters, and now they're ready to attend and become new students at the School of Friendship.

When morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up and went out of their bedroom and to the dining room to eat some breakfast, and once they're done eating, the two inseparable sisters said to Celestia and Luna today that they're going to attend at the School of Friendship, and the girl and filly's mother and aunt said to them good luck and to have fun and then Chloe and Aylene went out of the royal castle and they went together to the School of Friendship to begin their first day in there and to make new friends which they've always dreamed of.

When the two arrived at the School of Friendship, they're approached by Spike who takes them both to Twilight's office so they can see her do she can make both Chloe and Aylene officially new students of the School of Friendship, and after the process was done, Spike took Chloe and Aylene with him to each and every one of the five classrooms to study the true meanings of friendship through honesty, generosity, loyalty, laughter and kindness.

Later, when Chloe and Aylene finished studying for their first day at the School of Friendship, they met Sandbar once again and also his five non-pony friends, who are Gallus, Ocellus, Smolder, Yona and Silverstream. Chloe and Aylene introduced themselves to Sandbar and to his five best friends, and then Sandbar introduced himself back to them and also thanked the two for saving him from Saut before, and then he pointed at his five non-pony friends and introduced them to Chloe and Aylene one-by-one.

Once Sandbar finished introducing Chloe and Aylene to his five best friends, Chloe said to them "It's nice to meet you all!", and then Aylene added "I truly know and understand that one of you is a changeling while Sandbar is the only pony among you, but what kinds of creatures are you four?", and then Ocellus explained to the human girl and Pegasus filly "Yes, I'm a changeling and that's true, but our friends aren't ponies or changelings like Sandbar and me, but we're all still best friends!", and then Gallus said "I'm a griffon!", and then Yona added "I'm a yak!", and then Smolder added "I'm a dragon!", and then Silverstream finished "And I'm a hippogriff!".

"Whoa! I can't believe that! That's so cool to meet other kinds of creatures than just ponies and changelings!" Chloe said, and then Aylene added "I can't believe you're all friends of each other and that you're studying together at the School of Friendship!", and then Chloe bgena to tell about herself "Anyway, I'm Chloe. I'm 10 years-old, and I'm also, by the way, a human being!", and then she added "You probably heard about my kind before, haven't you?", but the young six said "I think I've heard about three evil adult human males whom are living together in the Everfree Forest, but I don't know what's their names." Sandbar said, and then Aylene answered "The youngest of them is Yigal, the second-oldest of them is Gilad, and the oldest of them is Ezra! By the way, these three were brothers, and they also use six evil animals which will do cruel and heartless things under their orders!", and when Aylene said that, the young six all gasped in shock and they all asked in unison "WHAT?! REALLY?!", and Chloe said "Yes, of course!".

"I think she's right about the evil animals who also cause troubles to our world! After all, a male rhinoceros pony-napped me, bitten my hind hoof and dragged me away as he took me hostage!" Sandbar said, and Aylene explained "That was Saut!", and then Chloe added "She's right! Saut is the rhinoceros among these six animals!", and then she quickly added "But that's not all! the five other animals were Lin Raju the Mammophant, Kenai the Brown Panda, Shujaa the albino orangutan, Agatha the white lioness, and their leader who is the most cruel and heartless out of them all - Tony Black the pure black bengal tiger!".

When the young six heard what Chloe and Aylene said about Yigal and his brothers's animals, Yona asked (in third person) "Do you think that big bad evil rhino who hurt Sandbar will also hurt yaks like Yona?", and Chloe said "I think so. Saut is extremely abusive, cruel and heartless towards ponies, and so I really think he would dare to mess up with non-ponies like you and your friends too! He even kidnapped Aylene and me once before!", and this made Yona shake in fear a bit as she couldn't believe there's such an animal in Equestria that will abuse both ponies and non-ponies that would be potentially much bigger than a yak (like herself for an instance).

"One last question - what is a Mammophant?", Smolder asked Chloe, and the human girl answered "Yigal told me that Mammophant is a hybrid between a woolly mammoth and an asian or african elephant. Lin Raju is a male specimen from this hybrid species, and like Saut and the others, he'll dare to provoke, attack and maybe even kill all six of you at once!", and when the young six heard what she said about the Mammophant, Ocellus asked "What should we do?", and Aylene said "There's actually one way I think we can use to fight and maybe even defeat Saut or even Lin Raju - training ourselves to fight enemies, just like how your teachers used to fight together against the enemies they faced, and once we're ready after lots of lessons and experience, we'll go and fight Yigal and his brothers, and we'll be able to subdue their evil animals too!".

"But Black Heart must be defeated too if we want all of them to be gone from Equestria!" Chloe said as she remembered that Black Heart is an ally of Yigal and his brothers, and Gallus asked her "Who is Black Heart?", and Aylene added "She was once my mother, but now she's my enemy, and Celestia adopted me and made me and Chloe sisters because of my real mother being evil too, just like Yigal and his brothers!".

"When we should start training?", Silverstream asked, and Chloe answered "From next month, maybe.", and then Aylene said "Well then, we'll start training near the Everfree Forest from next month, but all of us need to come so we can all train together for fighting our enemies.", and so Chloe, Aylene and the young six promised to each other that from next month they'll begin their training for so they can fight their enemies together, and once the day was over, Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to the young six and so they both went back to the royal castle.

A month later, Chloe and Aylene started to take the young six with them after studying at the School of Friendship every day to train near the Everfree Forest so they can become well experienced in fighting dangerous enemies, and Chloe and Aylene hoped that one day, they'll go all together to the deeper parts of the Everfree Forest to find Yigal and his brothers, Black Heart and their animals and fight and defeat all of them.

After training for fighting enemies for over the next three months, the young six, thanks to Chloe and Aylene, learned and became well experienced in how to fight enemies, and agter finishing their training for today, Chloe and Aylene said to them that they knew they're good in teaching others how to fight dangerous enemies, and within just three months and not more, and then Chloe said she's not only proud of all of them, but also proud of both Aylene and herself for being good teachers in fighting enemies, and then Chloe and Aylene said that they must go back to the royal castle because Celestia and Luna were waiting for them there, and then the human girl and Pegasus filly turned and walked away from the young six and back to the royal castle to tell Celestia and Luna how they managed to teach the young six how to fight dangerous enemies within just three months and how everything came out a success.

Then, soon after Chloe and Aylene were gone, the young six were also about to go away and back to the School of Friendship where they actually live, but then something big started to bite down on Yona's right hind leg, and that made her scream in pain, but when she turned back to see what's biting on her leg, she saw to her shock and horror that it's not Saut the rhinoceros or any of the other animals whom are belong to Yigal and his brothers, but a huge female albino hippopotamus which actually has the same sharp and elongated tusks of a male, but because she had breasts on the end of her underbelly side like cows and other female Artiodactyls, that proved that hippopotamus is actually a female that only looks like and is also nearly the same size as a vicious and ferocious male, and it looked like she's a rare animal just like Yigal and his brothers's animals.

Then, Yona tried and struggled to kick the female albino hippopotamus in the face to make her let go of her, but then a paw with five sharp claws suddenly came from Yona's side and it slapped the teenage yak on the face without scratching her, but it still caused her to fal unconsious after the paw slapped her across the face three times, and when Yona's friends turned to see who are the attackers, they saw it's not just a female albino hippopotamus, but there is also a male leopard, but he didn't looked normal with black spots or completely black like all leopards - it was a male red leopard, which has the same mutation which caused at least one leopard in the past to be born with reddish fur with brown spots instead of either normal with black spots or with complete black fur.

When Yona's friends saw her being knocked unconscious by the albino hippopotamus and the red leopard, the teenage pony and his four teenage non-pony friends decided to fight the two unexpected attackers with what they all learned from Chloe and Aylene who both gave them the experience to fight their enemies, but the albino hippopotamus and the red leopard actually worked together to fight against the five teenagers at once in a fight on five against two, and then Gallus and Smolder made their first move and they charged together towards the albino hippopotamus, but unlike most hippos which are known for both mankind and other animals as brainless killers, the albino female hippopotamus was actually really smart, and so she turned tail to the two attackers but she didn't ran away and instead she just waited for them to come too close to her because she's going to do a a very stinky move against them.

When Gallus and Smolder were about to attack the albino hippopotamus when they got too close to her, she started releasing a very stinky and smelly fart at the two attackers, causing them to cover their nostrils and choke and cough violently as they couldn't bear the horrible smell of the albino hippopotamus's infamous fart. Then, the red leopard made his move and he used his swift burst of speed to tackle both Gallus and Smolder down before they can fly away from the smelly cloud which formed due to the albino hippopotamus's infamous fart, and then he managed to knock them both unconscious, before he quickly retreated from the cloud of smelly fart and got right in front of Sandbar, Ocellus and Silverstream, and he was willing to fight all three of them and capture them all as well.

Ocellus and Silverstream decided to attack the red leopard from both front and from behind, and so Silverstream came to the front of the red leopard while Ocellus came from right behind him to help Silverstream fight him, but before Ocellus can kick at the red leopard's butt, she got grabbed and captured in the albino hippopotamus's massive jaws, and then she started to shake the teenage changeling in her mouth and jaws and she slammed her against the ground until she managed to knock her out, thus leaving Silverstream to face the red leopard who then jumped up and managed to pull her down and capture her before she can fly away when she's about to retreat because she ran out of moves.

Sandbar looked in shock at his five knocked-out friends and he cried "No! It can't be!", but then the albino hippopotamus and the red leopard turned their attention to him, and this made Sandbar to run away and retreat and they both started to chase after him, but then the red leopard suddenly stopped and decided not to go after Sandbar, because if he'll leave the teenage non-ponies unguarded, they will gain consciousness and will try to escape, so the red leopard decided to return to the five unconscious non-ponies to guard them until his albino hippopotamus friend comes back with Sandbar hostage, and so only she still kept chasing after the teenage pony who desperately tried to outrun her and escape so he can go and ask for help, but then he ended up running into a Maulwurf, causing him to change direction and continue to run away while the female albino hippopotamus got confronted by the Maulwurf, thus forcing her to fight the bear-mole beast and despite the Maulwurf is big and strong, the albino hippopotamus managed to outfight it and she also managed to knock the Maulwurf unconscious, but by the time she managed to defeat the bear-mole beast, Sandbar was already too far away from sight, so she had no choice but to leave him alone and return back to her red leopard friend empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Sandbar continued to run away towards ponyville to ask Twilight and her friends to come with him to save his friends from the new enemies, while back in the Everfree Forest, the five teenage non-ponies who are now bound with lots of vines are being taken hostages by the albino hippopotamus and the red leopard, who took them all with them to Yigal and his brother's house, and once they arrived there, Yigal and his brothers welcomed the two rare animals and they're all very pleased with them for bringing the five teenage non-ponies to them as their hostages, and then Black Heart approached the two and she said to them she's extremely proud of them for capturing Sandbar's friends, proving that the three adult human males and the Pegasus mare all know the both of them, and also that the albino hippopotamus and the red leopard who are working together were friends with Black Heart.

Back in Ponyville, it was already nighttime, and Sanbar haven't managed to talk with Twilight and her friends yet about his friends's abduction by the albino hippopotamus and the red leopard, and he arrived back at the School of Friendship, he fell asleep indoors, but he knew he'll able to talk to Twilight and her friends tomorrow, while back in Yigal and his brothers's house, Ocellus, Smolder, Gallus, Yona and Silverstream were put and locked in anti-magic cages that prevents both ponies and non-ponies from using magic while they're being locked inside them, and Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals all guarded them to make sure they'll never be able to escape (for extra precautions), and they all waited for next morning to come so they can fight Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and the others in exchange for freeing the five captive teenage non-ponies whom they caught.


	26. Chapter 25:Chloe saves the young six

The next morning, Twilight and her friends began to teach the students at the School of Friendship, but suddenly she realized that the young six were missing, but then Sandbar burst through the front door and he cried "Help! Please!", and when Applejack approached him and then she asked him "Are you okay, Sandbar? What's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?", and Sandbar swallowed hard and explained "My friends! They got abducted! You gotta help me! Please!", and then Fluttershy came forward and then she said to him "Calm down, Sandbar. It's okay, you can tell us what happened to your friends and we'll promise you we'll find them and rescue them from those who abducted them.", and then she asked "Now, who abducted your friends?", and Sandbar answered "An albino hippopotamus and a red leopard abducted them all! Only I managed to escape! You gotta help me rescue them! Please!", and then Rainbow Dash approached him and held his hooves and said "It's okay, Sandbar. Don't stress, it's going to be fine. We'll find these albino hippopotamus and red leopard you just spoke of who abducted your friends, and we'll also rescue your friends. They're students like you and like everypony else. Trust me and my friends.", and when Sandbar finally calmed down, he said to Rainbow Dash and to her friends "Thank you all.".

Then, another voice suddenly called and said "Count us in too!", and when everypony heard the voice calling from behind, they all turned to see Chloe and Aylene at the opening of the front door, and then Aylene added "We want to come with you to save your friends, Sandbar. It's okay, because once we both fought and killed an evil crocodile together, and then we fought Saut the rhinoceros and we ended up scarring his left eye. These are proofs which tells you all that we're both very strong together for a girl and a filly around our own age. Please, let us come with you so we can help you save your friends!", and Twilight said to them "That's the spirits! You two are coming too! We'll go and search for our five most beloved who are missing right now! Let's go!", and so the mane six (minus Starlight and Spike, who stayed behind to teach the rest of the students) took Chloe, Aylene and Sandbar with them, and so they all went towards the Everfree Forest to search there for Sandbar's friends.

When Chloe, Aylene, Sandbar and the mane six arrived and entered the Everfree Forest, they all began to search for Sandbar's five best friends, but then Saut suddenly burst out through the trees and attacked them all, and when he turned to Chloe and Aylene, he remembered them and especially Chloe more than Aylene, because the human girl have managed to scar and blind his left eye, before he briefly showed his scar on his left eye to her to show both her and Aylene what have Chloe done to his eye, and then he started to charge towards them both and attack them, but Twilight used her magic to blast at him, but luckily for him, his thick hide prevented Twilight's magic blast from wounding him, and so Applejack and Rainbow Dash decided to go the hybrid white rhinoceros to attack him together, and so Rainbow Dash began to punch him across his face, while Applejack used her hind legs and hooves to kick at Saut's heels to harm him, but he was able to shake them off by biting down at Rainbow's tail and then he shook her in his mouth and threw her aside, and then he turned back to Applejack and then he used his hind legs to kick her off his heels, but then Fluttershy stepped into action and she used her infamous stare which actually scared Saut and caused him to run away and back towards his evil owners' house.

Then, Chloe, Aylene, Sandbar and the mane six decided to continue to search for Sandbar's missing friends, but then Chloe suggested they should all go after Saut because he might lead them straight to his evil owners's house, and Aylene and Sandbar agreed with her and Twilight decided to allow Chloe to lead the way, and so they all started to follow Chloe who followed Saut's large rhinoceros footeprints, which indeed led them all straight to Yigal and his brothers' house.

When they all arrived at Yigal and his brothers's house, the human girl and ponies all heard someone talking, and Sandbar knew who was talking from inside the house - it was Silverstream, and Chloe and Aylene also recognized her voice, and it seems like she's talking to Yigal and his brothers. "Just you wait, you three big old bullies! Sandbar and our teachers were on their way to stop you all! They're going to out you in Canterlot's dungeons for abducting us!", Silverstream shouted and spat out in anger, but then Yigal shouted at her back "Be quite, you filthy creature or else I'll make sure you'll regret talking to me like that!", and then Black Heart added "Yes, he's right! We're all older than you filthy creatures! You have no right to insult us like you did!", and then Gilad said "I've plotted something that will put you five out of your misery in no time!", and then he walked away and left the room, and then Ezra said to the five teenage non-ponies "I'd like to have your heads hanging on our wall! That way we'll show you filthy creatures what REAL adult human males will actually do!", and then Gilad returned back to the room with an axe in his hands and he said "Now, tell us where is filthy human girl, Chloe, and her stupid friend, Aylene, or else I'll have to cut off your heads and hang them on our wall!", and then laughed evilly at the five captive non-ponies, who all looked at him with nervous faces, except for Smolder, who looked at the three adult human males and Pegasus mare with an angry face.

Then, when Chloe, Aylene, Sandbar and the mane six came closer towards the house until they all managed to reach and peek through the window to see what's going on inside, they saw the five teenage non-ponies locked in anti-magic cages, and they're all looking nervous and afraid, except for Smolder, who looked at Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart in anger. Then, Smolder angrily asked the four villains "Do you really think that axe of yours can kill all five of us?!", and then she added "Even so, my friends and I won't let you four harm a human girl or even a young filly, you monsters!", and then she continued "We might not be adults, but we still won't let you harm little girls or even fillies like Chloe and Aylene, you heartless beasts!", but then Yigal angrily shouted at her "THERE'S NOTHING YOU FILTHY CREATURES CAN DO ABOUT IT! YOU'RE ALL LOCKED IN ANTI-MAGIC CAGES! YOU CAN'T PREVENT US FROM DESTROYING THESE TWO TRAITOR SCAMS!", and then he took a deep breath and said to Ezra "Start with the dragon, now!".

Then, Ezra went up to Smolder, opened her anti-magic cage from outside and then he took her out of the cage and he was about to handle her to Gilad so he can cut her head off, and then Ezra said "This stupid teenage dragon will be the first to lose her own head to us!", and then he laughed evilly as he handled the teenage dragon to him, and he managed to pin her down to the floor with his feet to prevent her from escaping him, and then Black Heart went over to Gilad and she helped restrain Smolder by tying her by her arms and legs and to prevent her from spitting fire at Gilad's face, Black Heart also wrapped and tied a cloth over Smolder's mouth to prevent her from spitting fire at Gilad so he will be able to kill her first.

Then, Gilad was about to strike Smolder and cut off her head with his axe, but then Ocellus cried "Please, let Smolder go! I'm begging you! Take me instead!", but Gilad ignored the teenage changeling's begging words, and he was about to kill Smolder right in front of her and the others, and then he said evilly "One dragon head is coming right up!", but before he can actually kill smolder, the totally unexpected happened - a blast of magic shoot through the window and it hit the axe and suddenly dissolved it and it turned into goo, much to the four villains' shock (and also a bit of disgust), and when they all turned to the broken window, they saw Chloe, Aylene, Sandbar and the mane six, who all looked at them with angry faces, and then Twilight stepped forward and said "How dare you trying to kill our most beloved students?! You're all insane beasts who deserve your heavy punishment!", but then Yigal angrily said "Why should we even care about this?! That stupid girl scarred our precious Saut on the left eye about more than four months ago and you're all still proud of her?! And of her stupid friend who was once my friend's daughter, but is now her worst enemy?! You're all idiots!".

Then, Twilight said to the adult human male who just glared at her angrily "You, your brothers and Black Heart were the ones who were idiots! You can't harm young girls like Chloe, you monster!", but then Gilad interfered and asked "Can we get back to having our new dragon head hanging on our wall?", but then Aylene flew towards Gilad and she managed to knock him off his feet, before she turned to her former mother, Black Heart, and then she attacked the Pegasus mare and made her charge against Ezra, thus knocking him of his feet too, before she and Chloe went up to Smolder and then they untied her arms and legs and removed the cloth from her mouth, and then Smolder said to them "Thank you two so much!", but then she shouted and pointed behind them "Look behind you!", and when Chloe and Aylene turned back, they saw the albino female hipppotamus coming towards them with her mouth wide open as she prepared herself to snap and grab at Chloe and Aylene, but then Smolder pushed them both out of the way, thus causing the albino hippopotamus to charge into the wall instead, and thus also saving Chloe and Aylene's lives, and when the two looked back at Smolder, Chloe said to her "Thank you, Smolder!", and then Aylene added "You saved our lives!", and then Smolder said back to them "No problem!".

Then, the mane six started to fight Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart and their animals while Chloe, Aylene, Sandbar and Smolder went to the anti-magic cages and then they all started to open them and set their friends free, and once all the students were free from captivity, Rainbow Dash said to Yigal "Now you should stop fight us, Yigal! Our students were all set free!", and when Yigal heard what the Rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus mare just said, he asked "What?!", and then he added "Impossible! It can't be true! Chloe is just a stupid little girl, and Aylene is also the same way!", but then Yona interfered and said "Yona thinks otherwise, you big bad bullies!", and when Yigal and his brothers and Black Heart all turned to see the rest of the young six being freed from their anti-magic cages, the three adult human males and the evil Pegasus mare all stepped away in fear, and this is exactly the very first time Yigal and his brothers feared Chloe while Black Heart feared her very own daughter the same way, before Yigal said cowardly and then called "Now I think we should all just RUN AWAY FOR OUR LIVES!", and then he started to run away from his house, and Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart, and eventually their animals all followed close behind, but before they all left the house, Tony Black turned back to look at Chloe and Aylene in the eyes, and then growled at them like if he was trying to say that one day, he and all the other villains will have their revenge on the both of them, and then the black bengal tiger turned to go and he ran away from the house and joined the other villains, thus finally leaving their own house for good to find anda build another place where they can all live to exact their revenge on Chloe and Aylene.

Then, once the threats were gone, Ocellus said to Chloe and Aylene as she approached them and stretched out her hoof for them to shake "Thank you two for what you did! Because you two saved Smolder, then you're my friends too!", but then Chloe and Aylene turned away with their head and they both started to cry, and then Chloe said "We don't deserve to be friends with you anymore!", and then Aylene added "Yes! From now on, all adults fear and hate us the most!", and then Rarity asked them "What are you two were talking about?", and Chloe answered "Because Yigal and his brothers stepped away in fear when they looked at the both of us in the eyes! Black Heart also did the same thing before she ran away with them! This means that adults will start to fear and hate us for what we've done to the four of them!", and then she covered her face in her hands and continued to cry, and then Aylene said "If my former mother fears me from now on, that's a proof which can tell us that adults will start to fear and hate us becuase we know how to fight adults!", and then she also covered her face in her hooves and continued to cry.

Then, Smolder went up to them and then she placed her hands and claws below Chloe and Aylene's chins and then she said to them as she started to stroke their chins "It's okay, girls. Just becuase Yigal and his brothers, as well as that Black Heart fear you, that doesn't mean all adults living in Equestria fears and hates you the most. In fact, my friends I we're teenagers and we don't fear or hate you, even after the way Yigal and his brothers and Black Heart all faced you two in fear for the first time.", and then Ocellus also went up to them and then she added "We don't fear or hate you two for what you did to that Yigal and to his brothers and their friend, and in fact, we all appreciating what you've done for us. After all, you worked together to save all of us from captivity, and I'm pretty sure that no other adults in Equestria fears or hate you for what you've done.", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what the dragon and changeling just said, they looked at the two teenage female non-ponies in the eyes, and then Chloe hugged Smolder and she cried "Thank you, Smolder!", and then Aylene turned to Ocellus and she hugged her too and said to her "Thank you too, Ocellus!", and then Fluttershy went up to the human girl and Pegasus filly and then she said them "There, there, it's all over right now, and no other adults fears or hates you the most either, girls. Now, let's go back home before it gets really dark here.", and then everypony and every creature left the now abandoned house and they went out of the Everfree Forest and back to Ponyville, where Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to the young six, before the two were taken back to Canterlot to meet their mother, Celestia, and their Aunt, Luna, and once they arrived at the royal castle there, the two went inside to meet their mother and aunt who loves them the most.

When nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene went to their bedroom and fell asleep, and they couldn't believe that everyone older than them still loves them instead of fearing and hating them for the most, but now they're both very happy and relieved to know that they're loved by most older ponies and other older creatures in Equestria they've met and befriended so far, but Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart were still out there in a diferent part of the Everfree Forest, and now they're building together another large house that was enough for them and for all of their animals to live inside and plan and exact their revenge on Chloe and Aylene.


	27. Chapter 26:Shujaa's persuasion

Two months have passed since the first appearance of the two newest enemies, a female albino hippopotamus and a male red leopard, who are friends with Black Heart, and their names were Einhorn, who is the albino Hippopotamus, and Russell, who is the red leopard, and they're also allies with Yigal and his brothers, and as well as great allies with their animals too.

It was now 30 months (two and a half years) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, which is also 18 months (one and a half years) since she and Aylene became sisters, and this means that Chloe will turn 11 years-old two months later (because she turned 9 after eight months, and then she turned 10 after 20 months), and now Chloe and Aylene were both feeling great to be loved by everypony and every creature whom they befriended so far.

However, somewhere out the in a different part of the Everfree Forest, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals all managed to build a new house where they can live in together (after they've been chased away from their original house, which was now abandoned), and now they're plotting yet another plan to exact their revenge on Chloe and Aylene, and with Einhorn and Russell by their side, the villains now have not six but eight animals, which means that it will be difficult to defeat them all together, with Tony Black and Agatha following Yigal, Kenai and Shujaa following Gilad, Saut and Lin Raju following Ezra, and Einhorn and Russell following Black Heart, it will be extremely difficult to defeat all 12 villains when they're working all together.

Meanwhile, Chloe started having thoughts about her upcoming eleventh birthday party and she hoped that this time, the birthday party will be somthing she'll never forget, and Aylene understood and knew how does Chloe feels like, because she stood by her and listened to her feelings, and so she also hoped that the birthday party will come out something they'll never forget.

Chloe and Aylene also studied at the School of Friendship together while expecting Chloe's eleventh birthday party to come, and the young six and the CMC kept them company for the time being as well, and Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and the mane eight will always be by their side to keep them safe from dangers and threats.

However, one month later, on a sunny day, Chloe and Aylene tried to get any attention and to attract somepony or some creature to them so they can play with him/her, and the reason to this is because they're both so bored, but everypony were too busy to be with them, so the two decided to go the Everfree Forest to see the now abandoned original house of Yigal and his brothers, and once they arrived at the house, they entered inside to see if there's anything they can find to play with, but the only things they managed to find were a baseball bat, a bowling ball, a couple of blankets, a bag full of cookies, and a dead remote control.

Then, Chloe decided she and Aylene should take all these stuff with them with them so they can use them to play together and to use the cookies as food supply, and so the girl and the filly used one of the blankets to put and carry the other blanket along with all the other stuff, before they both left the abandoned house and then they went out of the Everfree Forest to play with their newfound stuff and as well to eat the cookies they also found alongside all the other stuff.

After leaving the Everfree Forest, Chloe and Aylene started to play together with the stuff they found in Yigal and his brothers's original and abandoned house, and they kept the cookies for later so they can eat them when they're hungry. When they went hungry, Chloe and Aylene ate the cookies so they can fill their tummies, and then they went under one of the trees, put the blankets under the tree they chose to lie down under, and then they lied down on the blankets below the tree and took some nap.

However, just then, an albino ape started to approach Chloe and Aylene while their taking their nap under the tree, and it was not an albino gorilla (like Snowflake the male albino gorilla) but an albino orangutan, and we all know the albino orangutan is - it was Shujaa. Shujaa went up to Chloe and Aylene who are both sleeping under the tree. Once he's close enough to them, he started to stroke their hair and mane, without the girl and filly even feeling that it was actualy Shujaa who is stroking their heads.

However, Chloe and Aylene suddenly felt at some point that someone or something is stroking their heads, and when they finally opened their eyes to see who's stroking them, they saw Shujaa stroking their heads and looking down at them with smile, before the albino orangutan suddenly spoke and said to them "Hi, girls! So we meet again!", and this caused both Chloe and Aylene to jump off their places and then they said in unison "Woah!", and then Chloe asked "Is that you, Shujaa?", and then Aylene asked him "What are you doing here?", and Shujaa answered "Well, I'm just stroking your heads to give you two some comfort.", and then he asked "What are you two doing out here all alone?", and then Chloe said "Well, we're just taking a nap under this tree.", but then Aylene asked "Wait, are you planning to do something mean and cruel for us like all the other times?", but Shujaa said "Well, no. I just wanted to make sure you're both okay.", and then he said "Actually, I want to invite you two into a birthday party next month, on the day when you, Chloe, turn 11 years-old. Will that be fine?", but Chloe said to him "No, thank you. We already know about your owners's evil tricks, and this time we won't listen to you or to what you have to say!", and then Aylene added "Yes, we don't wanna come with you after what your owners and that pretty mean Chrysalis have done to us before! You gave us a Crocophant as a gift so it can have the both of us as its meal!", and then Chloe said "We're staying here!", and Aylene added "Yes!", and then the two closed their eyes and turned away from Shujaa, who just said in return "Fine then, girls. I'll live you be, but reconsider this - you should come with me next month to the birthday party we'll plan for you two, and this time it will be fun. Goodbye, girls.", and then the albino orangutan just turned around and walked away from the girl and filly, and once he left out of sight, Chloe and Aylene finally opened up their eyes and turned to look at each other.

Then, Chloe said "Let's not listen to that big white dummy who is probably just trying to fool us to go with him into a trap, Aylene. Now let's go home and enjoy some quality time with mommy and auntie together!", and then Aylene said to her "That's a good idea, but first, let's take our new stuff with us back home so we can show mommy and auntie what we found in Yigal and his brothers's original but now abandoned house!", and so Chloe and Aylene started to pack off their newfound stuff and and out them in one of the blankets they also found so they can take their stuff back home to the royal castle, and once they're ready to go, Chloe and Aylene walked together back to the royal castle.

Once they both reached back to the royal castle with their newfound stuff, Chloe and Aylene showed their stuff to Celestia and Luna and they explained that they found and took them away from Yigal and his brothers's original but yet now abandoned house, and after explaining everything to their mother and aunt, the two went to their bedroom to put their newfound stuff under their bed to keep them hidden from others, and once nighttime came, the two came back to their bedroo after they both ate some dinner, and then they climbed up onto their bed, and then they covered themselves in the blanket, but they also decided to take out from under their bed the two other blankets which they found and took from Yigal and his brothers's original and abandoned house, and then they covered themselves in the two other blankets to have more warmth and comfort, before they both yawned and then they closed their eyes and they finally fell asleep.


	28. Chapter 27:Chloe saves Shujaa

A month have passed since Chloe and Aylene refused to listen to Shujaa's proposal to come with him to the birthday party Yigal and his brothers were preparing for them, and the two inseparable sisters still didn't believed what the albino orangutan said to them was true, and they both still believed that he's actually lying to them about the birthday party, because they both believed it to be actually nothing but a wicked trap for them.

For addition, today is the day when Chloe finally turned 11 years-old and she's expecting to celebrate her eleventh birthday with everyone she truly loves for the most. However, this time, Chloe knew that everypony and every creature were keeping the birthday party they're preparing for her a secret, and so she and Aylene decided to leave the royal castle and return only when everypony and every creature tells them to come back so they can celebrate Chloe's eleventh birthday party.

Once outside the royal castle, the two inseparable sisters played together, and since they took the dead remote control with them, they used it to play with it and even pretend that the dead remote control is a source of evil which will turn them into its servants if they don't defeat it, and they really liked to play the game they made together for each other and for themselves with the dead remote control, until the two finally got tired and they went to a nearby tree and then they lied down under it and took a nap together.

However, while they're both taking a nap under the tree, Chloe and Aylene didn't knew they're been approached by Shujaa once again, but this time he's not alone - Queen Chrysalis is with him and it looks like she's up to no good either. The albino orangutan and the former queen of the changeling approached together towards the sleeping human girl and Pegasus filly, and once they both got close enough, the two started to stroking their hair and mane, and the two didn't felt anything until they suddenly felt that someone or something is stroking their heads again, and so they finally woke up to find out that both Shujaa and Chrysalis were stroking their heads, and they both looked down at the two sisters with rather kind-looking smiles on their faces, which surprised and shocked Chloe and Aylene who immediately got back up on their feet and hooves and looked at the ape and the changeling in the eyes.

Then, Chrysalis said to the girl and filly "Hi, Chloe and Aylene. I guess this is where we say we meet again, right?", however, Chloe and Aylene looked in anger at her and at Shujaa and then Chloe said to her "What do you two want from us?", and then her Pegasus sister added and cried "Go away!", but then Shujaa suddenly said politely "It's pretty rude to turn away older creatures like us this easily, girls.", and then he added "Do you think we're lying about the birthday party we promised you? If you don't believe us, come with us right now and we'll show you both we're right!", and then Chrysalis said to Chloe "Come on, girl. Climb onto my back. Now.", but Chloe said "No! I refuse!", and Aylene added "We're not listening to you, and we're following you either!".

However, Shujaa and Chrysalis tried to find a way to trick the girl and filly into listening to them, and then Shujaa said "Don't be angry on us, girls.", and then Chrysalis added "As a payment for the incident with the Crocophant you've been through last year, we'll give you two some ice creams. Is that fine?", however, when Chloe and Aylene both heard what the former changeling queen said, Aylene asked "What did you just said? You said you'll give us some ice creams?", and Chrysalis said "Yes, if you two come with us of course!", and then Aylene turned back to Chloe and then she said to her "You heard what she said? She said she'll give us some ice creams if we come with her and with Shujaa to the birthday party Yigal and his brothers were prepared for us!".

However, Chloe still refused and she didn't wanted to go with Shujaa and Chrysalis, and it's because she still believed that they're actually lying to her and to her Pegasus sister, but only at first though, becuase after reconsidering that she and Aylene will enjoy eating the ice creams that Chrysalis will give them, Chloe finally decided to change her mind and she also decided that she'll go with Shujaa and Chrysalis to the birthday party Yigal and his brothers have already prepared especially for her and Aylene, and so Chloe said "Fine. I'll come with you two as well. Take me to that birthday party you prepared for us!", and Shujaa said "Now that's a good girl, and now let's go!", and then he added "We don't wanna be late for the birthday party, girls!", and so Chrysalis lowered down onto her haunches to allow Chloe to climb up onto her back, and once Chloe was sitting down on her back, Chrysalis said to her "Hold on, Chloe! We're going to celebrate your birthday party very soon!", and then she took of and flew up into the air, and then Aylene also flew up after them to keep up with them, while Shujaa ran as fast as he could towards the Everfree Forest.

Meanwhile, back in the royal castle, everyone were all still preparing the birthday party for Chloe's eleventh birthday, but what they didn't know is that Chloe and Aylene won't return back to the royal castle to celebrate the REAL birthday party with all of them, and it's because they're both going to the wrong birthday party which Yigal and his brothers have prepared for them, which was in other words - nothing more then a malicious trap.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and Chrysalis were in the Everfree Forest and they're still on their way to Yigal and his brothers, and in midway they went past Yigal and his brothers's original and abandoned house, and after traveling in the sky and on solid ground for a while, they all finally arrived at the newly and now completely built second and current house of Yigal and his brothers that they all managed to build after abandoning the original behind, and once Shujaa made it there on solid ground, while Chloe, Aylene and Chrysalis all traveled from the sky, they all finally arrived at the birthday party Yigal and his brothers prepared for both Chloe and Aylene.

When Chrysalis landed on solid ground and then got down onto her haunches to allow Chloe to climb down from her back, while Aylene landed on solid ground after she flew above the Everfree Forest with them, while Shujaa arrived on foot, and once they're all in the exact place Yigal wanted everyone to be, he and his brothers began to celebrate Chloe's eleventh birthday party, and once they all celebrated the birthday party, Chrysalis said to the girl and filly "Now it's time for you two to receive your new gift we all planned for you!", and then she went into Yigal and his brothers's house, and then she came out with a much larger cage that was covered in a huge black blanket, and she used her magic to show everyone the much larger cage, before she said "In this cage, there's a huge gift we would like to show the both of you! You two are going to receive the most beautiful gift your eyes have ever seen!", and then she used her magic and she prepared to lift up and remove the huge black blanket that was covering the cage to show Chloe and Aylene what's really inside it.

However, upon lifting up and removing the huge black blanket from the large cage, Chrysalis revealed to the two sisters that what's inside the large cage was non other than the same Crocophant which attacked them before, but it wasn't alone - there was also a Maulwurf and a Timberwolf locked inside the same cage with it, but rather than attacking each other, all three monsters looked down at Chloe and Aylene and they all roared at them in anger, and the three monsters all wanted to get out of the cage and eat the both of them, much to Chloe and Aylene's shock and horror.

Then, Yigal said evilly "Now, you two are going to receive these three beautiful gifts we're giving you!", and then Chrysalis used her magic to open the large cage, and the three monsters soon stepped out of it and they all glared down at Chloe and Aylene with scary and hungry eyes, thus causing the two to step aback from the three vicious monsters, and then Black Heart said to the human girl and to her former daughter "Enjoy your new pets, girls!", and then she laughed evilly at them as the three monsters started to approach both Chloe and Aylene with threatening looks on their faces, but then the two stepped aback from them, and then Aylene cried "Please, get these three evil beasts away from us!", and then Chloe added "We don't want these things coming this close to us!", but then Ezra said to them "We're just giving you two just what you both deserve!", and then Gilad said "Let's see if you both survive against the Timberwolf, the Maulwurf AND the Crocophant when they're all working together!", and then Chrysalis said "Enjoy your new gifts, little girls!", and then she laughed evilly before she used her magic to teleport herself, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals away to safety, and she left Chloe and Aylene alone with the Timberwolf, the Maulwurf and the Crocophant.

However, Chrysalis forgot to teleport with her one animal who got accidentaly left behind with Chloe, Aylene and the monsters - Shujaa. When Shujaa realized he's not been teleported with the others and was left behind with Chloe, Aylene and the monsters, the albino orangutan screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!", but this only caused the three monsters to turn to him instead as they all snapped out of their decision to eat Chloe and Aylene, and so they went towards Shujaa to kill and/or eat him instead, thus causing him to turn around and run away for his life, much to Chloe and Aylene's relief.

However, their relief was short lived when Aylene said "Oh no! The monsters are chasing Shujaa!", and then she added "We gotta go and help him!", but Chloe stopped her and said to her "Why should we save him after everything he and his owners have done to us?!", and then she added "If we save him from the monsters, he'll just insult us and laugh at us and then he'll leave us alone!", but then Aylene said "But we still have to try to save him! At this just this once! Please, Chloe!", and Chloe decided to make it up in her mind if to help Shujaa or not, but when she saw Aylene's tears and her begging face, she reluctantly decided to change her mind and then she said to her "Fine, Aylene.", and then she added "Let's save Shujaa, but only this once, okay?", and Aylene said to her "Okay, Chloe!", and then the two started to follow in the direction where Shujaa and the monsters went to, and so Chloe and Aylene searched for Shujaa and for the monsters.

However, just then, Chloe and Aylene suddenly heard a male scream followed by three different kinds of roars, and so they followed the roars and screams that came from a certain direction, and once they reached the sources of the roars and screams, they found Shujaa still running for his life from the Crocophant, the Maulwurf and the Timberwolf, and Chloe and Aylene just knew what to do to save Shujaa from the three monsters.

Then, Chloe and Aylene threw a couple of stones which hit the Timberwolf on the back, causing it to stop chasing after Shujaa and turn back to see Chloe and Aylene looking at him with angry and determined faces, and this made the Timberwolf to decide to attack them instead, and so it ran up to them and tried to attack them, but they moved out of the way, and that caused the Timberwolf to accidentally hit against a rock, thus allowing Chloe and Aylene to jump onto its back and they started to attack it and beat it up until they both managed to destroy the Timberwolf by turning it into a pile of firewood, thus leaving for Chloe and Aylene just two more monsters to defeat before they can save Shujaa.

Then, Chloe and Aylene started to chase after the Maulwurf and the Crocophant who are still chasing after the still fleeing Shujaa, and eventually they all ended up at the edge of a cliff, and this is when Chloe and Aylene were able to fight and mess up with the two remaining monsters. Then, Chloe and Aylene ran towards the Maulwurf and in midway, each of them picked up a sharp stone in their hands and hooves, and then they both jumped onto its back and they started to stab the Maulwurf through its thick hide with the sharp stones which they're using as their weapons, causing the Maulwurf to roar in pain as it tried to shake away the girl and filly off its back, and when the Crocophant turned around to see the two sisters attacking the Maulwurf, it decided to go and help it get the two off its back by going around the Maulwurf and once the Crocophant was right behind its back, it began to charge towards the Maulwurf in an attempt to help it to catch and throw Chloe and Aylene off its back, but Chloe and Aylene saw the Crocophant in time, and so they jumped off the Maulwurf's back and ran out the way, causing the Crocophant to accidentally charge into the Maulwurf instead, thus knocking it off the edge of the cliff, thus leaving only the Crocophant the only monster left to defeat.

However, the Crocophant turned back to look at Shujaa and then it decided to attack him again by charging towards him, but then Chloe and Aylene came in the way while holding their sharp stones in their hands and hooves and aiming them with their sharp tips pointing upwards, but then the Crocophant suddenly tripped over a rock and it lost its balance and landed on Chloe and Aylene and smashed them under its neck and chest, thus seemingly killing them both at the same time, much to Shujaa's shock to see that Chloe and Aylene just dared to sacrifice themselves to be killed by the Crocophant.

However, something started to move below the Crocophant's neck and chest, and it turned out to be Chloe and Aylene who are both still alive under the Crocophant's dead body, before the two managed to crawl out from right below the dead Crocophant, proving they killed it with their sharp stones stabbing its neck and chest, which caused it to die slowly and painfully while apparently crashing them under its own body, before the two got got back up on their feet and hooves, and then they turned to look at Shujaa, who just stared at them in shock and he also looked confused at the two sisters, before he suddenly asked "Why?", and then he added "Why did you two just saved me? And after everything my owners and I have done to you two?", and Chloe answered him "Because you really deserved it, Shujaa.", and then Aylene added "Now what do you say? Do you wanna be friends with us for real?", but Shujaa didn't know what to say back to the human girl and Pegasus filly who just saved him from getting killed by the three monsters.

Then, Chloe and Aylene approached closer to Shujaa and then they stretched out a hand and a hoof for him to grab and shake, but after Shujaa hesitated for a moment, the albino orangutan rejected their offerings for friendship before he said "No! I don't think so! Goodbye, stupid girls! We will meet again!", and then he jumped off the edge of the cliff but luckily landed on a tree branch which saves his life from striking the ground, and then he started to climb down the tree and then he started to run away and search for his evil owners, as Chloe and Aylene watched him leaving from edge of the cliff above.

Once Shujaa is gone from sight, Chloe looked down to her feet with a saddened face, but then Aylene went up to her and she looked up into her face with a reassuring smile, before the turquoise Pegasus filly said to her "It's okay, Chloe. I'm sure he'll come around one day. After all, we still saved his life from getting killed. I'm sure that after he'll think about what we did for him, I'm sure he'll start to feel regretful of himself for his bad actions over the course of time. I'm also pretty sure that one day, he'll come to apologize to us. Trust me.".

With these words being said by Aylene, Chloe started to have hopes that Shujaa will come one day to apologize for his bad actions, and maybe even become their new friend, and this made the human girl say to her Pegasus sister "You're right, thank you, Aylene.", and then she added "Now let's get out of here.", and then she and Aylene walked away from the edge of the cliff and they went back into the Everfree Forest.

Meanwhile, back at the royal castle, everyone have already managed to finish preparing the birthday party for Chloe's eleventh birthday, and then Celestia sent Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to go and search for Chloe and Aylene, find them and bring them back home for the birthday party, and the three mares started to search for both Chloe and Aylene from the sky and they all hoped they'll be able to find them and bring them back home before it's nighttime.

Chloe and Aylene went deep into the Everfree Fkrest until they finally reached Yigal and his brothers's original and abandoned house, and so the two decided to go inside to be alone just the two of them, but after staying there alone for a while, they're finally found by Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who went to the Everfree Forest to search for them there.

Upon being found, however, Chloe and Aylene weren't angry on the three mares this time, because they actually had lots of fun when they worked together to save Shujaa from getting killed by three monsters, and then Chloe asked them to take her and Aylene back home so they can finally celebrate her eleventh birthday party, and so Twilight used her magic to levitate Chloe up and place her down on her back, and then she, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took off and started to fly back to the royal castle, and Aylene followed them close behind to keep up with them all the way back home, and once they all finally arrived back at the royal castle, Chloe and Aylene were led by the three mares into the Grand Galloping Gala where everyone else were all still waiting for Chloe and Aylene to enter the room, and once the two sisters entered the Grand Galloping Gala, everyone called out loud "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" for Chloe, who was already aware of the birthday party from the start but decided to go and stay outside until she'll be called and brought back to the royal castle to celebrate her eleventh birthday, and then she and Aylene celebrated the birthday party they expected to celebrate with everyone they loved for the most at last.

When nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene went to their bedroom and once they're both lying down on their bed and with the blankets covering their bodies, the two yawned before they closed their eyes and fell asleep. Meanwhile, back in the Everfree Forest, Shujaa searched for his owners, but he soon managed to find them at last, outside their current house, and once Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart all reunited with him, they were all so happy and glad to see he's still alive, but Shujaa was somewhat angry at all of them for leaving him behind with Chloe, Aylene and the monsters. However, he knew he shouldn't turn on them, because if they find out that he's actually starting to become more good and less evil deep inside his heart (because of Chloe and Aylene who saved his life from getting killed once before), they'll punish him for starting to feel remorse for Chloe and Aylene, despite they actually saved his life, so Shujaa decided to tell a lie to Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart about how Chloe and Aylene saved him from the monsters, and also about how did he rejected them despite they actually saved him from getting killed, and the four villains actually believed him, before they took him and led him inside their house, thus reuniting him back with the rest of their animals.


	29. Chapter 28:Shujaa saves Scootaloo

A full month have passed since Chloe turned 11 and celebrated her birthday, and she and Aylene enjoy life in Equestria together as they're already officially sisters for quite a very long time, since Chloe was 9 (a full year after she first arrived in Equestria). It was also 33 months (2 years and 9 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and right now, she and Aylene made each other sisters and everyone else they loved as their family and friends, and they even tried to make friends with Shujaa, despite he tricked them and even helped his owners harass the both of them so many times, and it's because despite everything bad the albino orangutan have done to them before, they still saved him from getting killed by a Timberwolf, a Maulwurf and a Crocophant, and despite Shujaa rejected their offerings for friendship, he's still sorry for tricking and harassing them all the time deep inside his heart, and he wanted to find the right time where he'll finally declare himself a friend of Chloe and Aylene.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went out of the royal castle and went towards Ponyville to meet and play with the CMC, but this time, not only the CMC met them and went with them to the meadow to play with them - Sandbar, the teenage pony (who is also the only pony among the young six) also came with them to the meadow and they all played together in the meadow outside Ponyville, and once they all got tired of playing, they went and lied down under one of the nearby trees to get some rest after playing together in the meadow a lot.

However, after resting under the tree for a while, the human girl and the ponies all started to hear some crocodiles snarling, and when they all looked over and then got up on their feet, they saw they're surrounded by Lysander's float, which made Sandbar nervous and the CMC shrink back in fear, and then Lysander came between his crocodiles and then he stepped forward and said evilly to Chloe and Aylene "So, aren't you two Chloe and Aylene, the stupid human girl and her Pegasus filly who worked together to kill one of my crocodiles!", and then he started to laugh evilly as his crocodiles started to approach closer and closer towards them and the others, and it looks like that Lysander's float now includes three more crocodiles, which makes them all eight in total, when Lysander is also included, and the new crocodiles replaced the one which Chloe and Aylene have fought and killed to save the CMC during the previous crocodile attack.

When Chloe and Aylene saw the one of the crocodiles, a large adult male, was about to snap at Scootaloo, the girl and filly sisters both cried "Leave Scootaloo alone, you big bully!", and then they ran into the crocodile, and then they began to climb up onto his back and attack it while working together by using the sharp stones they collected before which they also used to kill the Crocophant, and then they began to stab the evil crocodile until they managed to kill him before he can snatch and have Scootaloo for lunch, leaving only seven more crocodiles to take down, including Lysander himself.

However, after Chloe and Aylene managed to kill the male crocodile, they heard Scootaloo screaming for help, and when they turned back to the others, they saw another crocodile have managed to grab at Scootaloo and pull her by her tail, and the orange Pegasus filly cried "Help! Help me!", and Chloe said to her "Don't be frightened, Scootaloo!", and then Aylene added "We'll save you from that evil crocodile!", and then they ran towards the crocodile who snatched Scootaloo in an attempt to save her from the evil reptile, but before they can reach her, Lysander and two other crocodiles came in front of the both of them and blocked the two sisters's path, thus preventing them from getting closer to harm the crocodile and from saving Scootaloo, and then Lysander used his magic which made his forehead glow red and then his magic began to surround the girl and the filly in a red aura and then he lifted them up, before he wildly threw them and made them hit the ground hard, and then he and two of his crocodiles started to approach the two sisters, while another had Scootaloo captured in his jaws, and the three other crocodiles surrounded and harassed the other CMC and Sandbar.

However, as it looked like the end is near, an angry roar was suddenly heard, which distracted Lysander and all of his crocodiles, except for the one who captured Scootaloo by her tail with his mouth and jaws, and then Shujaa suddenly came out of nowhere and then he jumped up and landed in front of Chloe and Aylene, and then he roared and angrily at the evil crocodiles, before being distracted by the one who had Scootaloo captured by her tail in his jaws, and when the albino orangutan heard the orange Pegasus filly crying for help, this is where he became determined to save her from getting eaten by the crocodile who captured her, and so he ran towards the crocodile and then he jumped up and landed directly on the crocodile's back, and then he began to beat the crocodile's back with his hands and fists to wound him, and after landing a certain number of blows which indeed hurt and stung the crocodile's back, the reptile couldn't take anymore damage and so he let go of Scootaloo and then he knocked Shujaa off his back, before turning and running away.

However, Shujaa was unwilling to let the evil crocodile escape, and so he took a sharp stone from the ground and then he jumped up and landed on the crocodile's back again, and then he stabbed the crocodile in a certain blow on the middle of his back, causing the crocodile to eventually fall onto his side and die from his deep wounds, before Shujaa jumped off the dead crocodile and landed on the ground and then he started to approach Lysander and the other crocodiles with an angry and determined face, which surprisingly scared them when he approached closer as they all looked at him in the eyes, before Lysander screamed out loud "RETREAT!", and then he started to run away and his five remaining crocodiles soon followed close behind, thus leaving Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar alone with Shujaa.

Once Lysander and his float were all gone, Shujaa turned back to Chloe and Aylene, and then he smiled at them, but not only they but also Scootaloo saw and noticed his smiling face, before the other CMC suddenly began to attack him, knock him off his feet and keep injuring and wounding him, because they all believed he's trying to hurt Chloe, Aylene, and especially Scootaloo, but Sandbar didn't took a part in this, and instead he just stood still under the tree and he was unsure if to help the CMC attack Shujaa or not. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Randall all attacked Shujaa together, and then Apple Bloom shouted "You're not going to take on Scootaloo, you big white dummy!", and then Sweetie Belle added "We won't let you hurt Chloe and Aylene either, you monster!", and then Randall angrily added "YOU LEAVE OUR FRIENDS ALONE!", but then Chloe and Aylene cried for them all to stop, and then Scootaloo also joined them and then she called to her three best friends "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Randall, please stop! Let him go!", and once the two fillies and the colt heard what their best friend said, they all looked at the injured albino orangutan in the face for a brief moment, before they all got off him and went back to their friends, and then Sandbar did the same when he finally decided to come to his friends too.

Then, Chloe and Aylene went towards Shujaa with Scootaloo in tow, and once they got close enough, Chloe and Aylene helped Shujaa to get back up on his feet, and then Scootaloo placed a hoof and patted him gently on his left forearm, before she said to him "Thank you for saving my life! By the way, I'm so sorry for my friends's behavior!", but then Shujaa said as he gently placed his left hand on her head and started to stroke her mane for a brief moment "It's alright. There's no reason for you to fear me anymore. Chloe and Aylene saved my life once before, and that's how I'm owing you all an apology for the harassing behavior of mine right now.", and then he introduced himself to Scootaloo in front of the others and said "Anyway, my name's Shujaa, and as you and your friends can all see, I'm an albino orangutan.", and then Aylene said to "Chloe and I already know that very well, but also thank you for explaining and telling the same to the others!", and then he turned back to her and Chloe and then he said to them "I'm so sorry I rejected you two after you saved my life. I promise I'll make it up for you and as well as for your friends too, to show you all I'm owing you all an apology.".

Then, Scootaloo said "Of course I accept your apology, Shujaa! You just saved my life from that evil crocodile's jaws! And if Chloe and Aylene have already saved you once before, then you're not only their new friend, but you're also my friend new too!", and then the orange Pegasus filly hugged the albino orangutan's left foreleg, and he looked down at her and smiled, before he turned to look at the other CMC and Sandbar as well, and then he said to them "Don't fear me anymore. I'm not your enemy you used to know for a very long time anymore, because from now on, I'm your new friend who will make it up for you, and in time, I'll start to grow and develop a good behavior apart and away from my owners as well as from the other animals too, and I'll start to secretly meet you all from time to time until I decide we should show everypony and every creature that you managed to help me receive and earn a change of heart!".

When everypony heard what Shujaa said, they all started to understand him at last, and then they started to introduce themselves to him one-by-one, with Scootaloo being the first to introduce herself to him, and then Shujaa said to them all "Now, I need to go back home to my owners.", and then Scootaloo asked him "Why?", and he explained "Because if Yigal and the others find out I return after night falls, they'll all start to grow and have suspicions about me.", and then he added "But I still promise you're all going to have lots of fun with me from time to time when I'll come to meet you all!", and then he said "Goodbye, everyone!", before he turned and ran away towards the Everfree Forest, before Chloe, Aylene, Scootaloo and the others all called for him back "Goodbye, Shujaa!", and that's when he briefly turned to them, raised his right arm and then waved his right hand for them, before he turned and ran into the Everfree Forest.

Once Shujaa was gone, Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar all decided to go back to their homes too before everypony starts to worry about them as well, and once they arrived back at the School of Friendship, the Sweet Apple Acres, Carousel Boutique, Scootaloo's family's home, Sugarcube Corner and the royal castle, the sun was in the middle of setting down, proving they all managed to get back to their homes before the night falls.

Then, Luna used her magic to raise the moon to show everypony and every creature all across Equestria that right now it's nighttime, and this is also when Chloe and Aylene went back to their bedroom and fell asleep, but they also hoped they'll start to have lots of fun with Shujaa from time to time, and they also hoped that Shujaa won't make Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart to grow and have suspicions about him as well, and they both knew that Shujaa will return with lots of fun ahead.


	30. Chapter 29:the fun day with Shujaa

When morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up and went to the dining table to eat some breakfast, and once they finished eating their breakfast, they went outside the royal castle and they went towards Ponyville to meet up with the CMC and Sandbar so they can go and play with them in the meadow, and once they all met up with each other, the seven friends went outside Ponyville and to the meadow to play together.

However, upon arriving at the meadow, the seven met Shujaa who came for them with an amazing attraction - a flock of ostriches, and this made Chloe and Aylene gasp in shock and surprise to see the beautiful and tall ostriches, and then Shujaa spoke up and asked them "Do you like the ostriches, girls?" and Chloe said "They look so beautiful!", and Aylene added "And they're even taller than a yak!", and then Scootaloo asked "Can we ride them?", and Shujaa said "I thought you'll never ask!", and then he added "Of course you can ride them! What do you think I brought with me those ostriches for?", and then he explained "Ostriches were the largest birds living today back on planet earth, and they can be used for various things, such as for their eggs, for their feathers, for their meat, and even for riding on their backs!", and then he added "These birds are flightless, but they're still the fastest of all flightless birds living today back on planet earth!".

Then, Shujaa said to the human girl and to the ponies "C'mon, let's have a ride!", and then he climbed on the lead ostrich's back and then he said to the others "I promise you all it will be fun!", and when they all heard what he said, Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar all climbed on the other ostriches's backs, and then Shujaa called out "Let's ride!", and this is when he and the others all held on tightly on the bases of the ostriches's long necks when the ostriches started to run fast.

During the ride, Chloe called for Shujaa "This is so much fun! I've never rode on an ostrich before!", and then Aylene cried happily "We can travel to the Crystal Empire, or even to Manehattan without using a train, thanks to those ostriches!", and then Scootaloo added "Rainbow Dash will be surprised when she sees us riding on those ostriches!", and then Sandbar added "My friends will be also impressed when they see us riding on those ostriches, and in such a fast speed! This is so much fun compared to studying at the School of Friendship!", and then he turned to Shujaa who is riding on the lead ostrich and then he called for him "Thank you, Shujaa! You're really good and smart in finding amazing sources of fun!", and then Shujaa answered back "I'm glad to hear that, but our fun day is not over! We're going to travel deep into the Everfree Forest to meet and befriend some best friends of mine!", and then he added "Let's go!" and then the ostriches ran fast towards the Everfree Forest, and once they all entered the forest, they traveled through the scary woods in almost no time.

When they all reached the exact place, Shujaa called to the ostriches to slow down and stop, and when they obeyed him, slowed down and finally stopped, Shujaa and the others climbed down from the ostriches's backs, and then Shujaa said to the ostriches to stay where they are and to not wander off until he and the others return, and the ostriches obeyed him, before the albino orangutan took the human girl and the ponies with him, and when they all arrived at the right place, Shujaa moved out of the way and allowed Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar to see the next part of his fun day he planned for them - a large troop of gorillas who are living at this part of the Everfree Forest.

Then, one of the gorillas, an adult male, approached the human girl and the ponies and he managed to scare them a bit with his presence and with his intimidating size, but then Shujaa blocked his way and said to him "Hi, Angalifu! It's so nice to see you again, my friend!", and when Angalifu recognized Shujaa, the male gorilla smiled before he spoke up and said "Shujaa! It's you again! I'm glad you came to visit me and my troop again!", and when he turned and saw the human girl and the ponies behind Shujaa's back, Angalifu said to him "And you even brought here some new visitors with you!", and then he added "I'd like to introduce them all to my troop!", and then he said to the albino orangutan "Now, give me a big ape hug!", and Shujaa jumped on Angalifu and they started to hug each other tightly, before they let go after a minute and then Shujaa turned back to Chloe, Aylene and the others and then he said to them "Don't be afraid of Angalifu! He's my best big ape friend! He's so nice and tolerant when meeting other creatures!".

However, when Angalifu turned and saw Chloe, he started to approach her, and she started to shake a bit as the silverback gorilla started to circle around her in an attempt to search and scan her, and once he was done, he looked at her in the eyes and asked her "So, you're a human being, aren't you?", and Chloe answered as she still shook a bit "Y-yes, I am a human.", and then she asked him "Are you really a best friend of Shujaa?", and Angalifu answered "Yes, I am his best friend, and by the way, human girl, his owners, who are also known as Yigal, Gilad and Ezra don't even know that we're friends for quiet a long time!", and when he said that, Chloe stopped shaking as she and the others all gasped in shock to know that not even Yigal and his brothers know about Angalifu and his troop being friends of Shujaa for quite a long time.

Then, Angalifu introduced himself to Chloe and said "Anyway, I'm Angalifu!", and then he asked her "And what's your name, human girl?", and Chloe answered "My name is Chloe! I'm 11 years-old, and I'm living here in Equestria for something like almost 3 years!", and when Angalifu heard what she said, he said to her "Thanks for telling me that! I'm so impressed to know that you're here for quite a long time as well!", and then he added "Anyway, come with me so I can introduce you and your friends to the rest of my troop!", and Chloe nodded as she and the others started to follow him and Shujaa who went towards all the other gorillas, and when they all turned to see Shujaa walking by Angalifu's side and the human girl and the ponies following behind them, the other gorillas quickly ran towards them to greet Shujaa, and then some of them went towards Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar who saterted to introduce themselves and each other to the gorillas who approached them, and then the gorillas took them all with them so they can play all together, much to Shujaa's happiness to see that the gorillas really do accept Chloe and her pony friends as new friends of theirs, and then Angalifu said to him that he's sure that some of the youngest gorillas in his troop will even become best friends with Chloe and her pony friends.

All of the gorillas in Angalifu's troop truly liked and befriended Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar, well except for one - an adult female who's name is Sayla. Sayla was been a childless adult female gorilla, and she also had strong hatred towards humans, which is the same thing Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile also had. When she met Chloe for the first time, she's angered by the fact that she's a human, so she ran away and kept avoiding her all the time. Even when Chloe tried to introduce herself to Sayla, the female gorilla just ignored her and kept avoiding her.

After getting no respect from Sayla, Chloe decided to go and tell Angalifu that Sayla hates her and avoid her for no reason, and that's when Angalifu took the human girl with him to explain to her about Sayla's past. "A long time ago, our troop was attacked by humans which came to Equestria long before Yigal and his brothers, and in the process of the attack on our troop, Sayla's younger sister was killed by one of the men, and ever since then, Sayla grew and developed strong hatred towards humans." Angalifu explained to Chloe, and then he added "She was just a juvenile gorilla at the time of the attack, and the humans were too numerous to fend off from our tribe, and last but not least, Sayla is also my niece. She's the daughter of my younger brother, Alby, who is ruling the troop by my side, and our mates also rule with us.".

After hearing about Sayla's hatred towards humans, Chloe understood that Sayla was scarred and wounded by the death of her sister, which was exactly the right reason to why Sayla grew up as an unkind, uncaring and grumpy gorilla who also does everything to avoid contact with all humans, including good humans like Chloe herself. Then, Chloe went to a nearby lake in the Everfree Forest to be alone with herself, but her peaceful moment was short-lived when she suddenly felt something or someone breathing behind her back, and when she turned around to see who's behind her, she saw much to her shock it was Sayla, as the female gorilla breathed angrily at the human girl's face, thus scaring her a bit as she also looked at Sayla, who looked at her with an angry face.

However, Chloe tried her best to keep herself calm, and then she said to Sayla "Hi, Sayla. I know who you are. It didn't go so well before.", but then Sayla smashed a fist against the ground and then she angrily said "I don't even care, you stupid human!", and that's when Chloe said to her "Hey, don't be angry at me for something I haven't even done to you. I'm not even that bad human who killed your younger sister.", and Sayla said to her back "No, but you're still a human, and all humans are KILLERS!" she roared angrily at the human girl, causing her to fall backwards and land on her back, thus allowing Sayla to trap Chloe between her legs and look down at her directly in the eyes.

Then, she raised up her right arm and hand into the air and then she's about to move down to swipe at Chloe's face, promting the girl to cry "Someone help me!", and just then Shujaa came out of nowhere and then he jumped up and landed at Sayla, thus knocking her away from Chloe before she can wound her, before Sayla looked at Shujaa with angry eyes and then she angrily asked him "Why are you doing this? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" she raised her voice in anger and roared at the albino orangutan in the face, but Shujaa only said to her back "Leave Chloe alone. she did nothing bad to you. She's not guilty that she's born a human, and I have human owners too.", and then he added "There are good humans too!", and when he said that, Sayla looked at him in shock and anger to see how Shujaa is defending and protecting Chloe from her.

"There are no such things as good humans, Shujaa! Now get out of my way so I can finish that human girl off for what her kind did to my younger sister!" Sayla said angrily as she slowly started to approach towards Shujaa and Chloe, and then she suddenly charged towards them, but when she got close enough, Shujaa pushed her aside and caused her to run into a tree and slam against it, thus causing her to fall down unconscious.

Once Sayla was down, Shujaa turned back to Chloe, who then ran into him and hugged him tightly before she cried "Oh, thank you, Shujaa! You saved my life again!", and he hugged her back in a tight embrace before he said to her "It was nothing, Chloe. You're safe now. Let's go and meet the others.", and then she said "Yes, let's go!" when they let go of each other and then they went together to find the others, and once they met up with the others, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar explained that having fun with the gorillas is actually worthy for them, and that's when Shujaa said "Now it's the time for us to go!", and then Angalifu added "It's time for my troop to say goodbye to you all!", and then Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar and Shujaa all said goodbye to Angalifu and to his troop, before Shujaa led the human girl and the ponies back to the ostriches.

Upon arriving at the exact place where they left the ostriches, Shujaa and the others found out that they luckily didn't wandered off, and so the albino orangutan, the human girl and the ponies all climbed onto the ostriches's backs and then they all traveled fast back to the meadow where they started their fun day, and once they all arrived back at the meadow, they all went climbed down from the ostriches and then Shujaa told them to go, and the ostriches obeyed him and so they ran away into the far distances beyond until they can no longer be seen.

Then, Shujaa said to Chloe and to the others "Well then, today we enjoyed lots of fun together, but now, this is where we part ways.", and then he stretched his right arm and hand to Chloe and then he said to her "Chloe, let me shake your hand.", and she in response streched her own right arm and gave him her own hand so they can shake hands together, and once they're done, Shujaa said to Chloe "Goodbye, Chloe.", and then he turned to the others and said to them "Goodbye, everyone.", before he turned around and ran away towards the Everfree Forest, but when he heard Chloe and the other calling out for him and saying to him goodbye, he turned to them one last time before he briefly waved his left arm and hand for them, and then he turned around again and entered the Everfree Forest.

Then, Chloe and the others went back to their homes in Ponyville and Canterlot, and once they all finally arrived at their homes, the sun was already setting down, and once it's got dark, Luna used her magic to raise the moon to show it's already nighttime, and this is when Chloe and Aylene went to their bedroom and fell asleep, but now Chloe has two human-hating animal enemies - Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile, and now Sayla the gorilla, and as long as they're both still alive in Equestria, Chloe will not be able to live in peace, but one day, when they're both gone for good, Chloe will be finally able to live in true peace in Equestria.


	31. Chapter 30:the elephant herd

When morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up and they went to eat some breakfast, before they said to Celestia and Luna they're going to play with their friends outside and they promised them they'll return home before evening, and then Chloe and Aylene went outside the royal castle and they went towards the meadow, where they met up with the CMC and Sandbar again, and then they all started to play together until Shujaa came to have another fun day with them.

Then, Shujaa said to Chloe and to the others "Alright, everyone. Who's ready to start our second fun day?", and Chloe cried "I'm ready!", and Aylene added "Me too!", and then the CMC and Sandbar also said they wanna come too, and that's when Shujaa said "Okay, so let's go and have lots of fun!", and so he started to run fast, and Chloe and the others followed close behind.

Eventually, they all ended up reaching the Everfree Forest again, and this is when Shujaa said to everyone else to follow him, and that's what they all did as they entered the Everfree Forest. The group wandered in the Everfree Forest until Shujaa told everyone else to stop and turn their heads to the right, and when they all did so, they saw an amazing sight - a herd of Indian elephants enjoying eating from the plants and vegetation around them, before one of them, an old female, possibly the matriarch, spotted them and started to approach them, and when she stopped right in front of them, she stretched her trunk for them, and that's when Shujaa gave her his arm and hand and then they started to shake their trunk and hand with each other.

Then, once they stopped shaking they trunk and hand with each other, the old female Indian elephant spoke up and said to Shujaa as she also turned to see Chloe and the others behind his back "That's so nice to meet you again, Shujaa, and it seems like you brought here with you some visitors.", and then she said to Chloe and to the others "Hello there, new visitors.", and then she introduced herself "I'm Queen Tukta, the matriarch of my herd, and my elephants and I were very kind, gentle and tolerant towards other creatures.", and then she pointed at Chloe with her trunk and asked her "And you, you're a human being, aren't you?", and Chloe answered "Yes, I am. My name is Chloe, I'm 11 years old and I'm living in this worlds known as Equestria for something like almost 3 years!".

When Queen Tukta heard what the human girl said, she asked her "And you faced lots of enemies before?", and Chloe answered "Yes, I did, and that's not all, because I managed to kill two evil crocodiles from Lysander's float when they harassed us and tried to devour us, before Shujaa actually saved us by killing a third evil crocodile, causing and forcing Lysander and his remaining crocodiles to retreat!", and when she heard what Chloe said about herself being able to kill two of her enemies before, Queen Tukta said to her "Well then, I see you're indeed strong for a human girl around your age!", but Chloe said "It was nothing, really. I was just trying to protect myself and my friends from threats and dangers.".

Then, Queen Tukta called for the rest of her herd to come to see Chloe and her pony friends, and that's when the six introduced themselves to the Indian elephants, and in the process, one of the elephant revealed to Chloe and to her friends that they're good neighbors with Angalifu and his gorilla troop and that they're living in peace and harmony, despite they're living a distance away from each other, and that Shujaa is also a good friend of their herd too.

Then, some the youngest Indian elephants in the herd wanted to go with Chloe and with her pony friends to play hide-and-seek with them, and they accepted and started to play all together and they started to wander some distance away from Shujaa and from the rest of Queen Tukta's herd. Then, Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar and the young Indian elephants started to play hide-and-seek together, and that's when they started to split up and hide and different places in the Everfree Forest when one started to count to 20, and once the latter finished counting, the latter will start to search and look for all the others.

The first turn in the hide-and-seek was Sweetie Belle's, so she was the first to count to 20 and then she gone to search for everyone else, and after she found them all, the next turn was given to Randall, and once his turn was done, Sandbar's turn have began, and once his turn was done, it went to each and every one from the others respectively. After playing hide-and-seek a lot, Chloe, her pony friends and the young elephants decided to have one last turn before quitting the game, and so Scootaloo was given the honor to have the last turn in hide-and-seek, and so she started to count to 20 while everyone else went to split up to search for different places to hide.

However, while hiding from Scootaloo, one of the young elephants, a female named Kyra, met Ocellus the changeling, one of Sandbar's non-pony friends and a member of the young six, and they soon befriended each other after Ocellus explained to her that she's a nice, love-filled and a reformed changeling, and that's when Kyra decided to invite her to play hide-and-seek with her by hiding with her by her side and just wait for Scootaloo to find them. However, the teenage changeling and the young elephant soon heard an adult female voice chuckling evilly from right behind their backs, and because they knew and understood by the sound of the female voice that it wasn't belongs to Scootaloo, the two turned around to see Sayla the adult female gorilla approaching the both of them with an evil smirk as she looked at Kyra and Ocellus with her malevolent-looking eyes, thus scaring them as they both started to shake in fear when Sayla got closer to them.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo and the others have already finished playing hide-and-seek and they all went back to Shujaa and the older elephants, but then an adult female elephant suddenly cried in concern and worry "Where's Kyra?! Where is she?! Where's my little daughter?!", and when Queen Tukta turned and asked the female elephant, who is Kyra's mother, what's wrong, Kyra's mother cried "My daughter is missing! Where is she?! Where's my little daughter?!", and then she started to cry, and this made Quuen Tukta approach her and hold her trunk in a tight and holding embrace, and then she said to her with a reassuring smile "It's alright. Don't worry about her, I'm pretty sure she's still playing somewhere around. She's probably fine.", but then Shujaa said "I don't think so, Queen Tukta, my friend, because I think I can hear her screaming somewhere away from here, and it looks like someone who is probably also still young was also screaming alongside her too!", and when Sandbar heard the screams, he said as he recognized the other screaming voice "Oh no! It sounds like my changeling friend, Ocellus! And she and Kyra were both in danger!", and then Randall cried "We have to find them! Both of them!", and then Shujaa said "Let's go!", and so he, Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar all went in the direction where the screaming voices came from and hoped they'll be able to find both Kyra and Ocellus, while the elephants all stayed behind and waited for them to return with their missing youngster.

Shujaa and the others continued to follow in the direction where the two screaming voices came from until they found themselves in front of an awful sight - they all saw Sayla tormenting both Kyra and Ocellus and dragging them along with her with such a strong force from her long and flexible arms and hands, and the changeling and the young elephant both cried for help as Sayla continued to drag them by their hind legs along with her, and then the female gorilla laughed evilly as she kept tormenting her new captives, and that's when Shujaa angrily shouted at her while she's trying to leave with Kyra and Ocellus hostages "LEAVE THEM ALONE!", and this caused Sayla to turn her head and look right at Shujaa and at the others, and then she evilly said "You stay where you are, stupid albino orangutan! Or these two will soon die because of my strong force I have thanks to my big body!", and then the CMC cried in unison "Ocellus! Kyra!", and then Sandbar asked "Why are you doing this to them?" and then he added "Neither of them did anything bad to you before!", but Sayla explained "That stupid little baby pachyderm is friends with the foul creature who's kind have killed my younger sister, isn't she?!", and then she asked "And by the way, I thought all changelings were evil creatures who always feed on love!", but then Ocellus cried "Not me! I'm not an evil changeling! Except for Chrysalis, all the other changelings back at changeling kingdom were now good, love-filled and benevolent thanks to ponykind!", but then Sayla lowered her head down to the teenage changeling, and then she started to bite her on the saddle on her back, causing her to yelp and cry in pain as the female gorilla's bite force is nearly making its way into her flesh, and that's when Chloe ran into Sayla and then she jumped up and kicked her on the side of the head, causing her to scream and let go of Ocellus immediately, but before Ocellus can escape and get back to the others, Sayla recaptured her again and then took her and Kyra with her, but not before she threw Chloe at Shujaa to knock him out too so they won't interfere in him malicious plans she got for both the changeling and the little elephant she just caught.

However, Chloe and Shujaa soon regained their strength to stand back up on their feet, and then they and the other all started to chase after Sayla, who is taking Ocellus and Kyra with her as her captives, and she got a very malicious and cruel plan for the both of them in mind that she also already prepared for them. Chloe, Shujaa and the others all continued to chase after Sayla until they managed to trap her on the top of a large rock, but that's the right moment she just waited for, and then she let out a roar which was responded by other sudden roars, and then two large adult male grizzly bears came out of nowhere, stopped at the bottom of the large rock, looked up at Sayla, who is still holding Ocellus and Kyra hostages, and then she said to Shujaa "Destroy that human girl, or the changeling and the elephant dies!", but then Kyra cried "Mommy, help me!" and tears started to form and roll down her eyes, but then Sayla cruelly roared at her like an angry monster, causing the young elephant to cry even more, and then Sayla evilly said to her "Your mommy isn't going to save you, you stupid little pachyderm! Now say goodbye, bear food!", and then she's about throw both Ocellus and Kyra off the top of the large rock in an attempt to feed them both to the two hungry male grizzly bears who are both waiting for them at the bottom of the rock.

However, before Sayla could throw both Ocellus and Kyra down to the hungry male grizzly bears, Chloe, Aylene and Sandbar all lunged at her and then they managed to land on her and make her lose her balance and fall of the top of the rock herself, but she still managed to grab and hold tightly at Ocellus's left hind leg and hoof and then she tried to pull her down with her so the grizzly bears will eat both her and the teenage changeling at once, but then Kyra (who managed to escape Sayla's grip and managed to climb to safety) wrapped her trunk around Ocellus's right foreleg and hoof and tried her best to not let go of her as she knew that if she lets go of Ocellus, she and Sayla will fall down to the hungry male grizzly bears and will get eaten by them.

Ocellus cried "Help me, please!", as she and Sayla were now hanging between life and death, and Kyra still held tightly on Ocellus's right foreleg and hoof with her trunk as she struggled to pull the changeling up to save her life, but then she felt someone else helping her pulling Ocellus back up to safety - it was Shujaa. The albino orangutan used his own size and strength to help Kyra pull Ocellus back up to safety, thus saving her life, though the two also saved Sayla, but this is the right moment Shujaa was been waiting for, and when Sayla finally let go of Ocellus's left hind leg and hoof, but still held on the edge of the top of the large rock for dear life, Shujaa lowered down to her and gave her his hand and said to her "Let me pull you up.", and Sayla listened to him and grabbed onto his hand and then he started to pull her up, but then she started to bite him on the arm, thus causing him to scream and roar in pain, but then the CMC climbed on Shujaa's back and went down to his arm, and then they all started to kick Sayla in the face until she screamed in pain and let go of Shujaa's arm, causing her to fall down and strike and hit the ground below, thus getting a bit injured, but luckily for her, she remained alive.

However, Sayla's relieving moments were short-lived when the two male grizzly bears suddenly turned and saw her, and so they both decided to change their minds and eat the female gorilla instead, causing Sayla to quickly get back up onto her feet and make a run for her life in an attempt to avoid getting eaten by the two hungry male grizzly bears, who started to chase after her in an attempt to eat her for lunch and dinner, and Shujaa, Kyra, Ocellus, Chloe and all the others looked down at her and laughed at her as she's pursued by the two hungry male grizzly bears, and so she ran deeper into the Everfree Forest until she and the two male grizzly bears can no longer be seen.

Once the threats are gone, Ocellus suddenly turned to Shujaa and then she asked him "Why? Why did you just saved me?", and Shujaa answered "Because I've changed! I'm not anymore the same evil albino orangutan everypony and every creature used to know for all these years! When Chloe and Aylene saved me, I changed, and later I returned to save them and their friends from Lysander and from his float! You can trust me! So everypony and every creature else!", and then he stretched his arm and hand for Ocellus so he can shake her hoof, and at first she hesitated for a bit, but then she decided willingly to give her foreleg and hoof to him and once he caught her hoof, Shujaa started to shake her hoof with his hand, thus earning and gaining her trust and becoming her newest friend, and when they stopped shaking their hand and hoof with each other, Shujaa turned to the others and said to them that it's time to come back to see the elephant herd so they can give Kyra back to her herd, and so they went together all the way back to the elephant herd.

Back in the elephant herd, Kyra's mother was still extremely worried anout her precious daughter, and then she asked Queen Tukta "Why does it takes for them so long to return with my little daughter?", but then Queen Tukta calmed her down and said to her "Calm down, it's alright. I'm sure that your daughter and the others were all safe.", but then a familiar young female voice suddenly called out "MOMMY!", and when Kyra's mother heard the voice which sounded extremely familiar to her, she knew who's coming back - her young daughter, Kyra.

Then, when she turned her head in the direction where her daughter's voice came from, Kyra's mother saw her daughter (Kyra) running fast towards her and calling out for her to come, and the adult female elephant responded by running towards her daughter, and the two were finally reunited with each other, as Kyra wrapped her trunk around her mother's as tears started to form and rol down her eyes as she started to cry, and so Kyra's mother placed her trunk on her daughter's head and she began to gently stroke her head and face to calm her down, and then she turned to Chloe and to her friends and she said to them "Thank you all for saving my precious daughter!", and Chloe said to her back "No problem, mrs.", and then Ocellus came forward and said to Kyra's mother in fron of Queen Tukta "I thank and owe your daughter a lot! Because I would've died if she didn't used her trunk to save me just in time!".

However, when the elephants saw the teenage changeling talking about Kyra in a kind and even supporting tone, Queen Tukta asked "A good changeling? How is that possible?", and Ocellus explained "Since Chrysalis was dethroned, Thorax is now both the leader and the king of the changelings, but unlike Chrysalis, Thorax is a very good changeling, and thanks to him and to ponykind who taught him about how to share love instead of feeding on it, all the changelings, except for Chrysalis, who refused to change, changed into colorful and love-filled creature who are willing to share love with ponies, other changelings and even other non-ponies! He's gentle, he's caring, he's kind, and he looks and watches over the entire hive!", and when she said that, all the elephants gasped in shock and surprise to know that changelings are now good creatures which can be befriended, and then Queen Tukta said to the teenage changeling "Thanks for telling us that new kind of information about your own kind!", and then she said to the rest of the herd that there's nothing to fear of the changelings anymore since they're now good creatures, and this made all the other elephants to trumpet in joy.

"But Kyra isn't the only one who managed to save my life! I must thank Shujaa too for helping her to save my life as well!", but then Shujaa said "Oh, it was nothing, really.", but then Kyra's mother asked Ocellus "But I still must ask you something - what happened to you and to my daughter when no one noticed her hiding while playing hide-and-seek with them? And how do you even know her?", and that's when Ocellus began to explain everything to the elephant herd.

"I first met Kyra when she's playing hide-and-seek, and when we met each other, I explained to her I'm a good changeling who likes to make friends with other creatures, and because five of them, one of which is Sandbar the pony, were my best friends, and that's how we befriended each other, and then Kyra invited me to play hide-and-seek with her, but then we got kidnapped!" Ocellus explained, thus shocking the Indian elephants, and then Kyra's mother asked her "Who did this to you two?", and then Ocellus explained "Your daughter and I got kidnapped by a female gorilla with strong hatred and an extremely bad attitude!", and then Queen Tukta asked her "You know what's that gorilla's name?", and then Shujaa interrupted and answered "Her name is Sayla, and she's the most heartless gorilla who is living in Angalifu's troop!", and then Ocellus said "Yeah, exactly!", and then Kyra's mother asked "And why did she kidnapped you two?", and Ocellus explained "She hated us for being friends with Chloe because she's a human! She cruelly bit me on my back, she roared angrily at your daughter, and worst of all - she tried to feed us to two hungry male grizzly bears because she hates everypony and every creature whom are friends with humans! She tried to dispose of us by turning us into bear food!", and when the elephants heard what she said, they all gasped in shock to know about Sayla's deception.

"I can't believe what I'm just hearing right now! Sayla the gorilla tried to kill one of our youngsters because of her hatred to humans and to animals and other creatures who are friends with them?! This is outrageous! We must inform Angalifu and his troop about Sayla's deception right away!" Queen Tukta said in shock and anger, but before she said to her herd to move out, she said to Ocellus "Thank you for being a good friend for Kyra, and also for telling me about what Sayla did to you. I'll talk to Angalifu and he'll make sure he'll will deal with her somehow.", and then she turned back to the rest of her herd and called out "Elephants! Move out!" and they all obeyed her and they started to walk away, and then Queen Tukta said to Shujaa, Chloe, Ocellus and the others "Goodbye, my friends!", and then she turned and ran away to catch up with her herd so she can lead them to where Angalifu's troop is living, and that's when Ocellus called for the elephants as she and the others waved their hands and hooves for them "Goodbye, Queen Tukta! Goodbye, Kyra! Goodbye, every other elephant! I wish you all good luck!", and the elephants all trumpeted back in response as they continued to walk away until they can no longer be seen, and that's when Shujaa said to everypony and every creature "Now it's time for us to go home!", and so he took everyone with him and led them all out of the Everfree Forest and back to the meadow where they started their second fun day, and once they finally reached back to the meadow, everypony and every creature said goodbye to Shujaa, who went back to the Everfree Forest to get back to Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's house before it's nighttime, and then Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar and Ocellus all went back to their homes back in Ponyville and Canterlot, and they all managed to arrive back at their homes before it's nighttime.

Once Chloe and Aylene arrived back at the royal castle, the sun was already setting down, and when evening came, they ate some dinner before they went to their bedroom to sleep when it's nighttime, and at the same time, back in the Everfree Forest, Angalifu punished Sayla after learning of her deception from Queen Tukta, and the punishment Angalifu gave Sayla was living, eating and sleeping away from all the rest of the troop for an entire month. However, despite her punishment, Sayla is still planning to do yet another attempt to get Chloe, but this time, she'll be kidnapping her instead of attacking her, and all what she needs to do is to persuade at least two other gorillas from Angalifu's troop to help her get Chloe so she can get rid of her for good, but for now, she'll be sleeping and waiting for the right time to finally come.


	32. Chapter 31:Chloe is kidnapped

A full month have passed since Chloe, Aylene and their friends enjoyed the two fun days with Shujaa, the meeting and befriending with the gorilla troop and with the elephant herd, but also the horrible incident with Sayla the female gorilla, who tried to kill Ocellus and one of the youngsters of her troop's elephant neighbors just because she hates both humans and animals and other creatures who are friends with them, and Sayla have already returned to the group after her punishment was over, but Angalifu warned her that if she tries to kill Chloe, Aylene, and or any of their friends, including elephants or other gorillas, she'll be banished from the troop, and this time - forever.

However, Sayla, of course - won't listen to reason, and the reason to this it's because she can't and will not let go of her strong hatred which slowly evolves into her evil, and so she planned in her mind about an attempt to kidnap Chloe in the middle of the night and dump her in a dark cave in hopes the human girl will either slowly starve to death or die from dehydration, or worse - die from exhaustion, but she also knew that if she wants to make her plan come out successful, she needs at least two other gorillas to help her out with her cruel and malicious plan.

One day, when Shujaa took Chloe, Aylene and their friends (now including Ocellus) to the Everfree Forest to meet Angalifu and his troop again so they can play with the gorillas some more and have lots of fun for today, but this is when Sayla decided to make the first step in her cruel and malicious plan - she saw two adult silverbacks (adult males) looking down at the ground with hungry faces like they haven't eaten for at least three or four days, and Sayla decided to approach the both of them so she can talk to them and once she got close enough to the two hungry silverbacks, she asked them "Hi, what's wring with you two? are you both hungry? do you wanna eat some food?", and that's when the silverbacks looked up and turned their heads to the adult female gorilla who approached and asked them, and then one of them asked her "What do you want from us, Sayla?", and then the second one added "Are you looking for some other troubles?", but Sayla answered "Well, no. I just wanna talk to you two, that's all.".

Then, Sayla asked them "You two are hungry? You haven't managed to find food to feed yourselves?", and one of the silverbacks answered "Yes, we're both starving! We can't find any food to go around! If we don't find food very soon, we're sure to die!", but that's when Sayla suddenly started to laugh at them, and this offended the two silverbacks, before the second one asked her with a rather grumpy expression which slowly turned his face angrier "What's so funny about that?!", and then he added "You're laughing from us and we're starving to death! There's nothing funny about that!", but then Sayla said as she stopped laughing "I'm sorry, you two! It's just why would you two just sit down and do nothing and just wait for that pathetic excuse for a leader known as Angalifu to just pass by and give you some food so you can live and go around!", and then the first silverback asked her "Excuse me? come again?", and then Sayla explained "I can give you two lots of food to eat, and that will be enough to feed your big tummies so you can go around!".

When the two silverbacks heard what the female gorilla just said, they both just gasped in shock and surprise at first, before the first silverback asked her "What? Are you sure you have enough food for us to feed our tummies?", and Sayla answered "Yes, I do have!", but then she quickly added "But, you two have to help me do something before I'll give you two the lots of food you deserve!", and then the second silverback asked her "What do you want us to do?", and then he added "We'll be willing to do whatever you'll ask us, just please tell us and we'll help you!", and Sayla said "Now you're good lads!", and then she explained to them about her malicious plan to kidnap Chloe and dump her to die in a dark cave, and at first, the two silverbacks refused to help her, but she managed to convince them to help her with her plan by promising them she'll give them lots of food after they kidnap the human girl, and that's when the two silverbacks decided to listen to Sayla and follow her orders for once.

Sayla and the two silverbacks started to follow and watch Chloe from a distance behind her back, and later when Shujaa took Chloe and the others with him back to the meadow to say goodbye to them as a sign to show that yet another fun day of their is over, and once Shujaa have gone back to the Everfree Forest, Chloe and Aylene part ways with the others once they all reached back to Ponyville, and then Chloe and Aylene went together back to Canterlot, but what they didn't know is that Sayla and the two silverbacks are following them from a distance behind their backs, and once Chloe and Aylene reached to the royal castle and entered inside to meet their mother, Celestia, and their aunt, Luna, Sayla and the silverbacks learned about where Chloe and Aylene were both living, and so they all waited for nighttime to come so they can start with Sayla's malicious plan.

Once nighttime came, Sayla and the two silverbacks managed to get into the royal castle by just sneaking inside without being spotted by either Princess Luna or a royal guard, and once the three gorillas were inside, Sayla took out a strong rope and a large sack and so she handed them iver to the silverbacks as they started to search for Chloe inside the royal castle, until they finally managed to find her sleeping with Aylene on their bed inside their bedroom, and that's when Sayla and the silverbacks slowly started to open the doors to the bedroom, and then they all slowly entered and got inside the bedroom with the rope and the sack in their hands so they can catch and kidnap Chloe without any difficulties.

Then, Chloe suddenly started to stir a bit, before she opened her eyes to see Sayla looking down at her with an evil smirk, and behind her back, she saw the two silverbacks as well, before Sayla said to the silverbacks with an low and evil tone "Get her.", and then she raised her voice a bit and added "Now!", and then the two silverbacks started to grab at Chloe and capture her and they managed to cover her mouth with their hands before they managed to put her in the sack, and then they tied up the sack with the rope so Chloe won't be able to escape, but then Aylene heard her human sister's muffled screams, and so she woke up and saw Sayla and the two silverbacks and she heard Chloe's muffled screams coming from inside the sack Sayla is now carrying on her back, but before the Pegasus filly can do anything to save Chloe, one of the silverbacks managed to knock her out and unconscious, thus preventing her from either saving Chloe or from screaming for help, before the three gorillas left the bedroom with Chloe being captive inside their sack, and then they quickly headed into one of the windows, broke through it and jumped through the broken window, and they luckily managed to land on solid ground below without any major or minor injuries, before the three gorillas went with the now captured Chloe towards the Everfree Forest, and after passing through Canterlot and Ponyville without being spotted by anypony or any creature, the three gorillas managed to pass through the meadow as well before finally arriving and entering the Everfree Forest.

Once they're deep in the Everfree Forest, Sayla said to the two silverbacks "Thank you two for helping me out with my plan!", and then the first silverback said to her "No problem, Sayla! And now, what do we both get in return?", and then the second silverback asked "Yeah, exactly! What's going to be our reward for all of out hard work?", and then Sayla put out two large sacks which she then gave to each of the two silverbacks before saying "Here's your reward you both truly deserve!", and when the two silverbacks opened the two sacks, they found that each of the sacks were full with lots of bananas, thus causing the two silverbacks to look in shock and surprise at their reward, and then they both turned back to Sayla with two happy smiles and then the first silverback said to her "Thank you, Sayla!", and then the second silverback added "Now you clearly proved us that we can trust you!", and then they took the two large sacks which are full with the lots of bananas with them, but before they turned to go, Sayla said to them "Now that you two helped me, you both managed to fulfill your part in my plan! From this point, I don't need you two anymore! I can take care of this stupid human girl by myself! Just leave her to me!", and then the two silverbacks said to her goodbye, before they both went to some place that is a bit far away from Angalifu's troop, where they eventually sat down and started to eat their new lots of bananas they received from Sayla, while Sayla herself is now left alone with Chloe being still trapped inside the sack on her back, and that's when Sayla started to run in the Everfree Forest to search for a dark cave that is perfect and good enough to dump Chloe in, and after searching for a dark cave for some time, Sayla finally managed to find a dark cave that is perfect and good enough to dump Chloe in, and so she ran into the cave and started to enter, go and travel deep inside the dark cave with Chloe inside the sack on her back until she reached a perfect spot in the middle of the dark cave where she can finally dump Chloe.

Then, Sayla opened the sack and dropped Chloe out of it, and the human girl just looked at the female gorillas with shock in her eyes, before she asked her "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done bad to you that I deserve this, Sayla?", but then Sayla smashed a fist at the dark cave's floor while looking at Chloe with an angry face, before she took a deep breath and then she said to her but still with a grumpy face "Well, You truly know how to show respect to me, human girl, but that doesn't change the fact that one of your kind killed my younger sister!", and then Chloe said to her "I already know that! Angalifu told me everything!", but then Sayla snapped at her and shouted "NO, YOU DON'T!", and then she took another deep breath before she looked once again at the human girl with a grumpy face, and then she said "I'm doing this to you because no humans shall be welcome in Equestria for as long as we all live!", and this is when Chloe cried "Please don't leave me here all alone! I'm a good human, I promise! I don't kill animals or other creatures unless they pose threats to me and to my friends!", but Sayla rejected her words and said to her back "You don't have any friends! Humans don't have any friends! And like I said twice before - humans are KILLERS!" she roared in anger at the human girl's face, before she added "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go back to my troop! If you find your way out of this dark cave all by yourself - then you shall live! But if you don't - you will face the evil Cockatrice and then you will face a terrible fate!", and then she finished and said "Sayonara, human girl!", and then she ran away and left Chloe alone in the middle of the dark cave all alone by herself.

Then, Chloe cried for help for a minute in great distress, but no one came to her help, and after awhile she had no choice, so she had to start to walk, and then she began to wander aimlessly in the dark cave in hopes that she'll eventually find a way out, but even after she wandered in the dark cave for a long time, she still didn't found a way out of the dark cave where she's apparently lost. Just then, however, Chloe saw something small that looked like a creature with the head and legs of a chicken, but it also had its other body parts such as the body itself, the wings and the tail of a dragon, though the tail also looked like the one of a snake rather than a dragon's, and so Chloe decided to run towards the small creature and she started to call for it "Hey, you! You over there! Please, help me! Please help me find my way out of this dark cave! I'm begging you! Help me!", but when the creature turned to her, she saw its red and scary-looking evil eyes, and what she didn't know is that the creature she's running into is actually the Cockatrice.

Then, the Cockatrice flew up until it reached and got right in front of Chloe's face, and then it lit its eyes and made them glowing red in front of the human girl, and this made Chloe scared and even a bit nervous so she decided to turn to run away, but she found out that she's suddely unable to move her legs, and when she switched her attention from the Cockatrice to her legs, she saw that her legs are slowly turning into stone, much to her shock and horror to realize that she's slowly turning into stone, before she desperately tried to get her legs to move, but to no avail, and the Cockatrice continued the process of turning Chloe into stone.

Then, the petrifying process slowly managed to reach up to her waists, and from this point, Chloe was unable to escape her fate, and then the petrifying process slowly gone upwards until it managed to turn the entire lower half of her body into stone, and once the petrifying process managed to reach up to her chest, Chloe turned back to look at the evil Cockatrice in the eyes, and she saw it was still using its gorgon ability to continue to petrify her, and once Chloe is petrified up to her shoulders, this is where her arms and hands also started to slowly turn into stone, but at this point, however, Chloe suddenly didn't seemed to mind that because she started to think about everything bad Sayla said to her before she dumped her in the dark cave, and then she started to believe that Sayla might be right about her and about all humankind being actually cruel and heartless killers like evil itself, and once she's petrified up to her neck, Chloe softly said "Goodbye, cruel world..." and then a single tear formed and rolled down her eye and hit the dark cave's floor below, and then her head and face finally started to turn into stone, and once the petrifying process was completely all over, Chloe is now a stone statue, much to the evil Cockatrice's pleasure, before it laughed like an evil chicken and then it landed on the dark cave's floor and started to run away, leaving the now completely petrified Chloe to remain a stone statue for all eternity.


	33. Chapter 32:Chloe meets her grandfather

When morning came, Princess Celestia woke up and then she went to Chloe and Aylene's bedroom to say to them good morning, but when she opened the doors to the bedrom and entered inside, she looked in shock to find that the bedroom is completely messed up and she also found Aylene still lying down unconscious, and so she quickly went up to the Pegasus filly and then she tried to wake her up by saying to her "Aylene, talk to me! What happened?!", and once Aylene responded and slowly gained back her consciousness, Celestia cried and asked her in deep concern "Aylene, where's Chloe?! Where is she?! what happened to you two?!", and Aylene weakly answered as she's barely able to talk "Chloe...got...filly-napped...by...gorillas...", and when Celestia heard what Aylene said, she gasped in shock and deep concern, and then she cried as she held Aylene tightly in her hooves and embraced her "Don't worry, Aylene! You'll be okay! Just hold on!", and then she used her magic to surround Chloe in a golden aura so she can take her along with her, and then she trotted out of the bedroom while taking Aylene along with her to inform Luna about Chloe's disappearance.

After she managed to find Luna and inform her about Chloe's disappearance, Celestia wrote and sent a letter for the mane seven so they can help her and Luna search and find Chloe, and once they answered the letter, the mane seven went to meet Celestia in the royal castle as soon as possible to help and Luna start searching for Chloe in hopes to find her and bring her back home. Once Aylene has fully recovered, she joined them and helped them all in searching for Chloe, and she, like Celestia, also hoped that Chloe is okay, and the ten ponies started to search for Chloe everywhere in Canterlot and then in Ponyville in hopes they'll be able to find her and bring her back home, and even after they didn't found her anywhere, they still continued to search again and again in hopes that they'll be able to find Chloe and bring her back home.

Meanwhile, back at the middle of the dark cave, the now petrified Chloe is standing endlessly in the same place, but deep inside her mind, Chloe is still alive. deep inside her mind, Chloe found herself in an empty white space, and then she looked around herself and then she called "Hello?", and then she asked "Is anyone there?", and then she started to walk and look around as she wandered aimlessly in the white space. However, after wandering aimlessly in the white space, Chloe is suddenly being approached from the front by a middle-aged man who appeared to be around his fifties or so, but Chloe was so impressed by how did he looked like. The middle-aged man, despite he had greying hair, still had face that still looked only a bit young and handsome for a middle-aged man around his own age, and he also had a greying mustache and a short greying beard, a blue shirt, olive green pants, a brown jacket, black shoes, and to the top of it - the middle-aged man also had a couple of white feathery angel wings on his back as well as a golden halo above his head, and he also had a kind smile on his face as he slowly approached Chloe.

"Oh, hi there, girl!", the middle-aged man suddenly spoke up and said to Chloe, who just stood there a bit nervous and she didn't know what to say to him back, but then she suddenly gained encouragement from herself and then she said back to him "Hi there, stranger!", and then the middle-aged man asked her "What are you doing out here all by yourself?", and Chloe answered "Well, I sort of turned into stone, well, on the outside, but not on the inside.", and then the middle-aged man said to her "I see." and then he asked her "Anyway, who are you?", and Chloe hesitated at first but then she suddenly gained encouragement from herself once again, and then she answered "I'm Chloe. Chloe Williams.", and then the middle-aged man said to her as he also introduced himself "Well, anyway, I'm Jack Williams. By the way, it's nice to meet you, Chloe.".

However, when Chloe heard what Jack suddenly said about his family name being Williams just like hers, Chloe became confused and so she asked "How could that be?", and Jack answered "Well, it's what a coincidence!", and then he added "Anyway, my son is Jeff. Jeff Williams.", but when Chloe heard what he said about his son being Jeff Williams, who is coincidentally her father, Chloe asked "Wait, are you talking about my father, don't you?", and then Jack said to her "Well, if you wanna know some more, my wife is Elizabeth. Elizabeth Dodson Williams, or in other words, Elizabeth Williams.".

When Chloe heard Jack was referring her father as his son and her grandmother as his wife, she tried to think and figure out who Jack is really for her, and after she got things clearly understood, she realized what Jack Williams supposed to be for her - Jack Williams is her grandfather whom she never met before, and the reason to this it's because he died long before she was born, so this means in other words that Chloe is actually looking at his living soul which actually appears to look both like an angel but also like his true and actual self, and this made Chloe shocked and surprised to know that the middle-aged man who's name is Jack Williams is in fact her grandfather, who is also the deceased father of her father, Jeff, the father-in-law of her mother, Jane, and the paternal grandfather of her older brother, Mike.

"You're...my GRANDFATHER?!" Chloe asked in shock, and Jack Williams answered "Yes, I am.", and then he added "And it's also good to meet you for the first time, Chloe.", and then Chloe asked him "What are we going to do now?", and then Jack Williams answered "I'm going to take you with me to the past of our family, back in time to the times your father was around your own age, and this will also show you how did he became such an unhealthy drunk for the VERY first time long before you're born, but also to the day I died, which will mark the end of my life story.", and then he stretched his arm to his granddaughter and said to her "Now touch and hold tight onto my hand, Chloe. I'm going to use my spirit abilities to take us both to the past!", and Chloe listened and grabbed tightly onto his hand and didn't let go, and then she said to her grandfather "I'm ready!", and so Jack Williams used his spirit abilities to engulf both Chloe and himself in a white light, thus taking both her and himself into the past of Chloe's family, to the times long before she was born.

Shortly afterwards, Chloe and Jack arrived at a house that was in good and healthy conditions, and then Jack said to Chloe "This house is my house, where Elizabeth and I lived together with our son, Jeff.", and then after he said that, a young boy who is approximately around her own age (11 years-old) came out of the house and started to play outside with his friends, and that's when Chloe asked "This young boy is my father?", and then Jack answered "Yes, you're right, this is your father, who is also my son, and he's playing with his friends all together.", and then he added "This is long before he became an unhealthy drunk for the very first time.", and then he showed Chloe how her father, Jeff, as an 11 years-old boy is enjoying lots of fun with his friends, and then he took Chloe forward in time to the future that made Jeff more an unhealthy drunk and less a kind and fun-loving boy/man, but he only showed her everything slowly and carefully, little by little.

Then, Chloe and Jack arrived at the time Jeff was 14 years-old, where he was still a fun-loving teenage boy with yet a still good attitude, but this is the right point in which he started to change forever, as Chloe and Jack saw Jeff sudenly entering a dark alley to search for his missing football, and then they saw him encountering an unhealthy drunk woman sitting down with her back lying against the dead end wall of the dark alley with Jeff's football in her hands, and this where Jeff asked the drunk woman "Oh, hi there, stranger! Can you please give me my football back?", and the drunk woman said with a weak but also evil smirk "Sure thing, kid.", but then she added "The only way for you to get your football back is just by coming closer to me and then I'll give you your fooball.", before she let out a hiccup, and then Jeff said to her, being completely unaware of how dangerous she is "Okay, here I go!", and then he started to walk slowly towards the drunk woman and once he got close enough to her, she said to him "What a good boy!", and then she brought his football close to him and added "Now take your football and go!", and Jeff naively stretched his arms to the drunk woman as he's about to take his football back from her, but before he can actually get back his football, the drunk lady suddenly grabbed at him right wrist and then she slowly stood up on her feet and said wickedly "Do you really think I'll let you get your football back without a fight?!", and then she let out another hiccup and then she added "To get your football back, you need to fight against me and win! Because if you don't - you're mine!", and then she started to grab in a very tight and firm grip on Jeff's wrist which made him to let out a yelp and he tried to get away from her, but at first, to no avail.

Then, however, Jeff had no choice but to punch the drunk woman in the face, thus knocking her off her feet, before he quickly picked up his football (which she dropped from her hands) and started to run away with it for his life, but his run for his life turned into a pursuit as the drunk woman slowly gained back her consciousness, and then she started to chase after him, though in a bit funny way like a zombie who is trying to get to his victim, but Jeff was fast enough to escape with his football, but not before the drunk woman threw a bottle of whiskey which hit him directly in the face, thus temporarily blinding his sight as he yelped in pain because of the whiskey which also started to burn in his eyes, but despite suffering from the pain, Jeff was able to escape the dark alley with his football and go all the way back home to wash his face and clean his eyes from the whiskey which the drunk woman threw directly at him.

Then, Jack said to Chloe "That drunk woman who attacked my son was Catherine Peterson, or in other words, Catherine Peterson Yosefsberg.", and when he said this, Chloe gasped in shock and then she asked him "So, does that means that this drunk woman is actually Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's mother?!", and Jack answered "I thought you'll never say that, Chloe.", and then he added "But I can see that you already know the truth.", and then Chloe said "Yes, I do!", and then she said "Thanks to seeing her, I'm able to understand who exactly is Yigal and his brothers' mother, but I never thought she was an unhealthy drunk like my is today!".

Then, Jack took Chloe with him to the time Jeff was almost 18 years-old, and this is when Catherine Peterson suddenly showed up and kidnapped him, because this time, she wanted to have Jeff as one of her own children, and she even introduced him to her own children as their new brother, though Yigal (who was only 14 years-old at the time) was intolerant towards him, but a week later, Jeff was found and is taken back to his real parents, while Catherine is taken by the police and was later put in jail for a sentence of 20 years in prison for kidnapping Jeff in an attempt to make him one of her own, but not before she made Jeff a drunk himself, and thus leaving Ezra to be in charge of the family because their father died a very long time ago, when Ezra was 9, Gilad was 6, and Yigal was just 3 years-old.

However, in prison, Catherine managed to create to gemone mutations to make Tony Black and the other animals (except for Einhorn and Russell) come to life for the first time, because after she lost her old nature as a drunk, she became a mad scientist who is able to create animals with rare and impossible color mutations. This is where Jack took Chloe along with him to the time Jeff was 21 years-old, at the time he started to become an unhealthy drunk on his own, which displeased both Jack and Elizabeth.

Then, Jack said to Chloe "This is where everything bad started its awful progress as my son started to become an unhealthy drunk on his own, and Elizabeth and I didn't liked it at all, and we knew that it could eventually destroy his life forever, and yet one day, it did.", and then he showed that at the same time, Jeff was in love with Jane, which was at least the only thing that pleased both him (Jack) and Elizabeth, before Jack and Chloe traveled in time to the time after Jeff and Jane got married, and it was the time when Mike (who was born when Jeff was 24 and when Jane was 20, respectively) was just a year-old, which means it's the time when Jeff was 25 and when Jane was 21, respectively.

At this time, however, Jack turned to Chloe and then he said to her "Now this the year where I was going to die, Chloe.", and then he asked her "You're sure you wanna watch this happening?", and Chloe said with determination "Yes, I want.", and then she watched as Jack yelled angrily at Jeff for drinking too much alcohol (whiskey for an instance) continuously, and he said to him "You deliberately disobeyed me! How could you do this to me?!", but Jeff only said back in an extremely insulting tone "Because I love to drink whiskey all the time, father. And by the way, you can't tell me what to do anymore because I'm already a father for a baby son.", and this is when Jack lifted up his right foot and then he slammed it to the floor and yelled "That's it, son! I've done it with you! Elizabeth and I should just leave you and your wife and son alone if you dare to do this to us!", and this is where Jack turned around, opened the exit door and started to run away from his house, and then Elizabeth tried to join him too, but she's stopped by Jane who blocked her way before she said to her with an evil tone "You're not going anywhere! Face it, your husband is both a coward and a fool who is always unwilling to face and fight any dangers that threatens families' lives!", but then Elizabeth cried "You're wrong! Now get out of my way!", but then Jane punched her on the side of her face and knocked her unconscious, before she turned to her drunk husband and then she said to him "Go after that stupid excuse for a father of yours and teach him a REAL lesson about how people's lives supposed to be!", and Jeff said to her without turning his head as he looked at the exit door Jack had left wide open, before the young drunk suddenly started to run out of his house to search for his father, but this time, he surprisingly had full strength like a healthy man, and then he started searching everywhere for his father, until he found him crossing the road in an attempt to get to the other side, but he also saw behind himself (when he turned around) an old and crumbling building which was about to collapse directly on him.

Then, when Jack turned back and saw the old building was about to collapse direcly on Jeff, this is when Jack decided to run back across the road to save his son from getting killed, and before the old building was about to collapse at him, Jack jumped in the way and pushed Jeff aside and out of the way, before the old building finally collapsed directly on Jack, thus burying him under the fallen debris, but despite this, Jack actually survived before he burst out of the fallen debris, but he got seriously injured and wounded by the fallen debris which fell on him, and he barely looked at his son in the eyes, before he suddenly fell off his own feet and down to the ground, much to Jeff's displeasure.

Then, Jack barely looked up at his son and then he cried and begged "Please! Help me, my son! Call the ambulance! I need a hospital! If you won't help, I will die!", but Jeff just looked down at his injured father with an evil smirk, before he just said "Goodbye, father!" and then he turned and left his own father to slowly succumb to his injuries and eventually die, and when Jack called for him to come back to help him, Jeff just ignored him and continued to walk, and once he was too far away from his father, Jeff said to himself "A drunk like me doesn't need a stupid and weak father like him. Now that I have a wife and a son, I don't need him around anymore.", and then Jeff let out a lowly and evil chuckle as he continued to walk from his dying father all the way back to his home, and once Jack cannot see his son anymore, this is when he finally succumbed to his injuries, and that's how he eventually died.

When Chloe saw everything in front of her eyes, she gasped in shock before she covered her mouth, and then tears started to form and roll down her eyes as she started to cry upon seeing how her own grandfather died long before she was born, and that's when Jack's spirit placed both of his arms around her and then he pulled her into a tight and loving embrace as tears started to form and roll down his eyes as well, and once he calmed her down with his embrace, Jack said to his granddaughter "That's exactly how I died. I saved my son, and he dumped me to die. Now you know everything about your father's past, as well as about me too.", and once he unwrapped his arms from around Chloe and stepped aback to give her some space, he said to her "When my son, Jeff, returned back home, Elizabeth have already gained back her consciousness, and when she asked him what happened to me, he told her that I died, and this broke her heart, but he also stated that I died like a fool when I tried to save him, and he showed no regret for his actions towards me, neither for his hateful words he said about me, because he saw me as an obstacle to his life, and so he thought that if I die, he'll be able to do whatever he wants for the rest of his life, and this is the end of Jeff's life story before you're born.".

Then, Chloe said to him as she wiped away the tears from her eyes "No, that's not true at all, grandfather! You're not a fool, my father is! you saved him and he left you to die! And despite Elizabeth managed to prevent him from drinking whiskey when she was still alive before and after the time I was born, Jeff returned to his personality as an unhealthy drunk after she died too.", and then Jack said to her "I see. But now, it's time for us to say goodbye to each other, but I still want you to know I'll be living in your heart.", and then he said "Goodbye, Chloe.", before he used his spirit abilities to make himself vanish and disappear, and this made Chloe to cry "Grandfather! Please come back! Don't leave me!", and then she started to cry before she suddenly got engulfed in a white light, before Chloe's stone statue suddenly started to break into pieces to reveal Chloe coming back to normal at last.

Once Chloe have finally returned back to normal, she suddenly started to look around to see that she's no longer in the dark cave, and she found out that right now she's standing in the meadow where she, Aylene, the CMC and the young six used to play together, and then she said "I'm finally out of that dark cave. I'm free at last. I'm almost back home.", and then she started to hear voices calling out her name, and when she turned around, she saw Aylene, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and the mane seven all coming towards her, and so she started to run towards them and then she jumped up and landed in front of Celestia, who then wrapped both her hooves and her wings around Chloe and they're soon locked in a tight and loving embrace, as Chloe also started to wrap her arms around Celestia's neck to hug her back in a loving embrace, and then tears started to form and roll down their eyes, before Aylene and Thorax also joined the hug as they also started to wrap their hooves and wings around Chloe, and the human girl got locked in a tight and loving embrace between and with her mother, her father, and her sister, as tears formed and rolled down their eyes, and when Luna, Pharynx and the mane seven watched them all from a distance, they're all happy to see a beautiful family reunion happening right in front of their eyes.

Then, Celestia said "My daughter is okay! Now we can all go home!", and then she used her magic to levitate Chloe and then she place her down on her back, and then Chloe held tightly onto the lower parts of Celestia's neck so she won't fall off when Celestia will fly into the sky, and when Celestia started to fly, Chloe held tightly onto the lower parts of Celestia's neck, while Aylene and Thorax flew to the sky after them on their own to catch up with them and join them as they all flew back to the royal castle, and then they're followed by Luna, Pharynx, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy who all flew back to Canterlot after them, and Twilight used her magic to make Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Starlight and Rarity fly along with them too, and once they all arrived back in Canterlot, everyone finally landed at some point near the royal castle, and then everyone took Chloe along as they all entered the royal castle, and once they all reached back to the throne room, Celestia gave Chloe another tight and loving embrace, and then she said to Chloe that it's time for her to go to her bedroom to sleep, and that's when everypony and every creature (the mane seven, Thorax and Pharynx) said goodbye to Chloe, before she (and Aylene) went together back to their bedroom, and when nighttime came, the two soon fell asleep together.


	34. Chapter 33:Sayla's banishment

The next day, Chloe and Aylene woke up and went to the dining table to eat their breakfast, and then they're approached by Celestia and Luna, who then asked Chloe what happened to her and what was the reason that she suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night, and then Chloe explained "Sayla and two other gorillas got here during the night, and when they found me and Aylene sleeping together in our bedroom, the gorillas captured me and they put me in a large sack, and they also managed to knock Aylene unconscious before she can do anything to stop them.", and then Celestia asked "Sayla? Who is she?", and Aylene answered "Sayla is an adult female gorilla from Angalifu's troop, but she's cruel and heartless towards humans, other animals and even towards ponies and non-ponies who are friends with humans.".

Then, Chloe said "She hated me so much just because I'm a human being, and that's why she kidnapped me in the middle of the night in an attempt to get rid of me, and she took me with her into the depths of a dark cave in the Everfree Forest in hopes I'll never see anyone else ever again.", and when Luna asked her who is Angalifu and also asked about his troop, Chloe explained to her that Angalifu is the leader of his gorilla troop which are all kind and fun-loving gorillas whom are fun-loving and tolerant towards other creatures, including humans.

However, Chloe also explained and told about that they have neighbors which are the elephant herd led by the matriarch who is also known as Queen Tukta, and that the elephant herd is also fun-loving and tolerant towards other creatures, including humans, and that they have a pretty good and strong alliance with their gorilla neighbors.

Then, Aylene said that despite they managed to befriend both the gorillas and the elephants, Sayla kept harassing and threatening ponies and non-ponies because she also hated them because they're friends with Chloe, and she also explained that Sayla even kidnapped Kyra the baby elephant from her herd alongside Ocellus the changeling and she heartlessly tried to feed them both to two hungry male grizzly bears, but when Sayla's plans were foiled, she got punished for her deception for an entire month, but after she returned back to the troop, she managed to convince two silverbacks from the troop to help her kidnap Chloe so she can get rid of her once and for all, as she always believed that all human beings are evil creatures, because one man killed her younger sister a very long time ago, long before Yigal, Gilad and Ezra have all arrived in Equestria with their animals.

Then, Chloe explained that after Sayla dumped her in the dark cave all alone, she started to wander aimlessly in the dark cave in an attemo to find a way out, but she failed and ended up running into an evil Cockatrice which used its natural magical abilities to turn her into stone, and she also explained that when she was a stone statue, she met inside her mind the spirit of her long deceased grandfather, Jack Williams, who died long before she was born, and she explained to Celestia, Luna and Aylene that he used his spirit abilities to take her along with him to the past of her family, to the times where her father, Jeff, was a young boy, how did he became an unhealthy drunk for the first time over the years, and eventually how did he heartlessly left his own father to die after the latter tried to save him from getting killed by an old and collapsing building, and she also explained that after Jack showed her everything she needed to know about Jeff's past and about an important part from her family's history that happened long before she was born, her grandfather used his spirit abilities to disappear but also to engulf her, and on the outside, turn her back to normal and teleport her back to the meadow where she, Aylene, the CMC and Sandbar used to play together.

When Celestia, Luna and Aylene heard everything from what Chloe have said, they're shocked and surprised to know that Chloe actually met the spirit for her long deceased grandfather inside her mind, but when Celestia and Luna also heard about Sayla's deception, they decided to go to the Everfree Forest to meet Angalifu and explain to him about Sayla's deception and about the crime she did when she kidnapped Chloe in the middle of the night and dumped her in a dark cave in the Everfree Forest so she'll eventually die from starvation, dehydration or exhaustion.

"We'll go and talk to that Angalifu you told us about, and then we'll ask him if he can give Sayla a much more heavier punishment for her most recent crime she have done." Celestia said to Chloe and Aylene, and then she turned and said to her "Let's go!", and then she and Luna started to walk away together and once they're out of the royal castle, they took off and they started to fly to the changeling kingdom to tell everything to Thorax and Pharynx so they can come with them to talk to Angalifu about Sayla's crimes and deception.

After Thorax and Pharynx accepted coming with Celestia and Luna, the four flew together to the Everfree Forest to meet Angalifu and his gorilla troop, and when they all finally met the gorillas, Angalifu came forward and welcomed them in open arms, and then they started to talk to him about the last crime Sayla have done against Chloe, which angered Angalifu to realize that Sayla can't and will not stop hate good humans like Chloe, and then he thanked the Alicorn princesses and the changeling kings for telling him about Sayla's misbehaving nature, as well as about her hreatlessness, and once he said to Celestia, Luna, Thorax and Pharynx that he'll promise to them that he'll deal with Sayla in a much harder way than he did before, the four rulers thanked him before they said to him goodbye and good luck and then they all left the Everfree Forest and went back to the royal castle to tell Chloe and Aylene about Angalifu is going to deal with Sayla for the most recent crime she have done.

After Celestia, Luna, Thorax and Pharynx all left the Everfree Forest, Sayla returned back to the gorilla troop with a sack full of bananas she got for herself to eat, and that's when Angalifu spotted her and took her with him away frim the rest of the gorilla troop to talk to her one-on-one and all alone. Then, when Sayla asked him what's wrong, Angalifu said to her in anger and disappointment "How could you, Sayla?! How could you go to the royal castle, kidnap Chloe, take her with you to a dark cave in the middle of the Everfree Forest, and just leave her all alone to die there?!", but then Sayla came up with an excuse and said "That's not even my fault! Blame the two silverbacks for what happened to the human girl!", but Angalifu said to her "Princess Celestia, King Thorax and their siblings told me that YOU did it!", but Sayla said to him "Nonsense! They might be just lying to you about me!", but Angalifu said "No, they're not! You're the one who is lying to me!", and then he said "For your abusive, cruel and heartless nature and for your will to destroy good humans, animals and others creature who are friends with them, I announce you as a banished gorilla, Sayla! You're no longer a member of my troop after the crimes you've done! From now on, you're banished forever!", but when Sayla heard what Angalifu said to her, she cried "No, no! Please, forgive me for what I've done to that human girl! I'm begging you! I don't wanna be banished forever! Please, please, please!", but Angalifu didn't listened because he knew she's only trying to fool him into believing in her, and so the leader silverback gorilla said to her "Goodbye, Sayla!", and then he turned and ran away from her in disappointment, much to her shock and disbelief.

Then, when she tried to come back to the rest of the gorilla troop, all the gorillas stayed away from her and rejected her for her extremely hateful nature and for her cruelty and heartlessness towards all humans, as well as towards all animals and other creatures whom are friends with humans, thus leaving Sayla to live permanently on her own, no longer to be living with the rest of the troop. However, after Sayla was banished from the gorilla troop, she angrily decided to find a new place to stay and live where she'll be able to return and exact her revenge on Chloe and on all of her friends when the right day comes.


	35. Chapter 34:Chloe meets the rhinos

A full month have passed since Chloe is kidnapped by Sayla, and yet being rescued by the spirit of her own long deceased grandfather, Jack Williams, and it was also a full months since Sayla was banished forever from Angalifu's troop, thus leaving her to search and find a way to live on her own until she'll met new allies who will help her to get her revenge on Chloe, and it was also 34 months (2 years and 10 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and she and Aylene were doing just fine together, as it was almost 2 years since the two became sisters.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went outside to play with the CMC, Sandbar and Ocellus in the meadow, but upon arriving there, they all met Shujaa, who is now back to show them a new attraction - a herd of Quaggas. When Chloe saw the herd of Quaggas in front of her eyes, she said "I thought these zebras were extinct!", and Shujaa said "Yes, they are - back on planet earth, but they're still alive and exist here, in Equestria!", and then Randall asked him "Shujaa, what are these weird-looking zebras supposed to be?", and Shujaa expained "These are Quaggas. Back in where Chloe lived on planet earth, these zebras are extinct since the year 1883, but I was able to find these living herd of Quaggas here, in Equestria!", and when Ocellus came close and then she stroked one of the Quaggas, an adult mare, on the side of the body, the Quagga mare started to like her a bit, because she never saw a changeling like Ocellus before.

Then, Ocellus turned back to Shujaa and then she said "This Quagga is so beautiful, and he also looks pretty nice!", but then Shujaa corrected her and said "Actually, this Quagga is a mare, in other words - she's a female.", and then Ocellus asked "Really?", and then she turned back to the Quagga mare she stroked and then she said "Oh, she's so beautiful, and she also looks pretty nice!", and then Shujaa said "I'm glad to hear that!".

Then, Shujaa said "Now, let's ride these Quaggas! They'll take us to see yet another group of animals whom are friends of mine, just like Angalifu's troop and Queen Tukta's herd!", and then he climbed up onto the Quagga stallion's back, and then he said to Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar and Ocellus "Let's go!", and they all listened and climbed up onto the Quagga mares' backs, and once everyone were on the Quaggas' backs, Shujaa said to everyone "Let's have a ride!", and then he told the Quagga stallion to start to run, and so the Quagga stallion listened and started to run, and the Quagga mares soon followed close behind.

Shujaa and the others had a nice ride on the Quaggas' backs until they finally reached the Everfree Forest once again, and that's when they entered and then they stopped riding the Quaggas, because Shujaa said to everyone that they all finally reached the right place, and that's when the Quaggas stopped dead in their tracks, and then Shujaa and the others climbed down from the Quagga's backs, and then Chloe, Aylene and the others all started to follow Shujaa, who started to lead them into where a herd of kind, gentle and fun-loving Sumatran rhinoceroses are living.

Once Shujaa and the others approached close enough for the Sumatran rhinoceroses to see them, an adult male from the herd, who is actually the leader of the herd approached them and then he said in a tolerant tone "Welcome to our territory!", and then he turned and saw Shujaa and then he said to him "That's nice to see you again, Shujaa! I see you even brought here some visitors with you!", and Shujaa turned back to the others and he said to them "Don't be afraid! He's a friend of mine! We know each other very well!", and then the adult male Sumatran rhinoceros said to the visitors "Anyway, I'm Mekong! I'm the leader of my herd! By the way, it's nice to met you all!", and then Chloe came closer to him and then she said while shaking nervously a bit "W-well, it's nice to meet you too, Mekong!", and once she stopped shaking as she tried to calm herself, Mekong said to her "You don't have to fear me, human girl! I'm not a threatening beast who likes to harm everything that moves! I'm very nice, and I'm also gentle and kind, and the rest of my herd were all the same as I am!".

Then Chloe introduced herself and said "Anyway, I'm Chloe, and as you can see, I'm a human!", and then Mekong said to her "Oh, I already know that! I've already seen humans before! But what I didn't saw before you came is a GOOD human!", and Chloe asked "A good human?", and then Mekong explained "almost all the humans who arrived in Equestria were cruel and heartless, but you are way different than all of them! You look and behave very peacefully and very kindly towards other creatures!", but then Chloe corrected him and said "Except towards those who try to harm me or any of my friends!", and Mekong said "II'm should've known better that you hate animals which are known as cruel and as heartless as all of those humans who arrived here long before you came!", and Chloe said "Well, yes! You're right! I hate Lysander and Sayla for their heartlessness towards me and towards all of my friends!", and then Mekong said to her "Anyway, now that I know a lot about you and your personality, you and your friends can go and play with our young ones! They truly like fun, and they also like to play with other creatures they meet and befriend!", and Chloe said "Of course I'll give it a try! We already did the same with Queen Tukta's elephants, and it worked very well!", and then Mekong said to her "Then go and play with out young ones! You can start have fun with them right now!", and Chloe said to him "Thank you, Mekong!", and then she and her friends went to play with the young Sumatran rhinos (calves) in the herd.

Then, Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar, Ocellus and the young rhinos decided to play tag together, and so they wandered a bit far away from the herd to play tag with each other. Then, they all started to play tag all together, but during playing tag, one of the young rhinos, a male named Albert, suddenly got lost and he accidentally started to wander too far away from the others, until he meets Smolder the dragon, who is a member of the young six, who is also a friend of Sandbar and Ocellus, and he soon befriended her (due to being tolerent and friendly to other creatures).

However, after Smolder and Albret befriended each other, a float of familiar evil crocodiles suddenly approached them, and their leader (Lysander) went forward towards the teenage dragon and the young Sumatran rhinoceros, and then Lysander said "Well, well, well. What do we have here.", and then he gave Smolder and Albert an evil smirk as he and his float began to surround them, thus scaring Albert, who started to shake in fear as the evil crocodiles loked at him and at Smolder in the eyes, and Smolder clearly understood that he's scared and frightened by the intimidating looks of the crocodiles, so she decided to protect him by turning to Lysander and placing herself between him and Albert, before she asked him "Who are you? What do you want from us?", and Lysander gave out a lowly chuckle before he said "Could it be possible that you stupid teenage girl dragon don't even know who I am?", and Smolder asked in an offended tone "Excuse me?!", and then Lysander said as he introduced himself "I'm Lysander the evil shape-shifting crocodile, and I'm also the leader of my float!", and then he said as he pointed a claw at Albert "And I see you brought some food for us, didn't you?", and when she realized he's pointing at Albert, she turned back to the young Sumatran rhinoceros who still shook himself in fear and terror as the crocodiles referred him as a meal, and when she turned back to Lysander, she said to him with determination in her eyes "No! I won't give him to you! he's only a young rhinoceros! Take me instead!".

However, the evil shape-shifting crocodile laughed evilly and then he said "I don't think so! You're too scaly for me and for my float to feed on! But this baby rhinoceros is just the right thing to out in our stomachs!", and then he shouted to the rest of his float "ATTACK!", and that's when the four other crocodiles started to attack Smolder and Albert. However, Smilder did her best to fend off the crocodiles, only to be grabbed and thrown away by Lysander, but before he can eat Albert, something large started to pull him back by his tail, and when Lysander felt he's been pulled back by something really big, he turned his head to see one of the two male grizzly bears pullins him by the tail with his mouth and teeth, and that's when Lysander started to fight against the huge male grizzly bear by turning himself into a grizzly bear so he can fight him in an equal fight of a grizzly bear vs another grizzly bear, while the other crocodiles watched the whole fight between their leader in his bear form against one of the two male grizzly bears, and that's when Smolder and Albert made their move and managed to sneak away while the crocodiles were completely distracted by the fight between their leader and the huge male grizzly bear.

However, after a long fight, Lysander finally managed to defeat and kill the male grizzly bear who fought him, but in the process, the male grizzly bear landed on one of Lysander's crocodiles and smashed him to death under his weight, thus killing him in the process. However, the other crocodiles started to feed and feast on the huge male grizzly bear their leader just killed, but Lysander decided to chase after Smolder and Albert all by himself, and he managed to follow their tracks until he found them on the edge of a cliff, thus trapping them.

Then, Lysander said to Smolder "Now be a good girl dragon and give me the baby rhinoceros! If you do as I say, I'll allow to join my float!", but Smolder angrily said with determination in her eyes "Forget it, Lysander! I won't listen to you, and I won't choose to become one of your float! I don't want to be evil like you, you monster!", but Lysander just said "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's too bad for you, girl dragon! Sorry to say but I'm going to kill you for defying me!", and then he turned himself into a grizzly bear once again and then he shouted in anger "DIE, GIRL DRAGON!", and then he swiped at her with a bear paw, and he managed to strike at her back and wings because Smolder turned back to him, before he grabbed her with his another bear paw and then he said "Goodbye.", and then he threw her off the edge of the cliff, and she's unable to fly due to Lysander have already managed to injure her wings, thus causing her to fall down, but she luckily managed to land in the water below, before Lysander threw Albert off the edge of the cliff as well, but he luckily managed to land in the water next to Smolder, before the two managed to swim back to shore, much to Lysander's disappointment.

Back in the Everfree Forest, Albert's mother asked in concern as she was extremely worried "Where's Albert? Where is he? Where is my little son?", but then Mekong said to her "Calm down, it's okay. I'm sure he's still playing around here somewhere.", but then Shujaa said "I'll go and search for him so I can bring him bacm to you. Is that fine?", and Albert's mother said to the albino orangutan "Yes. Thank you, Shujaa.", and then he said to Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar and Ocellus "Let's go and search for Albert to make sure he's okay!", and they all listened and called for him "Okay! We're coming with you, Shujaa!", and so they all started to go and search for Albert to make sure he's okay so they can take and bring him back to his herd.

Meanwhile, back at the Everfree Forest, but at a different point, Smolder and Albert are now sitting down near a campfire which Smolder made by spitting her fire at a pile of firewood she managed to gather around to set up fire for the night, and Albert became so impressed by her ability to control and use fire when necessary, but then the two suddenly heard something moving inside a bunch of tall and large bushes which stood right behind their backs, and that's when Albert stepped aback while Smolder readied herself to attack what's coming towards them, and then suddenly, the second male grizzly bear jumped out of the bushes and then he started to attack Smolder, which was still unable to fly due to her injured wings, so she had no choise but to use her arms and legs to punch and kick at the male grizzly bear to keep him away from Albert, but because he's to big and strong for her, the male grizzly bear managed to swipe and Smolder and knock and throw her out of the way, before he came towards Albert, who cowered in fear, because the young male Sumatran rhinoceros has no chance against a huge male grizzly bear that can easily outfight a dragon, but before the male grizzly bear can finish him off, a male voice suddenly shouted at him "Leave the baby rhinoceros alone!", and when the male grizzly bear turned his head to see who's shouting directly him, he saw Shujaa and the others running towards him, and so he decided to get away from them while he can, but before he can start to run away, Smolder managed to come in front of the male grizzly bear, before she jumped up and then she managed to spit fire directly at the bear's face, causing him to slap himself across the face repeatedly to turn the fire off, and this is when Shujaa jumped on the male grizzly bear and then he started to attack him, and after a long fight, Shujaa kills the second male grizzly bear by breaking his jaw, causing him to accidentally fall on Smolder, who is unable to get out the way in time, and that's when Shujaa and the others worked together to move the male grizzly bear's dead body off Smolder, thus saving her life.

When Smolder noticed Shujaa after she's been rescued, she asked Chloe why did he just saved her life, and Chloe answered "Shujaa is no longer the evil albino orangutan he used to be for all these years!", and then Scootaloo added "That's right! He have changed! He saved my life from getting eaten by one of Lysander's crocodiles before!", and Smolder said to her back "What a coincidence.", and when everyone heard what she just said, Ocellus asked her "What do you mean by that, Smolder?", and Smolder turned back to show her scratched and injured wings to her friends, causing them and Shujaa to gasp in shock and horror to see that she got her wings injured, which explains why she cannot fly.

Then, Sweetie Belle asked her "Who did this to you?", and Smolder explained "Lysander have attacked me and Albert the baby rhinoceros before, and when he tried to swipe at him and get him as his meal, I came in the way and turned back to him, and then Lysander managed to strike directly at my wings, so now I cannot fly!", and then she quickly added "He managed to do this to me when he was in his grizzly bear form!", and then Aylene said "How awful! What a monster Lysander is for what he have done to you!", and then Randall added "When we get back to Ponyville, I'm sure Twilight, Starlight or Rarity will use their magic to heal your injured wings.", and then Shujaa said to them all "But first, we'll take Albert back to his herd, okay?", and Smolder said to him "Okay, Shujaa!", and that's when she joined the others as they took Albert all the way back to his herd and they managed to bring him back alive and well, and upon meeting Smolder, the Sumatran rhinoceroses accepted her as a friend of theirs too after they all heard from her that she did her best to keep Albert away from danger while he's lost, and even dared to confront Lysander and fight him and his crocodiles to protect Albert from harm, and with Albert being already reunited with the rest of the herd, Mekong and Albert's mother announced Smolder as a friend of theirs and of their entire herd, and despite Smolder felt embarrassed, she did liked to see and know that the Sumatran rhinoceroses like her so much for risking her life to save one of their own from harm and dangers, before she and the others said goodbye to Mekong and to his herd and then they all went together back to where they left the Quaggas, which luckily still stayed at the same place and didn't wandered away.

When Smolder saw the Quaggas for the first time, she asked "What are these kind of weird zebras supposed to be?", and Ocellus answered and explained "These are Quaggas. They're an extinct species of a zebra which died out a long time ago back in where Chloe's kind lives.", and then Shujaa added "I'm sure you'll need to ride a Quagga if you want to get out of the Everfree Forest. After all, Lysander have managed to injure your wings so you cannot fly, so I guess you should at least try to ride a Quagga until we're back in the meadow where we started.", and Smolder sighed and said "Fine. I'll ride a Quagga. I cannot leave the Everfree Forest this easily with my injured wings. I'm coming with you all.", and then Shujaa said "Now all you need to do is to choose a Quagga to ride on, and I promise you we'll be back in the meadow in almost no time.", and when Smolder chose and climbed up onto the back of one of the Quagga mares, after all the others have already climbed on their Quaggas, and after Shujaa have already climbed up onto the Quagga stallion's back, this is when he called "Let's go!" and so the Quaggas obeyed and they all started to run as fast as they can with everyone holding tightly onto their backs and manes, and after riding on the Quagga's backs for a while, everyone finally arrived back at the meadow where they (minus Smolder) all started their fun day.

Then, Shujaa told the Quaggas to go, and so they obeyed him and they all started to run away into the horizon until they can no longer be seen, and then he turned back to everyone else, now including Smolder, and then he said to them all "Goodbye, everyone.", but before he turned to go, Shujaa gave his hand to Smolder, and she with a single tear in her eyes acceped his offering for friendship, and so she gave her own hand to him so they can shake each other's hands, and once they stopped shaking hands with each other, Shujaa said goodbye to Smolder, before he finally turned to go and then he started to run back to the Everfree Forest, and then everyone called out for him and said goodbye to him as they all waved their hands and hooves for him, before he disappeared into the Everfree Forest.

Then, Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Sandbar, Ocellus and Smolder all went back to their homes in Ponyville and Canterlot, and once they all arrived back at their homes, the sun was already in the middle of setting down, proving that they all managed to get back to their homes just in time, and as for Chloe and Aylene, they went to eat some dinner once Luna raised the moon to show that it's nighttime in Equestria, and once they finished eating their dinner, Chloe and Aylene finally went back to their bedroom and they both fell asleep.


	36. Chapter 35:the tapir family

When next morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up and went to the School of Friendship to see Sandbar, Ocellus, Smolder and the others, and when they arrived there, they found out that Twilight used her magic to heal Smolder's injured wings, thus allowing her to fly once again, before she explained to Twilight that Lysander have attacked her and injured her wings when she tried to protect a young and innocent Sumatran rhinoceros from his infamous jaws.

However, Twilight was shocked to hear from Smolder that there are rhinos in Equestria, before Sandbar and Ocellus interrupted her and explained that there are also gorillas and elephants whom are good neighbors with the rhinos, and they also explained that they managed to befriend all of them, except for Sayla the female gorilla, who already betrayed Angalifu and got banished forever from his troop.

However, they, Chloe, Aylene and Smolder all decided not to mention Shujaa, because they all believed that Twilight and her fruends will be angry with all with them if they find out that Shujaa is already a friend of them, because they didn't know how Twilight and her friends will react if they find out that Shujaa have actually redeemed himself to the good side after Chloe and Aylene had saved his life from the Timberwolf, the Maulwurf and the Crocophant.

Later, After Chloe, Aylene, Sandbar, Ocellus and Smolder all finished their studying for today, they went to the meadow again, and on the way, they're joined by the CMC, and upon arriving at the meadow at last, Shujaa appeared once again, and so he took them all with him to see yet another group of animals whom are yet some of his best friends - the amazingly large tapir family, which was led by an adult female named Sariah, who also accepted Chloe, Aylene and their friends as her allies, before the other tapirs also accepted them too and allowed them all to play with their youngsters all together.

However, one of the young tapirs, a male named Milton, accidentally wandered too far away from the group and got lost, until it suddenly encountered a yak. However, the yak wasn't a normal yak, because it was actually Yona, who is also a member of the young six, and she's also a friend of Sandbar, Ocellus and Smolder, and she quickly befriended Milton, but what they don't know is that they're being watched - by Sayla the female gorilla, who is now willing to destroy both Yona and Milton as an act of revenge for being banished forever from Angalifu's troop.

Then, Sayla started to come into sight as she started to approach both Yona and Milton with an evil smirk, and then she said to them "Come with me!", but then Yona asked her "Why?", and Sayla said back "I have a surprise for you two!", and when they both heard what Sayla just said, Yona said (in third person) "Yona loves surprises! Take Yona and new friend Milton with you too!", and then Sayla said to them "Then let's go! We don't wanna be late to see the ultimate surprise I have for you both!", and then she turned and started to walk away, and Yona and Milton decided to follow her close behind so they can see for themselves the 'ultimate surprise' Sayla have planned for the both of them.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and their friends all returned back to the large tapir family, but they realized that one of the young tapirs (Milton) was missing, much to his mother's shock and concern as she started to worry about her little son, but then Shujaa said to her that he and the others will go and find him and will make sure he's okay befire they'll bring him back to the rest of his family, and that's when the young tapirs returned to their parents, while Shujaa, Chloe, Aylene and the others all went to search for Milton.

Meanwhile, Sayla still led Yona and Milton through the Everfree Forest until they all reached a large cage which was covered with a blue blanket, and then Sayla said to them "This is what I'm planning to show you two!", and then she approached and got close enough to the cage and then she started to climb on it until she ended up sitting down right on top of it, and then she asked Yona and Milton "Now, are you both ready to see the great surprise I have for you?", and Yona said "Yes! Yona loves seeing surprises!", and then Sayla slowly started peeling off and removing the blue blanket from the cage, only to reveal a huge male white rhinoceros being locked inside it, and once Sayla peeled off and removed the blue blanket completely, she said evilly "Fool you!", and then she quickly started to run away and leave Yona and Milton alone with the white rhinoceros, which Yona actually reconized who he is when she saw the scar on his left eye - it was Saut (Ezra's southern/northern white rhinoceros hybrid).

Then, Yona started to shake in fear as Saut suddenly turned his head and pointed and aimed his horn directly at her as he clearly saw her with his right eye which remained unharmed, and so Milton also shook in fear and he hugged Yona's right foreleg as he also looked at Saut, as the two made an eye contact with him, and then Yona spoke as she still shook in fear "That's not surprise! That's big bad ugly rhinoceros!", and that's when Saut growled angrily at her as he started to charge against the cage until he managed to break it apart and open it from the inside to free himself, before he started to dig in the ground and kick dirt away with his legs, and then he aimed at the teenage yak with his front snout horn before he started to charge angrily into her, and that's when Yona and Milton screamed as he's about to strike them with his front snout horn, but then Yona told Milton to climb up onto her back, and once he did what she said and got right on top Yona's back, she turned around and started to run away for her life while taking Milton with her to save him too as Saut quickly started to give a hot pursuit after them.

Yona ran as fast she can while carrying Milton along on top of her back, but after a while of being chased down bu Saut, the teenage yak and the youngster tapir both got trapped against a dead end, thus allowing Saut to finally catch up to them and trap them so he can finally finish them off. Then, Saut gave an evil smirk like if he was trying to say to Yona _"Any last words, stupid yak?!"_ , but since Yona didn't know what to say back to him, this is when Saut ran angrily towards her and then he tried to kill her and Milton with his front snout horn, but this is where Yona decided to jump up, and after she did so, she managed to get right onto Saut's face, thus covering his face as he tried to shake her off himself in anger, but Yona managed to hold onto his face until she managed to climb up onto Saut's back to keep holding tightly onto him as he tried to shake her off himself like an angry bull who is trying to get his enemy off his back.

Eventually, Saut managed to finally throw Yona (and Milton) off his back, and before they can escape, Yona is being pinned down and caught by Saut, who used his forelegs and the front half of his own body to prevent the teenage yak from making her escape, and Milton watched in horror as he saw that Saut is about to kill her with the sharp teeth on his lower jaw, and when Yona saw he's trying to use his teeth to kill her in a similar way to how zebras actually kill their enemies if kicking them in the face wasn't enough, the teenage yak quickly closed her eyes and covered her face in her hooves and she started to shake in fear as she waited for Saut to deliver a painful bite that a herbivore like him can actually give, but before Saut is about to bite Yona at the back of her neck, Shujaa and the others finally arrived at the right time, and then Chloe looked down and she saw a sharp stone, and saw she picked it up and then she threw it like throwing a knife at the target, and it successfully managed to injure and scar Saut directly in the right eye, thus blinding him completely, before he suddenly fell down onto his side, thus allowing Yona to escape and get back to her friends, before Shujaa started to fight Saut, who barely managed to get back up onto his feet, and then the two animals started to fight each other, but in mid-fight Saut decided to charge towards Yona, but before he can kill her with his front snout horn, Shujaa saved her in time by punching Saut on the side of his head and face, thus sending to run blindly towards a tree and upon crashing into it, Saut got his horn stuck once again, thus allowing everyone to escape.

On the way back to the tapir family, Yona became friends with Shujaa because after she heard from her friends that Shujaa have changed, and because he also just saved her life from Saut's wrathful charge, before they all finally arrived back at the tapir family and gave Milton back to his worried mother, who then thanked Yona after she heard that the latter have befriended her son and even tried to protect him from Saut, but that's when Yona mentioned to everyone that Sayla actually had him locked in a cage to which she led both Milton and her, before she showed them Saut inside it and started to run away, and then Saut broke free from the cage and then he started to chase after them before Shujaa and the others all came to save them, and when the trapis all heard about Sayla's deception, this is when Shujaa explained that Sayla was been doing lots of extremely cruel and unforgivable things, including trying to feed Ocellus and Kyra the baby elephant to two hungry male grizzly bears, and as well as kidnapping Chloe and taking her to a dark cave in the middle of the Everfree Forest and leaving her there to die.

After hearing from Shujaa about everything bad Sayla have already done, Sariah asked him what happened to her then, and then he explained to her in front of her entire family, as well as in front of Chloe, Aylene and their friends (now including Yona) that Angalifu have banished her from the troop forever after hearing from Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, King Thorax and King Pharynx about Sayla's deception and unforgivable crimes, but he also explained that since Sayla is banished from the troop, she's still roaming somewhere around freely while trying to commit more and more unforgivable crimes to get her revenge on Chloe someday.

However, after hearing everything about Sayla's crimes and deception, Sariah promised that she and her family won't allow her to come and mess up with their youngsters, just as she already did with one of the their elephant neighbors' youngsters, and with Sariah and her family calling Yona a new friend for Milton (for protecting him from Saut), everyone said goodbye to the tapir family, and then they walked together until they all went out of the Everfree Forest and went back to the meadow where they all (except for Yona) started their fun day, and with Yona having Shujaa as a friend of hers too, this is when they all said goodbye to Shujaa as well as he was about to go back to the Everfree Forest to get back to Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart in time, before they'll find out that he's gone after night falls.

With Shujaa is back in the Everfree Forest, this is when Chloe, Aylene and their friends (now including Yona) all went back together to Ponyville and Canterlot, and they all managed to arrive back at their homes before night fell, and once Chloe and Aylene finally arrived back at royal castle, they went inside to meet their mother and aunt, before they went to eat some dinner, and once they finished, Chloe and Aylene went back to their bedroom and they soon fell asleep together.


	37. Chapter 36:Shadie the friendly crocodile

When morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up and went to eat some breakfast, before they both went out of the royal castle and they headed to the meadow together, where they met up with the CMC, Sandbar, Ocellus, Smolder and Yona, and then they all met Shujaa, who is now ready to take them all with him to meet yet another friend of his that lives in the Everfree Forest.

Then, everypony and every creature started to follow Shujaa into the Everfree Forest as they're all so excited to meet that yet another friend of his, and once they all reached the right place where Shujaa's friend lives, Shujaa said to everypony and every creature "Well, here we are! This is exactly where my friend lives!", but then everypony and every creature all heard a crocodile snarling from right behind one of the nearby bushes, and when they heard the scary snarl, they all (except for Chloe, Aylene and Smolder) shook in fear.

Then, a crocodile came right out of one of the bushes and then it said in a female voice "Huh? Who goes there?", but when the crocodile turned her head to see Shujaa, she recognized him and then she said to him happily "Shujaa, it's you again! That's so nice to see you again, my friend!", and then she quickly crawled towards him and then she jumped on him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, but Shujaa wasn't afraid of what she's doing at all, before he grabbed her and placed her back down on the ground to look at her in the eyes, and then he said to her "It's good to see you too, Shadie!".

Then, he turned back to the others whom are all (except for Chloe, Aylene and Smolder) shaking in fear upon seeing Shadie for the first time, because they believed she's one of Lysander's float, but then Shujaa said to them "It's okay, every creature! Don't be alarmed! Shadie won't do to any of you any harm at all! She's a very good friend of mine! She's so good, friendly and kind and she's not even a part of Lysander's float! You can all calm down! Shadie won't harm anybody, she won't especially if you treat her right!", and once everypony and every creature all heard what the albino orangutan said, they slowly stopped shaking and then they all started to calm down.

Then, Shadie spoke up and said "Do not fear me just because I'm a crocodile, new visitors. I won't hurt even a tiny fly. As long as you treat me right, I'd like to be friends with you too.", and when Chloe approached a bit closer to her, she asked her "Are you really a good crocodile?", and Shadie answered "In fact, yes I am.", and then Aylene asked her "And you know who Lysander is?", and Shadie answered "Yes, I know who that evil scam for a crocodile is. I hate him and his float for what they did to my float in the past.", and when Sweetie Belle came closer to her, she asked the female crocodile "What do you mean by that? What did Lysander and his float did to you before?", and Shadie answered "He killed my entire float. He used his magic he was born with to kill my mother, my father, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and all of my siblings, thus leaving me an orphan and all alone to live and fend for myself, when I was just a young juvenile.".

"It's outrageous! How could Lysander and his float just kill your entire family and leave you all alone like that?!" Sandbar asked as his brows furrowed in anger as he thought of Lysander's heartlessness towards an entire family from his own kind, and then Apple Bloom cried "We promise you we'll find a way to take down all of his evil crocodiles so we can get close enough to him to finish him off for good for everything bad he have already done!".

Then, Shadie introduced herself and said "Anyway, my name is Shadie, and I'm a female.", and Ocellus said to her "We already know you're a female, because we already heard your voice!", and this made Shadie chuckle a bit before she said "Well, thank you for knowing I'm a female and not a male!", and then she added "Now how about we'll start playing all together! I know a place in the Everfree Forest which I go to and visit almost every single day to play in there for as much as I want!", and then Shujaa said to everypony and every creature "Did you all heard what Shadie just said? She wants you all to come with her to where she used to play almost every day!", and then Chloe cried "Let's go!", and then everyone started to follow Shadie deeper into the Everfree Forest to where she used to play for as much as she wanted almost every day.

When everypony and every creature finally reached the exact place where Shadie used to play almost every day, they saw it looked beautiful, with flowers in all kinds of colors blooming around, a beautiful lake with fresh water and fishes swimming inside, and there are also lots of trees, and some of which have tasty fruits growing on them. Chloe, Aylene and their friends were all amazed by how Shadie's place looks like, due to how beautiful and fruitful it is, and soon they all started to play around all together, and Shujaa watched them all with a happy smile across his face.

Then, Shadie said to Shujaa that she must go and find some food for herself, and she meant for only dead creatures, because she would never like or dare to kill any living creatures to have a meal to feed herself, and to her, eating dead creatures is a good thing not just for her own benefits, but was also a part of the circle of life, because when she eats dead creatures, she disposes of their bodies because they've already finished their own part in the circle of life, thus doing for them a last favor after they die.

However, after searching for dead creatures to eat, Shadie found and met Gallus, and then she befriended the griffon, despite he's sarcastic. However, after the two got to know each other for the first time, they're soon being surrounded by a familiar float of crocodiles that Shadie didn't wanted and didn't expected to see - Lysander's float. When Lysander and his float (which now consists three crocodiles, excluding Lysander himself) approached both Shadie and Gallus, this is when Shadie said to them as she snarled in anger "Leave us alone, or I'll have to fight you!", as she prepared herself to attack the four evil crocodiles.

However, Lysander chuckled and said to her "Relax, girl, we're coming in peace.", but then Shadie asked him "Excuse me? What was that you're just talking to me about?", and then Lysander answered "Well, let's say I wanna share a meal with you, my dear.", but then Shadie asked him "What kind of meal do you wanna share with me?", and Lysander said with an evil smile "We can share eating that griffon together, of course!" and he also pointed a claw directly at Gallus, who looked at him with an angry and determined face, but then Shadie jumped in front of him and looked at Lysander with angry face and eyes as she yelled at him "I won't let you eat Gallus, you evil monster!", but then Lysander turned tail to her and then he smacked at her and knocked her out of the way with his own tail, before he evilly said to his float "Now, let's eat that griffon!", and then the four evil crocodiles began to crawl fast towards Gallus, but instead of flying away, Gallus stood tall and proud before he started to charge and fight against the crocodiles, and in mid-fight, Gallus managed to grab and throw a large rock which hit one of the crocodiles on the head, thus killing him, leaving Lysander with just two more crocodiles left by his side.

However, Gallus still looked determined as he kept glaring at the evil crocodiles who approached him, before Lysander snarled at him and angrily said "You'll pay for killing one of my float, stupid griffon!", and then he jumped up and he was about to snap his jaws at Gallus, but the griffon managed to dodge the attack and he kept his eyes glaring at the shape-shifting crocodile, but before Lysander can get any closer to Gallus to attack him some more, he's suddenly pulled back by his tail, and when Lysander turned around to see what's pulling him back by his tail, he saw Shadie biting on his tail and she was trying to pull him away from Gallus, much to the male crocodile's shock and anger to know that a female crocodile like Shadie would dare to mess up with him and fight him just to save the life of a new friend.

Then, when Lysander tried to attack her to get her grip loose from his tail, Shadie managed to smack at his face with her own tail to knock him out of the way as she let go of his tail immediately after she smacked at him with her own tail, much to Gallus' shock and surprise to see how strong is Shadie for a female crocodile, before she snarled angrily at Lysander and then she said to him "Never underestimate a female like me, you big idiot!", but then she's pinned down and captured by Lysander's two remaining crocodiles, and she struggled to get the two male crocodiles off her back as they managed to get ahold of her and restrain her, and that's when Lysander approached her and said to her "Well, I don't think so!", and then he added "You're the most stupidest female crocodile I've ever met before!", but before he can snap at her, Gallus swooped down at him and punched him in the upper jaw and cried "You're wrong, you monster! Shadie is not stupid! YOU ARE!" he shouted angrily at Lysander, who just gave back to him an evil smirk, but before he can snap his jaws shut at Gallus, Shujaa suddenly came out of nowhere and then he started to attack Lysander's two remaining crocodiles, and once he knocked them both out cold, he helped Shadie get back up on her feet, before he turned angrily to Lysander, and then the albino orangutan gave out an angry growl at him, causing Lysander to back away and run for his life, but not before Shujaa and Gallus grabbed and picked up the two male crocodiles, and then they threw them up and the two crocodiles struck down and hit Lysander on the back, causing him to snarl in pain, before he threw the two unconscious crocodiles off himself and then he continued to run away and retreat for his life.

When Lysander was gone from sight, Gallus turned to Shujaa and then he asked him "Why did you just helped me?", and Shujaa explained "For all these years, I was evil, but recently, I have changed and became much friendlier, and I know most of your friends very well as they now trust me and love me as we do lots of fun together from time to time!", and then he said "Now let's go and meet your friends! They might be so happy to know that we have just met each other and made good allies!", and then he started to lead Gallus and Shadie back to where the beautiful place Shadie used to play in is located so they can meet up with the others.

When they finally arrived back in the beautiful place where Shadie used to play, she, Gallus and Shujaa were all greeted by Chloe, Aylene and all the others when they saw Gallus is with them, because it was a proof that tells clearly that Gallus already knows about Shujaa's firm transition to the side of good, and the griffon also explained that Lysander and his float have attacked him and Shadie, but they managed to fight and kill one of the float before Shujaa came to knock the other two out cold and chase Lysander away, and everypony and every creature were all amazed to hear about Gallus' brave side and about his and Shadie's fight against the other (evil) crocodiles, before Shujaa came to help them too.

Then, Shadie said "But right now, I think it's time for us to say goodbye.", and then she added "By the way, it's nice to meet you, Gallus. Goodbye and good luck.", and then she turned to go and crawled deeper into the Everfree Forest and eventually disappeared from sight, but not before everyone called for her and said goodbye out loud to her as they all waved for her. Once Shadie was gone from sight completely, Shujaa started to lead everypony and every creature (now including Gallus) out of the Everfree Forest and back to the meadow where they started their fun day, and this is when Shujaa said goodbye to everyone as he's about to go back to the Everfree Forest to get back to Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart before it's nighttime.

Once Shujaa was gone from sight, everypony and every creature (now including Gallus) turned to go back to Ponyville and Canterlot, and they all managed to get back in time before nighttime came, and once it was nighttime in Equestria, Chloe and Aylene ate some dinner with Celestia and Luna, before the human girl and Pegasus filly went to their bedroom and finally fell asleep.


	38. Chapter 37:a crocodile and gorilla show

When morning came, Chloe and Aylene woke up, ate breakfast and went out of the royal castle towards ponyville to meet Sandbar and his friends, and then they went to the CMC's treehouse to meet them too, and once everypony and every creature were all together, they all went to the meadow to meet Shujaa again, but this time, he have for them a much more amazing surprise he wants them all to see and try.

When Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and the others met Shujaa again, they saw an extremely large chariot with the ostriches and the Quaggas from before were all tied to the front of it to lead it as fast as possible, and then Shujaa said to everypony and every creature with a smile on his face "Today is going to be one of our most amazing fun days together!", but then Randall asked him "Excuse me, Shujaa, but what is that extremely large chariot is doing here?", and then he added "And why all of these ostriches and Quaggas are tied to the front of the chariot?", and Shujaa said "They're going to take us all together to the Everfree Forest again, but this time, we won't be visiting just one of the herds, we will be visiting ALL of the herds, and even our crocodile friend, Shadie! They're all waiting together for all of us to come and meet them!", and then Chloe said "Then what we're waiting for? Let's go now!", and then Shujaa opened the doors of the chariot to allow everypony and every creature to climb and get inside, while he climbed up to the top of the chariot and then he called to the ostriches and the Quaggas "Ostriches, Quaggas, let's go! To the Everfree Forest!", and the ostriches and the Quaggas obeyed him and then they all started to run as fast as they could to the Everfree Forest, to where the herds and Shadie were all waiting for them all to come and meet them.

Once they all arrived at the Everfree Forest and entered inside, the group continued on their way to meet Shadie and the herds, and once they all finally reached right to the exact place where they're all waiting for them all, Shujaa told the ostriches and the Quaggas to finally stop, and once the ostriches and the Quaggas finally stopped as he told them to, this is when Chloe, Aylene and their friends all came out of the chariot to meet up with Shadie and with all the herds, who soon greeted them all upon arriving to meet them all.

Then, Angalifu, Queen Tukta, Mekong, Sariah and Shadie all came forward to greet Shujaa upon arriving and bringing Chloe, Aylene and the others with him to meet them all here, and Shujaa never felt so loved by so many animals and creatures all at once, as he was forced to be evil for many years, before his decision to change and secretly turn against Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart, and that's when tears of joy started to form and roll down his eyes.

Then, Chloe and Aylene jumped on the albino orangutan and they both gave him a tight and loving hug, to which he also responded and so he wrapped both of his arms around Chloe and Aylene to hug them too, before they expressed their feelings for him in front of everypony and every creature. Then, Chloe said to Shujaa "You're indeed a former villain, now a secret hero that can actually prepare and show us lots and lots of fun that we've ever dreamed of!", and then Aylene added "That's right, you're the best, Shujaa! I want you to know that we both love you, even if Yigal and his evil brothers and my former mother were your owners!".

Then, Shujaa said back to the both of them "Now, you two can call me whatever you want, like Big Brother Shujaa or even Uncle Shujaa! I'll make the choice up to you two! I'll let you choose what to call me!", and then Chloe said "We'll think about it for the time being, and we'll tell you what we chose to call you later! Is that fine, Shujaa?", and Shujaa said "Of course it's fine, Chloe!" and then he added and explained "I have good patience when it comes to calling me good names!", and then he, Chloe and Aylene all broke the tight and loving hug and stepped aback from each other a little bit, before the CMC and the others went up to them and said to them that they should go and enjoy playing with the young gorillas, young elephants, young rhinos and young tapirs all together, and Chloe and Aylene accepted their words and so they all went together with Shadie to the beautiful place where she used to play and have lots of fun.

However, in midway to there, Kyra, Albert and Milton got lost as they accidentally wandered too far away from the rest of the group, but they soon met a new friend (which they son befriended) - Silverstream the hippogriff, who is the last member of the young six, and the four soon started to play and have fun with each other. However, the four friends' fun didn't last long as they accidentally got face-to-face with two familiar evil male crocodiles, who are both the last living members from Lysander' float (when not including Lysander himself), and then the two crocodiles started to approach Silverstream and the animal youngsters, but then Silverstream decided to stand tall and proud and face the threatening-looking crocodiles all by herself, and she decided to use on them the same thing she used against her worst fear to overcome the evil Storm King.

Then, Silverstream flew up and looked down at the two evil crocodiles with an angry face, before she started to call to them "Hey, you two! Crocodiles! You two are nothing but a pair of big old bullies with long tails and huge snouts! You think you could scare these young and innocent animals into becoming your next meal! But I won't give you the chance to have any of them, because I'm stronger than you two! And now I'm gonna get rid of you two by CHASING YOU BOTH AWAY AND GO ON ADVENTURES WITH MY NEW FRIENDS AND NEVER GIVE YOU TWO ANOTHER THOUGHT OF HAVING A MEAL EVER!" she screamed angrily and bravely at the two crocodiles, who stepped aback in shock and terror to see how angry Silverstream is towards them, and then the two evil crocodiles started to run away terrified.

When Silverstream saw the two evil crocodiles running away like cowards, she cried proudly "Ha-ha! I did it! I told them! I taught them a lesson!", before she flew down back to the animal youngsters and then she said to them "It's okay, I managed to chase these two evil crocodiles away! I promise they won't hurt or threaten any of you again.", and then she gave them all a reassuring smile, before the three animal youngsters looked up at her, and then they run into her and gave her a tight group hug, which choked and squeezed Silverstream as she told them to give her some room to breath, and once the animal youngsters let go of Silverstream, she started to feel much better, especially of herself for what she did for the animal youngsters when she just saved their lives from becoming a meal to Lysander's two last crocodiles all by herself.

However, a large cage suddenly fell from above and trapped Silverstream and the animal youngsters under it, and once they're all trapped inside, a floor started to form at the bottom of the cage to make sure that Silverstream and the animal youngsters won't be able to dig their way through underground, and once the cage's floor was complete, Silverstream and the animal youngsters were all trapped together inside the cage.

Then, a male crocodile approached them all with an evil smile, and it was the most evil crocodile in all of Equestria - Lysander, but this time, he's not alone - a female gorilla also approached close behind him and she looked at Silverstream and at the animal youngsters with an evil smile that is the same as Lysander's, and Kyra the young elephant knew who the female gorilla is - it was Sayla, and now, she and Lysander were working together as good partners for each other, and behind their backs, the last two male crocodiles followed behind them, before they all stopped in front of the captured Silverstream and the animal youngsters.

Then, Sayla said evilly "Hi, stupid baby animals! So we meet again!", and then she let out an evil chuckle, before she's joined by Lysander, and then he added "Now you're ours and ours alone! just for the two of us!", and then he gave a scary look from his eyes towards Silverstream which this time made her shrink back in fear, before he used his own magic to transform into a Timberwolf to scare her and the animal youngsters even more, causing the three young animals to hug around Silverstream's body as they all shook in fear and terror when they saw Lysander in his Timberwolf form.

Then, Lysander changed back to his true crocodile form, and then he used his magic to light his own forehead in a red aura as he started to surround the cage where Silverstream and the animal youngsters were all trapped inside in his magic and then he started to lift up the cage so he can carry it without any hard efforts, and then he started to walk away with Sayla by his side, and with his two crocodiles following them close behind as they started to carry the cage where Silverstream and the animal youngsters were all trapped with them.

Meanwhile, in the place where Shadie used to play almost everyday, everyone else found out that Kyra, Albert and Milton were all missing, and so Shadie decided to go and find them all by herself, leaving the others behind so not to get them all in trouble, and after searching for some traces of the animal youngsters, she found their footprints alongside Silverstream's, and so she started to follow the trails of footprints until she found the trail ends, but a different trail of footspirts starts where the animal youngsters and Silverstream's footsprints stop, proving to Shadie that they got kidnapped, and so she realized by the different trail of footprints that it was Lysander and his crocodiles alongside Sayla who have all been before, proving to Shadie that they kidnapped Kyra, Albert, Milton and Silverstream, and so she started to follow their trail of footprints they left behind them until she ended up finding them all near the edge of a cliff which was standing above a fast-streaming river which leads to a waterfall.

Then, when Shadie got close enough to Lysander, Sayla and the captured Silverstream and animal youngsters, the two last crocodiles that are all what's left from Lysander's entire float stepped forward and blocked her path to prevent her from saving Silverstream and the animal youngsters, but Shadie used her intelligence to outsmart the two male crocodiles, and then she fooled them into chasing after her back into the Everfree Forest, and when she spotted a pack of hungry Timberwolves, that's when she prepared her trap for the two evil male crocodiles.

Then, Shadie managed to provoke the Timberwolves by whipping at one of them with her tail, causing them to start to chase after her back into Lysander's crocodiles, and once she got in the middle between the evil crocodiles and the hungry Timberwolves, Shadie managed to turn and run in a different direction, thus causing the Timberwolves and the evil crocodiles to collide with each other, and then they started to fight, while Shadie continued to run back to where the others are to inform them all about the animal youngsters' whereabouts, as well as about Silverstream, but also about Lysander and Sayla were now working together as good partners for each other.

"What?!" Shujaa shouted Shadie after he heard everything she just said to him, and then he asked "Are Lysander and Sayla working together now?", and Shadie answered "I'm afraid so, and besides the youngsters, I also saw a teenage hippogriff locked in the cage along with them.". When Gallus heard what Shadie just said about the hippogriff, he said "That's Silverstream!", and then Shadie asked the him "What are you talking about? Who's Silverstream?", and Gallus answered "She's a friend of mine, like Sandbar and the others!", and then Shadie asked "So, does that means that the hippogriff I saw with the youngsters is your friend?", and Gallus said "Yes, exactly!", and then Chloe said "Then we must go and rescue her and the youngsters before it's too late!", and Aylene said "We'll teach Lysander and Sayla another lesson that'll make them not to mess with us or with any of our friends!", and then Shujaa said "Let's go!", and so he and Shadie started to crawl and run as fast as they could, and Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, the young five and the rest of the animal youngsters all followed them and went after them close behind so they can help in fighting Lysander and Sayla before something bad could happen to Kyra, Albert, Milton and Silverstream.

Meanwhile, Lysander and Sayla both waited for the two last male crocodiles to come back, only to eventually see only one of them coming but the other is nowhere to be seen, and the reason to this was absolutely obvious - the other crocodile got killed by the pack of Timberwolves while the first one managed to escape with his own life, much to Lysander and Sayla's shock and disappointment, and then Lysander asked his last crocodile "Where your friend?", and the crocodile answered "He died.", and then he quickly added "Shadie fooled us into running into a pack of Timberwolves, and we fought them until my friend got killed by them.".

However, Sayla said to him "It's okay, at least we have you still alive and well, and when that wretched human girl comes to save these stupid baby animals and that dumb eagle-horse thing, we'll destroy her and her friends, right in front of their eyes!", and then she burst into an evil laughter, and she's soon joined by Lysander, who also laughed evilly at his new partner's evil words.

"Hey! How dare you speak about me like that! Don't you even know what kind of creature I really am?! I'm not an eagle-horse, I'M A HIPPOGRIFF!" Silverstream said and shouted angrily at Sayla, but the gorilla laughed at her evilly and said "Nice joke, stupid eagle-horse, but Lysander and I have no time to hear some nonsense from anypony or any creature! So please shut up or else I'll force you to!", and then Lysander approached and he started to bear his teeth at Silverstream and the animal youngsters to scare them all, but Silverstream didn't backed down as she stood tall and proud while the animal youngsters stood behind her, before the teenage hippogriff cried "I won't back down to your teeth, you monster!", and then she added "Even if it costs me my life, I will protect these cute and innocent animals from you and from your evil ape friend!".

However, this is when Sayla approached the cage, opened it, grabbed Silverstream by the neck, pulled her out of the cage, and then she closed it quickly to prevent the animal youngsters from escaping or even attacking her and Lysander. Then, Sayla looked at Silverstream in the eyes as she gave the teenage hippogriff an evil smirk, and then she used her free arm and hand to slap Silverstream twice across her face, and then she shouted at her angrily in the face "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE INSULTING ME JUST LIKE THAT! YOU'RE INDEED STUPID AND INSANE, AND I CAN SEE VERY CLEARLY THAT YOU NEED SOME MORE EDUCATION! I'M GONNA TEACH YOU TO RESPECT ELDERS! I DON'T EVEN CARE IF ANYPONY OR ANY CREATURE WILL BE ANRGY AT ME FOR THAT! NO ONE IS A FRIEND OF ME BUT LYSANDER! WITH HIM BY MY SIDE, WE'LL DESTROY THAT HUMAN GIRL AND TEACH EVERY FOAL AND EVERY OTHER YOUNG CREATURE TO HATE ALL HUMANS LIKE HER AND RESPECT ELDERS LIKE US!", and then she angrily slapped Silverstream across the face twice more, thus finally knocking her out before Sayla threw her aside, and the animal youngsters all watched in shock and horror as they saw Silverstream lying down unconscious right in front of their eyes.

However, they soon snapped out of their shocked and horrified state as they looked again at Sayla and Lysander, and then Kyra was the first to speak up as she cried "How could you harm animals and creatures who aren't yet adults?! Someone must teach you two a lesson not to harm youngsters, juveniles and teenagers, you monsters!", but then Lysander shouted at her in the face "Shut up and don't talk to the both of us like this, you ungrateful baby elephant!", but then Albert joined up as he yelled and cried "We're not going to respect bad elders! Bad elders are nothing but monsters themselves!", but then Sayla shouted at him "How dare you speak nonsense to us like this?! You shall be punished with the fullest extent of the law!", but then Milton cried "And you two ARE bad elders! You don't really care about anyone except for each other and yourselves!", and this is where Lysander snarled in anger "How dare you?!", and then he turned to his remaining fellow crocodile and then he demanded "Go ahead and kill them for us! We can't hear these stupid nonsense of these baby animals anymore!", and then Sayla added "We can't take it anymore!", but then Lysander's last crocodile, who's name was Kumba spoke up and said "No.", and when he said that, everyone suddenly looked at him with shocked expressions.

"What did you just said?!" Lysander asked in anger as he started to approach Kumba, and then the latter said to Lysander "These youngsters were right.", and then he went towards the cage, and then he opened it and let Kyra, Albert and Milton to step out of it, thus setting them all free, before Kumba turned back to his now former boss and then he finished and said "Enough.", thus shocking everyone to know that Kumba finally had enough of Lysander's abusive nature.

"How dare you turning against us?! You shall die as well, traitor!", Sayla shouted angrily at Kumba, but before she can start to attack him, Silverstream started to attack her (because the letter have managed to gain back her consciousness), and that left Lysander to fight his former follower, who is now his newest enemy. Then, Lysander and Kumba started to fight each other, and the animal youngsters watched the battle between the two crocodiles.

However, after a long fight, Lysander got the upper hand as he managed to overpower Kumba, and when the animal youngsters saw this, Kyra cried "Please get up!", and then Albert added "We beg you! Don't leave us!", and then Milton added "We don't want you to die!", and Kumba desperately tried to get back up on his feet, but Lysander managed to pin him down, but before he can finish him off, Lysander is suddenly being pulled back by his tail, and when he turned around, he saw Shadie was gripping tightly onto his tail, before she tossed him off the edge of the cliff, and Lysander fell down into the water below and disappeared.

However, after Lysander is being thrown off the edge of the cliff, Sayla managed to grab Silverstream by the neck, and then she knocked and pinned her down to prevent her from escaping from her, and then she shouted angrily at her in the face "SAY GOODBYE, FILTHY EAGLE-HORSE!", but before she can finish the hippogriff off, Shujaa suddenly came out of nowhere and en he began to attack Sayla and eventually he managed to save Silverstream and cause Sayla to fall over the edge of the cliff into the water below after Lysander, thus defeating her as well.

Then, Shujaa turned to look at Silverstream, and then he stretched his arm and hand, and then he managed to gently grab at her right foreleg and talons and help her get back on her feet, and when she saw Shujaa was helping her, Silverstream asked him "Why are you helping me?", and then a voice called out "Because he have changed!", and then another voice called out and added "Shujaa is no longer evil!", and then Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and Silverstream's friends came into sight to meet her, and when Silverstream saw everypony and every creature she's friends with, she went up to all of them and then she said to them "Thank you all so much for coming for me!", and then Gallus said to her "No problem, Silverstream!".

However, just then, Kumba slowly got up on his feet and then he turned to look at everyone in the eyes, but then he asked himself as he turned away and looked down at the water from the edge of the cliff "Where should I go now?", and this is when he suddenly felt another crocodile's snout nuzzling him, and when he turned to his right, he saw Shadie, who looked at him with kindness in her eyes, before she said to him "You can come with me if you want to.", and Kumba asked her "Why are you being so kind to me after what my float did to your entire family?", and Shadie answered "Because you didn't wanted to take any part in killing my entire family, and you also refused to kill other crocodiles because you believed it's too brutal and barbaric thing to do.", and then she added "I forgive you for what Lysander have done to my family, because you don't really like to kill other crocodiles, don't you?", and then Kumba said to her "Well, you're right.", and then he nuzzled her back on the side of the snout and face, much to everyone's shock and surprise to know that Kumba have just actually redeemed himself to the good side and dumped Lysander and Sayla because of having enough of their abusive nature.

"Now let's go back to the herds! They're probably getting worried about their youngsters by now! Let's go!", Shujaa said and then he, Shadie, and now Kumba, took Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, the young six, and all the animal youngsters (including Kyra, Albert and Milton) with them back to the herds, and once the youngsters were all reunited with their respective herds, this is when Kyra, Albert and Milton introduced Silverstream to them, and Kumba also introduced himself as a former member of Lysander's float who decided to turn against him after having enough of the latter's abusive nature, much to the herds' shock and surprise to see and understand Kumba's redemption.

With everything being done, Shujaa took Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and the young six with him back to the meadow, but not before they all said goodbye to the herds, Shadie and Kumba, and once they're all back in the meadow, Shujaa also said goodbye to Chloe, Aylene and their friends, before he turned and ran back to the Everfree Forest, and then Chloe, Aylene, the CMC and the young six (now including Silverstream) went back to Ponyville and Canterlot, and they all arrived and got back to their homes just in time before nighttime begins.

When nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene were both already back in the royal castle, and after eating some dinner, the two went to their bedroom and they soon fell asleep, but while sleeping together peacefully, Chloe and Aylene both knew that their mission to introduce Shujaa as a new good orangutan and make him a friend of the CMC and the young six finally got completed, but how will Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and the mane seven (and Spike) will all react when they hear and see Shujaa's redemption?

Chloe and Aylene hoped deep inside their hearts that when Shujaa will come and show his good side to the others who haven't yet met him, everything will be alright.


	39. Chapter 38:Shujaa is accepted

Two months have passed since all the members of the young six became friends of Shujaa, and for Chloe, it was a very special day - it's been 36 months (3 years) since she first arrived in Equestria, and for Aylene, it's been 24 months (2 years) since she became Chloe's sister, but for them, for the CMC and for the young six there is still one thing that is still troubling their minds - how everypony and every creature will react when they realize Shujaa have changed? Will they all accept him as a new orangutan? Or they won't forgive him for the crimes he, his owners and the other animals have done in the past?

Luckily, Chloe and Aylene hoped that everything will be alright and that Shujaa will be accepted by everypony and every creature as a new and reformed orangutan.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went with the mane seven and Spike to the Crystal Empire once again to meet Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, and upon arriving at the Crystal Empire, they're all greeted and welcomed by the Crystal ponies, and when they arrived at the Crystal palace, this is when Chloe, Aylene and the mane seven all met Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart once again at last.

Upon meeting each other, Twilight and Cadance did their old song-and-dance they used to do in the past, which they do even today, and then they gave each other a hug, before Twilight pulled away from her and hugged Shining Armor next, and finally, once Twilight pulled away from him, she hugged Flurry Heart at last, who is now a bit bigger and older and she's now more powerful than before as she learned how to control her own magic and strength more properly, thus making herself stronger than before.

Then, once Twilight and Flurry pulled away from each other, Flurry turned to see Chloe with Aylene by her side, and so the Alicorn filly started to fly towards the now 11 years-old human girl whom she accepted as her cousin, and then she threw herself at Chloe, who managed to catch her and hug her tightly. Then, Flurry started to speak more properly, though she's still not close to talk and speak as properly as the CMC, who are much older than Flurry, and what she said to Chloe was "Hello, Kloe! That's so nice to see and meet yu again!", and Chloe said to her back "Thank you, cousin Flurry!", and then she introduced Aylene to her and then she said "Flurry, I want you to meet my new sister, who is actually already my sister for 2 years - Aylene!", and that's when Aylene approached Flurry and said to her "That's nice to meet you, Flurry!", and Flurry in return just giggled, which made the older filly smile as she looked down at her, before she scooped her in a tight and loving hug, and then Aylene said "Now because Chloe is my sister, this makes me a cousin of yours too, Flurry!", and upon hearing these words from her, Flurry wrapped both her hooves and wings around Aylene and then she cried happily "Yay! Now I have another cousin! Now I have 2 cousins!", before she let go of Aylene, thus allowing the older filly to just place her down on the floor as she looked down at the little Alicorn filly with a kind smile across her face.

Then, Flurry Heart asked Aylene "How do you know each other very well? How did you tu became sisters?", and that's when Aylene said and explained "Well, like Chloe, I was been abused and neglected by my own mother, before I met Chloe and became her sister, and Celestia decided to adopt me as her daughter alongside Chloe so we can become sisters, but this will also protect my life from my real mother's heartless nature.", and then she added "Last thing - my real mother is actually a friend of Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and that's why she's helping them harass both Chloe and me.", and because Cadance and Shining Armor also heard everything from what Aylene just said about herself, the Alicorn princess approached Aylene and then she said to her "That's horrible! How could a mare like your mother abuse you and neglect you and get along with these three cruel and heartless adult human males like this? She must be stopped, and I hope it will happen soon or else she'll find you and she will try to take you back with her!", but then Aylene said to her "It's okay, really! I already know how to deal with my own mother, just as I know how to deal with Yigal, Gilad and Ezra!", and then Chloe added "Besides, Aylene and I will never leave each other's sides! We're sisters and we'll fight our enemies together!".

"Are you sure you don't our help?" Shining Armor asked, and Aylene answered "It's okay, we don't need your help, because we're able to kill evil crocodiles all by ourselves! Just the two of us together against a float of 7 or 8 evil crocodiles working all together, and that will help us train ourselves and get to step up until we reach the top and no enemies will ever dare to mess with the two of us!", and that's when Twilight said "I'm so surprised to hear that, Aylene! You and Chloe were both really willing and determined to fight and stop evil in our world to help turning it peaceful to all of ponykind and to all other creatures too!", and Aylene turned to her and then she said "Thank you, Twilight!".

Then, Rainbow Dash asked Chloe and Aylene "Can you two go and play outside the Crystal Palace?" and then she added and explained "That way you can make friends with some Crystal ponies, and maybe one or two of them will become your best friend!", and then Aylene said "That's an excellent idea to say! After what Chloe and I have been through before and after we met each other, and we would like to make friends with a Crystal pony too!", and then Chloe said "Let's go, Aylene! Let's go outside to make new friends!", and so Chloe and Aylene both went out of the Crystal Palace together and they went into the rest of the Crystal Empire to search for somepony to make best friends with.

Chloe and Aylene did managed to make friends with a plenty of Crystal ponies, but they still saw none of them as best friends for them, until the two suddenly heard a filly screaming for help, and so Chloe and Aylene decided to go and investigate, and also to check and see what's going on, but upon arriving at the scene at the right place and at the right time, a horrible sight was caught right in front of their eyes - a pack of 9 black-backed jackals approached and surrounded a young Crystal filly who is just a little bit younger than Chloe and Aylene, but the two soon became angry when they saw a familiar crocodile and a familiar gorilla approaching the Crystal filly as well, and the jackals moved out of their way to allow them to harass and torment the Crystal filly, and Chloe and Aylene knew exactly who are the crocodile and the gorilla - they are Lysander and Sayla, and it seems like they managed to form an alliance with the pack of jackals, which explains why the jackals were all listening to them and obeying their orders.

Then, Chloe and Aylene charged towards the jackals and they managed to kill one of them by beating it up when it tried to strike the Crystal filly, thus leaving Lysander and Sayla with 8 jackals. When Lysander and Sayla turned to see Chloe and Aylene after they killed one of their jackals, the crocodile and the gorila growled angrily at them, and then the two charged together towards them, but Chloe and Aylene managed to dodge and move out of the way, only, however, to be caught by six of the eight remaining jackals, allowing Lysander, Sayla and the two other jackals to finally strike the Crystal filly, but before they can attack and destroy the Crystal filly, the totally unexpected happened.

Shujaa suddenly came out of nowhere and then he stepped and put himself in front of the young Crystal filly as he kept himself between her, Lysander, Sayla and the jackals, and then Shujaa started to beat on his chest as he cried "Leave that filly alone, you monsters!", but Sayla just laughed at him and said "Don't play tough with a gorilla like me, stupid orangutan!", and then she charged towards him, and Lysander followed close behind as the two evil animals were about to attack Shujaa at once, but Shujaa was too clever for them and he knew exactly what to do, and then he managed to grab at Sayla's wrist with one hand, and at Lysander's claws with the other when they got close enough to attack him, and then he started to spon them around and get them both dizzy, and then he threw them up and let them go, causing them to fall on the two jackals before they can get out of the way, accidentally smashing them to death, thus leaving only six jackals to take down, but when Lysander and Sayla managed to shake off their dizziness and get back on their feet, they cried to the jackals to retreat, and the jackals obeyed as they had to let go of Chloe and Aylene before Shujaa will start to attack them (the jackals) too, and then Lysander, Sayla and their six remaining jackals started to run away for their lives as they managed to escape from the Crystal Empire before they can be caught by Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's royal guards.

Just then, the mane seven, Spike, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and the royal guards all came to save Chloe and Aylene after they heard Lysander, Sayla and the jackals attacking, and they all saw Chloe and Aylene slowly geting back up on their feet, but they also saw Shujaa with the Crystal filly hiding behind his back, and then Shining Armor called for the royal guards to attack and arrest Shujaa as he believed the albino orangutan is trying to harm Chloe and Aylene or the Crystal filly.

However, Chloe and Aylene suddenly went in front of Shujaa and their kept themselves and each other between him and royal guards, and then Chloe cried "Don't attack him!", and Aylene added "Shujaa was just trying to help us!", and the Crystal filly cried as she trotted towards Chloe and Aylene and stepped by their side "He saved me from those crocodile, gorilla and jackals!", and when everypony heard what they said, Twilight asked "What?", and Cadance added "Come again?", and Chloe explained "After Aylene and I had saved him on my 11th birthday, he changed and secretly turned against his owners!", and then Aylene added "And since then, Shujaa saved our lives and other ponies and creatures' lives more than once, proving us that after he's been a villain for so many years, he finally had a change of heart! Shujaa is good!", and when everypony heard what Chloe and Aylene said Cadance said to the royal guards to step aback from Shujaa so not to harm him, and then she approached towards the albino orangutan, with the mane seven, Spike, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart following her close behind.

Then, everypony stopped in front of Shujaa, with Cadance being at the very front as she started to speak to the albino orangutan and then she asked him "Are Chloe and Aylene telling us the truth about you? Are you really good now?", and Shujaa answered "Yes, I've changed and became good, and then I started to take Chloe, Aylene and their friends with me to the Everfree Forest to meet gorillas, elephants, Sumatran rhinos and tapirs whom are all my good allies who all live there, which Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and even the other animals, except for Saut, don't even know about!", and then he added as he stretched his arm and hand for Cadance to shake with her hoof "It was great honor to get to know you, now that I've completely changed against my owners!", and then he introduced himself and said "My name is Shujaa!", and then he asked Cadance "What's yours?", and Cadance said with a bit nervous smile "I'm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can just call me Cadance!", and then she moved aside to allow her husband, her daughter, her sister-in-law, her friends and Spike to see him properly as she motioned with a hoof to each one of them as she began to introduce them all to Shujaa one-by-one.

"Anyway, Shujaa, I want you to meet my family and friends. Meet my husband, Shining Armor, my sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle, her dragon assistant, Spike, and these are Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Starlight Glimmer.", and then she used her magic to surround Flurry in a blue aura and then she brought her close to Shujaa so he can look at her in the eyes before she placed Flurry down on her back, and then she said to Shujaa "This is Flurry Heart, my little daughter, who is also Chloe and Aylene's cousin.", and then she added as she used her magic to bring Flurry down from her back and placed her down in front of Shujaa's arms and hands "If you're a friend of Chloe and Aylene, then Flurry will be a friend of yours too.", and then Shujaa slowly brought his left arm and hand forwards to slowly pick Flurry up, and then he moved and placed her close to his albino/white chest fur, allowing the little Alicorn to hug his chest, much to everypony's shock (at first), before they all gave loving smiles as they saw how Shujaa is able to cradle Flurry Heart after being evil for so many years, but eventually Shujaa dumped his evil forever and he slowly became a good orangutan over the course of time within the last three or four months.

Then, Shujaa slowly sat down as he continued to cradle Flurry Heart in front of everypony's eyes, before Chloe spoke up and said to him "Shujaa, I just want to say that I truly like you for what you have become thanks to me and to Aylene, but that's not all I have to say. Now I'd like to call you Big Brother Shujaa, and I'm pretty sure that Aylene is eager to call you like that the same way.", and when Shujaa heard what Chloe said, he started to sniffle a bit as tears of joy started to form in his eyes as he barely said back "Thank you.", and then the Crystal filly whom Shujaa just saved from Lysander and Sayla approached him and said as she gave a hoof to him to shake his hand "Thank you for saving my life!", and that's when Shujaa stretched his free right arm and hand to the Crystal filly and then he started to shake her hoof with his own hand, and once he stopped and let go of the Crystal filly's hoof, Shujaa stood back up on his feet and then he gently placed Flurry down in front of Cadance, Shining Armor, the mane seven, Spike and the royal guards, before he wiped away the tears forming in his eyes as he kept looking at everypony with a happy smile, because now he's accepted as a friend and as an ally of the Crystal Empire, and this made Chloe and Aylene happy to see that Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and the mane seven (and Spike) now like Shujaa as a friend and as an ally since he's reformed from his evil between three and four months ago.

Then, Shining Armor approached Shujaa and then he said to him "Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Shujaa. Now that you're a good orangutan, the Crystal ponies can trust you and become your friends after proving to us that you outgrew your evil and dumped it behind you to pick up everything that is good to change yourself forever.", and then he added "I want you to know that if Chloe and Aylene call you their older brother, then I accept to be your uncle too, Shujaa, even if you're an adult orangutan.", and Shujaa said as he and Shining Armor started to shake each other's hoof and hand respectively "Thank you.", but then he added "But I think it's time for me to go back to the Everfree Forest before Yigal and the others will start to grow worried about me.", and when everypony heard what he said, Twilight asked him "Why?", and Shujaa explained "If they find out that I've outgrew and dumped my evil, they'll probably punish me to the fullest extent of their law, which is in their case - for me to be locked in a cage for the rest of my life.", and then Flurry flew to him again and then she said to the albino orangutan "I understand you, Chujaa! And I hope that one day, my mommy, my daddy and my auntie will make sure that when that Yigal and his evil brothers will try to punish you if dey find out that you redeemed yourself to become a good orangutan, these three will be chained up forever in either the royal castle's dungeons or even in Tartarus for the rest of their lives!", and then she said "You can count on my mommy, my daddy and my auntie whenever you feel too threatened by your owners! I promise!", and Shujaa said to her "It's alright, Chloe and Aylene were here for me too and they'll never let Yigal, Gilad, Ezra or even Black Heart to harass, abuse or even kill anyone, including even me!".

Then, Shujaa said "Anyway, goodbye for now, everypony! I'm so happy to meet you all at last, and to get to have you as my newest friends and allies! Goodbye for now, we will meet each other again someday! I promise you all!", and then he started to run away from the Crystal Empire, but once he's far away from everypony, he stopped running and he turned back to them, and then he raised his left arm and hand and he started to wave for everypony, who then called for him "Goodbye, Shujaa!", before Shujaa also called for everypony "Goodbye, everypony! I love you all too!", and then when he stopped waving for everypony, Shujaa turned and continued to run away from the Crystal Empire all the way back to the Everfree Forest.

Once Shujaa was gone from sight, Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and Spike knew that it's time for them to say goodbye to Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, and after saying goodbye to them, Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and Spike left the Crystal Empire and went back to Canterlot, and upon arriving back in Canterlot, they went back to the royal castle, and upon arriving there, they all went inside and they're all welcomed by Celestia and Luna, and that's when Chloe and Aylene went to hug their mother and aunt who adopted them two and three years ago, respectively.

Then, Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to the mane seven and Spike, who then started to go back to their homes in Ponyville, and when Luna raised the moon, Chloe and Aylene ate some dinner, before they went to their bedroom and fell asleep. Part of their mission in showing and proving to everypony and to every creature how good Shujaa have become between three and four months ago have ended up as a huge success, with the mane seven, Spike, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and everypony in the Crystal Empire were all already aware and know that Shujaa have changed and became good, Chloe and Aylene hoped that one day, Celestia, Luna, Thorax and Pharynx will also welcome and accept Shujaa as a new and good orangutan.


	40. Chapter 39:Shujaa is accepted 2

Two months have passed since Shujaa is accepted as a friend and as an ally by the mane seven, Spike, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and everypony in the Crystal Empire, and it was also 38 months (3 years and 2 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 26 months (2 years and 2 months) since Aylene became Chloe's sister, but right now, the rest of Equestria still don't yet know that Shujaa have changed and became a good orangutan, which among those who still don't know of Shujaa's redemption are Celestia, Luna, Thorax and Pharynx.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went with the mane seven and Spike to the changeling kingdom, and this time, Twilight also brought Flurry Heart with her, because Cadance and Shining Armor gave her (Flurry) to her (Twilight) so she can foalsit the little Alicorn while they're busy with their royal duties at the Crystal Empire, and also because they wanted their daughter to have fun and make new friends with some of the youngest of the love-filled and good changelings who follow and listen to Thorax, who is friends with both Flurry and Spike, since they both knew and understood there's good in him before and after he transformed into his stag-like, majestic form.

Upon arriving at the changeling kingdom, the changelings welcomed Chloe, Aylene and their friends, and then some of them took them all with them to meet Thorax and Pharynx at their thrones, and upon meeting Thorax and Pharynx again, Chloe and Aylene ran into them and then the human girl and the Pegasus filly hugged the changeling king around the neck as they're so happy to meet him again after not seeing him for a long time, and especially because he's their father for quite a long time, before the two sisters turned to hug Pharynx next, and the older changeling king also hugged them back as he was too very happy to meet his two nieces again.

Then, Thorax said to Chloe and Aylene "I'm so happy you two came to visit me in my kingdom as well as in my hive to see how good I'm feeling after not seeing me for a long time!", and then Pharynx added "I'm too wanted from you both to come and see me, my brother, and the rest of our changelings after not seeing all of us for quite a long time!", and then Chloe and Aylene said back to the changeling kings "Thank you, father Thorax and uncle Pharynx! We're so happy to visit you two as well! We also wanted to see your newest changelings who started to follow your good ways and share love with ponykind and with other creatures as well as each other too!", and Thorax said "You two can go and join the other changelings, and by the way, some of these we're around Flurry's age!", and then he said "Speaking of her, where is she? Is she okay? How old she is now since Starlight and I defeated Chrysalis?", and Twilight answered "Actually, she's right here with us!", and then she added "Cadance and Shining gave me permission to come here and bring her along so she can see you again and make new friends with some of your newest changelings!".

Then, Flurry Heart flew out of her stroller and then she hugged Thorax, before they're joined by Spike who hugged Thorax too, before Flurry said "I'm so happy to see you again since the way you managed to kick Big Bad Queen Krysalis' butt and kick her out of the changeling hive!", and then Spike added "I'm so happy to meet you again too, Thorax!", and Thorax said to them both "Thanks for coming to see me again, my friends!", and then he added and suggested "How about I'll take you all to see what's new in the hive!", and Chloe and said "Of course we'll come with you to see what's new in your hive, father!", and then Aylene added "After all, it's been quite a long time since we visited you, so now we'd like to see what's new in the hive that we should see for ourselves!", and Thorax said to everypony "Okay, now follow me!", and then he started to lead everypony towards the new nursery hive where good and new changelings were now born, without Chrysalis' need of help to lay eggs, as they're now born from other female, and yet already reformed, changelings who started to lay their eggs.

Upon arriving at the new nursery hive, everypony were so happy to see new kind of changeling eggs which hatch into newly reformed changeling larvae, but that's not all they saw in the new nursery hive - they also saw colorful, love-filled, and newly hatched changeling larvae, and some of which started to crawl towards everypony, but at first, they all stepped aback, but then Thorax lowered down and then he started to gently stroke the newly hatched changeling larvae, much to everypony's shock which turned into amazement to see that even the changeling larvae are not anymore as evil as they were before when they're born to Chrysalis a long time ago, before Thorax managed to redeem almost every changeling into becoming good, love-filled, friendly and kind.

Then, one of the changeling larvae crawled towards Chloe and Aylene, but rather than running away, however, the two sisters lowered down and then Chloe scooped the changeling larva in her arms and hands, and then the changeling larva started to show love to her, and when Aylene snatched it from Chloe, the changeling larva started to show love to her too, and it felt for both sisters like if they're caring for a baby sibling of their own like they would've dreamed of, as they sometimes had ideas of adopting a new little baby brother or sister, which in turn will make them from an inseparable pair into a formidable trio.

Then, once the changeling larva crawled off Chloe and Aylene and went back to other changeling larvae, some adult changelings came to the new nursery hive to pick up their newest young, and close behind there are some young and juvenile changelings, and even teenage and adolescent changelings who also trotted and walked and followed after their parents to meet their newest baby siblings, and the good, soft and sweet family moments between the adult changelings and their older children to their newest babies were strong enough to melt the mane seven's hearts as they watched with tears of joy forming in their eyes, while Spike and Flurry were so happy to see how kind and caring are the changelings to their newest young, and so the dragon and the little Alicorn both gave the changeling families a pair of happy smiles.

However, the good, soft, sweet and heart-melting family moments of the changeling families were interrupted by two specifically unwanted visitors - Lysander the crocodile and his friend and partner, Sayla the female gorilla. Then, the two evil animals approached the changelings and they started to scare their larvae, young and juveniles with their scary and evil faces, as the crocodile and the gorilla also gave them all a pair of evil smirks.

Then, Sayla said "Well, well, well. What do we have here?", and then she laughed evilly, and then Lysander added "It looks like these changelings have something to give us!", and then he too laughed evilly, and the changelings looked at them nervously as their youngest children started to shrink back in fear and hide behind their parents and older siblings as they all saw behind Lysander and Sayla a pack of six hungry jackals, whom are all licking their lips and growling hungrily at them, and they also gave them a bunch of evil smirks as they approached behind Lysander and Sayla and stopped by their sides, with three jackals by Lysander's side and three others by Sayla's side, equally and respectively.

Then, a female jackal from the pack said hungrily "Looks like we got something to eat!", and then another female jackal added "These pack of snacks is enough to feed us for breakfast, lunch and dinner! All at the same time!", but then Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven, Spike, Flurry Heart, Thorax and Pharynx approached Lysander, Sayla and their jackals and then Twilight asked them "What do you want?", and Rainbow Dash added as she readied her hooves to punch and attack at the jackals "Why are you all here?", and then Pharynx added "I don't think you're allowed at the new nursery hive!", but Sayla said "Actually we're allowed here because there's something really important we have to do here!", and then Lysander added and explained "We're here to take these cute, little, colorful, and love-filled worms with us!", but then Applejack interfered and said to them as she readied herself to kick and buck at the crocodile and the gorilla with her hind legs and hooves "These cute little newborn changelings aren't going anywhere with you two or with your jackals!", and then Rarity added "These precious little darlings weren't going anywhere with a pair of monster like you two! And by the way, we do know why you're here in the first place!".

Then, Fluttershy flew up and she willingly gave Lysander, Sayla and their jackals a look of her infamous stare to scare them off, but while the jackals seemed to back off a little bit, Lysander and Sayla were both completely unaffected, before Sayla started to bear her face, her eyes and her teeth back at Fluttershy, thus causing her to stop her infamous stare and look away as Sayla used her scary, evil, and teeth-bearing face to get her out of the way, and then Lysander said evilly "We're here to give a nutritious meal to our jackals!", and then he, Sayla and the jackals all started to approach the changeling families, who looked at them nervously as their young hid behind them and shook in fear and terror as they can all hear and even see the jackals licking their lips once again and approaching closer and closer hungrily.

Then, Lysander said evilly "I just want you all to know that these little changelings can feed our jackals for a very good time!", and then Sayla added "We'll just feed these stupid little changelings to our jackals so they won't starve to death!", and then she and Lysander laughed together as they continued to walk towards the changelings and their young with their evil jackals following close behind and by their sides. "We won't give these little wittle cutie changelings to your jackals, you big bad mean meanie pants!" Pinkie Pie said angrily, but Lysander scared her away by just giving her an angry, teeth-bearing face, and then he said back to Pinkie Pie "I'm not even asking for your answer as no, you idiotic mare!", and then he turned back to the jackals and he cried "Jackals, attack!", and the jackals obeyed him and then they started to charge toward the changeling families, who did their best to protect their larvae, youngsters and juveniles from them, but before the jackals can attack the changelings, a magic force field suddenly appeared and protected the changelings and their young from the evil jackals, and when Lysander and Sayla turned their heads to see what or who is causing that magic force field around the changelings, they saw Twilight and Flurry Heart using their magic together to prevent the evil jackals from harming, attacking or even eating the changelings.

Then, Thorax stepped forward and then he said "I won't let your jackals eat anypony or any other creature, including my subjects!", but then Sayla said to him "Shut up you stag-bug thing!", and then she added as she continued to insult and threaten him "If you dare to interfere with our plans, you'll see and feel our teeth going right for your throat!", and then she jumped up into the air, and then Thorax tried to blast at her with his magic, but she managed to dodge each and every one of his magic blasts, and eventually she managed to slam against Thorax and knock him away, thus giving Lysander and one of the jackals the advantage to jump on his and eat him, and then when the jackal who followed by Lysander's side jumped on Thorax and started to bite him, the changeling king screamed and yelped in pain as the jackal kept biting at him like an angry feral dog, but before he can have his teeth on the changeling king's throat, the totally unexpected happened.

Once again, Shujaa came out of nowhere and then he jumped up and knocked the jackal away from Thorax, and before the jackal can escape for his life, Shujaa managed to catch the jackal and kill it by smashing at its face with a rock, leaving only five more jackals to take down, and upon seeing Shujaa again, Lysander snarled angrily "Oh, not you again!", and then he started to fight Shujaa in a fight of one-on-one, and during the fight, Lysander said to him "Hey, stupid white ape! You're supposed to be evil and not good! You're treason to the side of evil! You're also making fun out of yourself!", but Shujaa cried "Shut up, Lysander! I won't tolerate your insults and I won't let you kill or eat anypony or any creature! Especially if they're young and harmless!", and when Thorax heard what Shujaa said to Lysander as he got back up on his feet and looked at him and at Lysander whom are still fighting each other, the changeling king was shocked to see and know that Shujaa have redeemed himself to the side of good, and so were his brother, Pharynx, and the rest of the changelings.

However, when Shujaa was about to have the upper hand against Lysander, Sayla interfered by jumping on Shujaa and pinning him down, and then she about to finish him off by beating him to death for daring to come and interfere with her and Lysander's evil plans, but before Sayla can start beating Shujaa with her fists, Thorax zapped at her with his magic and he managed to throw her off Shujaa and directly at Lysander, and then the two accidentally struck and killed another one of their jackals, leaving just four more to take down, and then Thorax stepped back up and said "If Shujaa said that he have changed that I won't let you monsters to kill him!", and then Shujaa said "Chloe and Aylene know that I've already redeemed myself to their side, so Twilight and her friends, and even Spike, Flurry Heart, Cadance, Shining Armor and the rest of the Crystal Empire already know I'm now good and not evil!", and Thorax listened to everything the albino orangutan just said, and then he turned back to Lysander and Sayla and said "Since he just explained that he's no longer evil, I won't let you two or your jackals kill him!", and then Pharynx also stepped forward to defend Shujaa, before the older changeling king cried "If my brother allows that now redeemed Shujaa to stay, then I won't let anyone harm him either!", and what Thorax and Pharynx just said shocked and angered Lysander and Sayla, but instead of preparing to attack both changeling kings and finish Shujaa for good, the crocodile, the gorilla and the four remaining jackals decided to retreat and run away from the changeling kingdom and for their lives so to prevent more jackals from getting killed by the changeling kings.

Once the threat was gone, Thorax and Pharynx turned back to Shujaa and looked at him in the eyes, but at first Shujaa expected the two changeling kings to banish him away from the changeling kingdom, but then the totally execpted happened - Thorax and Pharynx smiled to Shujaa, which shocked and confused him to see that the changeling kings aren't mad at him at all, before Thorax and Pharynx each placed a hoof on each of Shujaa's shoulders, and then Thorax said to him and announced "From now on, you're accepted as a friend and as an ally to the changeling kingdom!", and then Pharynx added "Thank you for saving my brother's life!", and Shujaa said as he gave a happy and loving smile as tears of joy started to form and roll down his eyes "Thank you!", and then he hugged both Thorax and Pharynx as he continued to cry joyfully after being accepted by Thorax as a friend and as an ally to the changeling kingdom.

Then, Fluttershy approached Shujaa and then she gently started to stroke his back and she said "There, there, Shujaa. You don't need to cry. You're just being accepted, and it's a good thing. Now everything will be okay. We just need to show Princess Celestia and Princess Luna too that you have changed. That's all.", and then she went over to his face and she started to kindly wipe away his tears before she stroked him on his big cheek pads, before Shujaa finally calmed down and eased himself.

Then, Shujaa said to Thorax and Pharynx "In return for accepting me as your friend and as your ally, I'd like to call you my father and uncle, since Chloe and Aylene both call me big brother.", and Thorax and Pharynx gave him warm smiles as the two changeling kings hugged him back in acceptance to his words, showing him that they truly accept him as their son and nephew for being the savior of the changeling kingdom, just as he was for the Crystal Empire, before they pulled away from him and then Thorax said "Welcome to the changeling kingdom, Shujaa.", and Pharynx added "Thanks for saving our youngest subjects from those jackals!", and Shujaa simply said back "Thank you.", but then he added "But now, it's time for me to go back to the Everfree Forest before Yigal and all the others will find out that I've secretly turned on them to join your good side.", and then Thorax said to him "Shujaa, I want you to know that from now on, you're always welcome to my hive, and my subjects will remember forever what you've done for them when you saved their newest youngster's lives from Lysander, Sayla and their jackals.", and then he added "I will always love you for being a hero, my son.", and these words indeed managed to melt Shujaa's heart when he heard the changeling king calling him HIS son for being a hero and savior in the changeling kingdom.

Then, Shujaa said to everypony and every creature before he's about to turn away and run all the way back to the Everfree Forest "Thank you all, and goodbye.", and then he turned around and started to run away from the changeling kingdom, but once he's far away, he stopped and turned back to look at the changeling kingdom and then he started to wave his left arm and hand and call for everypony and every creature for a goodbye, and once he stopped, he finally turned and continued to run all the way back to the Everfree Forest.

With Shujaa gone, Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven, Spike and Flurry Heart all said goodbye to Thorax, Pharynx and the changelings, before they all left the changeling hive and returned back to Canterlot, where Cadance and Shining Armor were both waiting for them so they can pick up and take Flurry Heart back home to the Crystal Empire, and once Flurry is reunited with her parents, the three left Canterlot and went back to the Crystal Empire, while the mane seven and Spike said goodbye to Chloe and Aylene as they're all about to go back to Ponyville, and once they all left, Chloe and Aylene went back to the royal castle to meet their mother and aunt.

Once Luna raised the moon, Chloe and Aylene ate some dinner and later they went back to their bedroom and fell asleep, but inside their minds they still knew, so far so good. Now that Thorax have accepted Shujaa as a friend, as an ally, but also as his son, the changelings now love him too, just like everypony in the Crystal Empire, but there's still one problem left - how would Celestia and Luna react if they find out that Shuja have changed? Will they accept him? Or will they banish him?

Chloe and Aylene hoped that one day, their mother, Celestia, and their aunt, Luna, will too accept Shujaa as a friend and as an ally to Canterlot and to all of Equestria for becoming a good orangutan at last.


	41. Chapter 40:Shujaa is accepted 3 (last)

Two months have passed since Thorax, Pharynx, and all the changelings in the changeling kingdom accepted Shujaa as a friend and as an ally, and right now it was also 40 months (3 years and 4 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 28 months (2 years and 4 months) since Aylene became Chloe's sister, but right now, there's still one problem left to solve - how Celestia and Luna will react if they find out that Shujaa have redeemed himself and became good? Will they accept him too? Or will they banish him away?

One day, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, Thorax and Pharynx went to Canterlot and to the royal castle to meet Chloe and Aylene, but also to meet the mane seven, Spike, Celestia and Luna, and upon meeting them all again, Chloe and Aylene were so happy that their aunt, uncles, cousin and father all came to visit them so they can have some quality and big family time all together.

Then, they all went to the meadow to have some quality and big family time all together, and the mane seven even brought the CMC too, since they're like sisters and brother for Chloe and Aylene too, and so Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Spike and Flurry Heart all went together far away from the others to play all together, but while playing all together, they didn't know that they're been watched, and not by their families, but by Lysander, Sayla and their jackals, and this time, Lysander and Sayla managed to find and add to their own pack of jackals (which has only four jackals) another pack which has 8 jackals, thus merging them all together into becoming a big pack of 12 jackals, which means that now they have an advantage against Chloe, Aylene and their friends.

Then, when Chloe, Aylene and their friends were about to go back to their families, Lysander and Sayla suddenly came out of nowhere and blocked their path, and then the 12 jackals started to circle around Chloe, Aylene, the CMC, Spike and Flurry Heart, thus having them surrounded. Then, Sayla asked evilly "Going somewhere?", and then she chuckled evilly at Chloe, Aylene and their friends, and then Lysander added "You're not going anywhere anymore!", and then he cried "Jackals, attack!", and so the 12 jackals all started to attack Chloe, Aylene and their friends, who somehow managed to get past them and start to run away back to their families, but Lysander, Sayla and their 12 jackals all chased after them so they can catch them all at once.

Eventually, the 12 jackals managed to catch up with Chloe, Aylene and their friends and they managed to catch them all together for Lysander and Sayla, who soon managed to catch up to their jackals and to their captives, and then Sayla said "Don't try to escape from us, you fools!", and then Lysander added "We caught all of you! And by the way, we want the human girl AND the turquoise Pegasus filly to surrender and give up their lives for us!", but Randall cried "Don't do that, Chloe and Aylene!", and then Scootaloo added "You're both too young to give up your lives!", and then Sweetie Belle cried "Don't listen to them, Chloe and Aylene!", and then Apple Bloom added "They're monsters!", and that's when Chloe said "I won't give in for you two!", and then Aylene cried "Neither I will!", and that's when Lysander said to the 12 jackals "Kill them! Kill them both!", and so two of the jackals came close to attack Chloe and Aylene and finish them off, but then a golden and a green blasts of magic came out of nowhere and struck the two evil jackals together, thus killing them both, leaving only 10 jackals to take down.

When everypony and every creature turned to see where the two magic blasts suddenly came from, they saw Celestia and Thorax standing together side-by-side as they looked at Lysander, Sayla and their 10 remaining jackald with both angry and determined looks, and behind them, Luna, Pharynx and the others are coming behind them and eventually stopping by their sides as they all looked at Lysander, Sayla and their 10 remaining jackals, before they all started to charge towards them and then they started to attack Lysander, Sayla and their 10 remaining jackals all together to save Chloe, Aylene and all of their friends from harm.

During the fight, Celestia cried "You leave our little daughters alone, you monsters!", but then two jackals managed to tackle her to the ground and then they started to bite her like angry feral dogs, and before she could use her magic to blast at them both, Sayla managed to grab at Celestia's horn to prevent her from using her magic, and then Lysander used his five-clawed feet to slap at Celestia's face repeatedly before he said "Now you can't do anything to stop us, Celestia!", and then he's about to snap at her neck to make sure she dies for good, and when Chloe and Aylene saw what Lysander is about to do, Chloe cried out loud "LEAVE OUR MOTHER ALONE!", but Lysander just ignored her and he was about to bite at Celestia's neck, but before he can do it, the totally unexpected happened.

Once again, Shujaa suddenly came out of nowhere and then he grabbed and held tightly onto Lysander's tail and then he started to pull him back and away from Celestia, much to her shock as she saw Shujaa was trying to save her life from the evil shape-shifting crocodile, right in front of her own eyes, and then Shujaa started to swing and spin Lysander around and he managed to thorw him up, and Lysander accidentally landed on one of the jackals, who was about to jump and attack both Chloe and Aylene at the same time, thus crushing and killing it, thus leaving only 9 jackals to take down.

Then, Shujaa grabbed at Sayla and he managed to throw her out of the way too, before he came towards the two jackals and whom are both biting her on her body, and then he managed to grab them both by their tails and then he managed to break their grip off Celestia's body, and then he started to swing and spin them around before he threw them up and they landed directly on Sayla, who then angrily shook them off herself, and then she cried "Jackals, retreat now!", and so the jackals obeyed her and then they started to run away and leave everypony alone, but not before Starlight blasted at one of the jackals with her magic, but it managed to move out of the way, thus making the magic blast hit and knock out another jackal, though it didn't die from the magic blast, but then Shujaa finished it off by smashing at its face with his fists, leaving Lysander and Sayla to run away with only 8 jackals by their sides.

Once the threat is gone, everypony turned to look at Shujaa, but the only ones who are shocked and surprised at his heroism were Celestia and Luna, before the two Alicorn princesses decided to approach him, though they still hesitated deep inside as they believed that Shujaa might try to attack them too if they try to talk to him, but rather then attacking them, Shujaa just stretched his right arm and hand to shake with their hooves, much to Celestia and Luna's shock and surprise to see that Shujaa had completely changed from evil to good, and then Shujaa spoke up and he gently said "I'd like to shake my hand with your hooves, princesses. You don't have to fear or hate me no more, because thanks to Chloe and Aylene, I've completely changed and secretly turned against Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and the other animals. I'm no longer that evil orangutan that you used to know for so many years. Now I'm good, and for real.", and upon hearing everything that Shujaa just said and explained to them, Celestia and Luna were both shocked to know that he's really trying to be nice to them, and that's when Celestia slowly moved her hoof towards Shujaa's hand, and once she touched his hand, he slowly closed his hand and started to shake her hoof, and once he stopped, it was Luna's turn to shake her hoof with his hand, and she decided to do so willingly, because Celestia managed to shake her hoof with his hand first, and also because Celestia is also the most dedicated and respected Alicorn princess in all of Equestria, and once Luna and Shujaa shook each other's hand and hoof, respectively, the two let go of each other's hand and hoof and then Luna said to Shujaa "That's so nice to see that after all these years of being evil, you finally have a change of heart!", and Shujaa said "Yes, I know. Thank you for telling me that.".

Then, Celstia said to Shujaa "I can't believe that you'll do that for me!", and Shujaa asked her "What do you mean?", and Celestia answered "I can't believe that after these years of being evil you're still able to change your ways and save my life just like you did!", but Shujaa said back "It was nothing, really. I've already done the same at the Crystal Empire, and then in the changeling kingdom before.", and then he gave Celestia a warm smile, thus shocking her to know that he's smiling like a good creature and not evilly like he used to before, and then she asked him "Everything you just told me right now were all true?" and Shujaa answered "Yes, everything's true! I'm now good, no longer evil! No more Gilad's animal servant!", thus revealing that Gilad is the brother who adopted and raised him.

Then, Celestia said as she introduced herself and Luna "Anyway, I'm Princess Celestia, and my sister who is standing by my side is Princess Luna!", and then Luna said "Hi! By the way, you can just call us Celestia and Luna, if you don't mind!", and then she asked him "And what's your name?", and Shujaa said as he introduced himself to them as well "I'm Shujaa, and thanks to Chloe and Aylene, I have reformed from my evil ways!", and then he added "They also call me their big brother thanks to all the fun we've been through together!", and then he explained "I took with me to the Everfree Forest to meet new fun-loving animals nopony and no other creature have ever met before, except for me!", and what he said shocked Celestia and Luna, before they remembered Angalifu, the leader of the gorilla troop, and how did they, along with Thorax and Pharynx, talked to him about Sayla's deception some time before, on the day Sayla was then banished from the troop forever for her endless hatred towards all of humankind.

Then, Celestia said "Thank you for being a big good brother to Chloe and Aylene, Shujaa! Thank you so much for everything good you've done for them and so for us too!", and this is when Shujaa asked "Then I must ask you something - will you accept me calling you my mother?", and when she heard what Shujaa said, Celestia was once again in shock, but then she accepted Shujaa's words as they really touched her heart, and then she said "Of course you can call me that way, Shujaa! You're a big good brother for Chloe and Aylene, right? So I allow you to call my your mother too, especially if you really want to!", and Shujaa said "Thank you, Celestia!", and then some tears of joy formed and rolled down his eyes, before he used his own hands to wipe the tears away, and then he said "Now, it's time for me to go back to the Everfree Forest, but I promise I'll meet you all someday sooner or later on again!", and then he said "Goodbye, Celestia! Goodbye, Luna! Goodbye, everyone else!", and then he turned and started to run back to the Everfree Forest, but once he's about to enter the forest, Shujaa stopped and turned to look back at everypony, and then he raised his left arm and hand and then he started to wave for them and call for them all for a goodbye, and once he stopped waving and calling for everyone, Shujaa turned and continued to run as he finally entered the Everfree Forest.

Once Shujaa was gone from sight, Shining Armor, Cadance, Flurry Heart, Thorax and Pharynx all said goodbye to everypony else as they're about to go back their respective homes too, and once Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to their uncles, aunt, cousin and father, they and their mother (Celestia), their main aunt (Luna), and the mane seven (and Spike) all went back to Ponyville and Canterlot, and upon arriving back at the royal castle, Celestia and Luna decided to make a special dedication event that will announce Shujaa in front of everypony and every creature as a friend and as an ally, officially.

Two months later, it was 42 months (3 and a half years) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 30 months (2 and a half years) since Aylene became her sister, but now this is finally the time for a special dedication event that is about to take place in Canterlot, and everypony and every creature were all allowed and needed to come towards the royal castle to meet Equestria's newest friend and ally - Shujaa, who is about to be officially announced as a friend and as an ally to all of Equestria after everything good he have done after his redemption, and that's also the reason why he's been brought by Celestia and Luna to the royal castle so he can show everypony and every creature who still don't know of his redemption that he's no longer evil.

When everypony and every creature from all across Equestria finally came to Canterlot, that's when Celestia, Luna, the mane seven, Spike and some others too all came to one of the royal castle's tall and towering balconies, and that's when Celestia called and bellowed down in the traditional Canterlot voice to the crowd which consisted both lots of ponies and lots of non-ponies, which among them are the gorillas, the elephants, the Sumatran rhinos and the tapirs "LISTEN, EVERY CREATURE! WE HAVE TO SHOW YOU ALL SOMEONE WHO WAS ONCE AN ENEMY OF ALL OF EQUESTRIA, BUT NOW HE HAS A CHANGE OF HEART AND HE'S NO LONGER THE SAME VILLAIN HE WAS ONCE BEFORE FOR SO MANY YEARS!", and then she added "EVERTY CREATURE, I WANT YOU ALL TO MEET EQESTRIA'S NEWEST FRIEND AND ALLY - SHUJAA, GILAD'S ALBINO ORANGUTAN!", and then she and Luna took off and flew away from the blacony to allow Shujaa to come forward and stand and look down from above at the whole and entire crowd of both ponies and non-ponies, which those who knew him smiled up at him, but those who didn't yet knew him just gasped in shock, and then Shujaa called out and gave the crowd a dedicating speech about himself which explains how after so many years of being evil, he finally had a change of heart.

"EVERYPONY AND EVERY CREATURE, I'M SO SORRY AND NOW I TRULY HAVE REGRET ABOUT ALL OF MY ACTIONS I'VE DONE THROUGHOUT MY LIFE WHEN I WAS EVIL, BUT I DID MANY GOOD THINGS BY INTRODUCING MOST OF MY NON-VILLAINOUS ALLIES AND FRIENDS TO CHLOE, AYLENE AND TO ALL OF THEIR FRIENDS TOO SO WE CAN ENJOY LOTS OF FUN TOGETHER, BUT DURING THE TIME AFTER MY REDEMPTION, A NEW VILLAINESS SUDDENLY APPROACHED AND CAME AND EXPOSED HERSELF TO SIGHT, AND CHLOE, AYLENE AND I ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHO SHE IS - HER NAME IS SAYLA, AND SHE'S AN ADULT FEMALE GORILLA FROM ANGALIFU'S TROOP WHO BETRAYED HIM AND BECAME THE BEST, PARTNER AND CLOSEST ALLY OF LYSANDER THE SHAPE-SHIFTING CROCODILE! THESE TWO ARE NOW A DANGEROUS THREAT JUST LIKE YIGAL, GILAD, EZRA AND BLACK HEART, BECAUSE THESE TWO ARE NOW THE LEADERS OF A PACK OF JACKALS WHICH NOW CONSISTS 8 OF THEM, BUT WHERE THEY CAN FIND 8 JACKALS, THEY CAN FIND MANY PACKS OF JACKALS WHO WILL MERGE TOGETHER WITH THEIR OWN PACK OF JACKALS UNTIL THEY BECOME A BIG ARMY OF HUNDREDS, MAYBE EVEN THOUSANDS OF JACKALS WHICH WILL FOLLOW LYSANDER AND SAYLA'S ORDERS! BUT AFTER CHLOE AND AYLENE SAVED MY LIFE FROM A TIMBERWOLF, A MAULWURF AND A CROCOPHANT AFTER YIGAL, GILAD, EZRA, BLACK HEART, THE OTHER ANIMALS AND EVEN QUEEN CHRYSALIS RANDOMLY LEFT ME BEHIND TO THOSE THREE MONSTERS, I SLOWLY STARTED TO SECRETLY TURN ON MY OWNERS, ESPECIALLY GILAD, WHO IS THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY RAISED ME EVER SINCE I WAS JUST A BABY ORANGUTAN, FOR RANDOMLY DUMPING ME TO DIE! HOWEVER, THANKS TO CHLOE AND AYLENE, I'M STILL ALIVE TO TELL ALL OF YOU ALL THIS!" Shujaa said and explained out loud to the entire crowd of both ponies and non-ponies, who all gasped all together in shock and amazement.

Then, Shujaa continued and said out loud "NOW, CHLOE AND AYLENE CALL ME THEIR BIG BROTHER AFTER ALL THE FUN WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER, AND IN RETURN I TRULY ACCEPT CALLING THEM MY SISTERS, BECAUSE AS FAR AS I KNOW, CHLOE WAS BEEN ABUSED BY HER REAL HUMAN BROTHER BACK IN THE HUMAN WORLD, ON PLANET EARTH! I ALREADY KNOW WHAT HER OLDER BROTHER, ALSO KNOWN AS MIKE WILLIAMS, DID TO HER WHEN SHE WAS JUST 7 YEARS OLD, A YEAR BEFORE SHE ARRIVED IN EQUESTRIA! HER OWN BROTHER TRIED TO KILL HER BY THROWING HER INTO THE TIGER ENCLOSURE AT THE ZOO IN HOPES THAT SHE'LL PAY FOR WHAT HE AND THEIR PARENTS, JANE AND JEFF WILLIAMS, BELIEVED SHE HAVE DONE AS THEY ALL BELIEVED THAT SHE'S THE EXACT REASON TO HER OWN GRANDMOTHER'S DEATH, DESPITE SHE WAS JUST A LITTLE INNOCENT GIRL WHEN HER GRANDMOTHER DIED! BUT NOW THAT I'M BOTH CHLOE'S BIG BROTHER AND OLDER BROTHER FIGURE FOR BOTH HER AND AYLENE, I PROMISE I WON'T LET ANY HARM TO COME TO ATTACK EITHER OR BOTH OF THEM! EVEN IF MY NOW FORMER OWNERS AND THEIR PONY FRIEND WILL TRY TO CAUSE ANY HARM OR USE VIOLENCE AGAINST THEM, I WILL COME AND PROTECT BOTH OF THEM WITH MY OWN LIFE!", and upon hearing everything Shujaa said, everypony and every creature started to cheer up for him upon telling such a long and interesting speech not just about himself, but also about Chloe and Aylene as well as about their new sibling bond the three now have with each other, and upon seeing the entire crowd of both ponies and non-ponies cheering up for him in a positive light, Shujaa said out loud "THANK YOU ALL!".

However, the cheering and happiness for Shujaa didn't lasted long as a an angry male scream which Shujaa know to who it belonged was suddenly heard among the entire crowd, before the ponies and non-ponies moved aside in shock and some were even in terror as Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals all made their way through the entire crowd and then they looked up and saw Shujaa standing on the royal castle's tall balcony, and then Gilad screamed out loud at him "SHUJAA, HOW COULD YOU?!", and upon seeing his now former owner again, Shujaa backed away in fear as he knew exactly what are the meanings of this.

Then, Shujaa cried out loud "NO, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!", but Gilad called back "YOU BETRAYED US, YOU BRAINLESS FOOLISH APE!", and then he added "MY BROTHERS, FRIEND AND OUR OTHER ANIMALS WON'T SPEAK OF YOU EVER AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!", but then Shujaa asked out loud "BUT HOW DO YOU ALL KNOW OF MY REDEMPTION?!", and Gilad answered "SAUT TOLD US EVERYTHING!", but then he added "BUT NOW WE DON'T EVEN CARE YOU'VE TURNED AGAINST US! NOW WE HAVE A NEW ANIMALS THAT IS MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU THAT IS A REPLACEMENT FOR YOU!", and then he and the others moved aside to allow an adult female giraffe to come through the crowd and stop in front of the crowd and in front of the entrance gate to the royal castle below the tall balcony, but when Chloe, Aylene and the others saw the female giraffe they're all shocked and surprised because of how she looked like.

The female giraffe had her fur completely black, thus making her melanistic, similar to Tony Black the tiger, who is also black, and because of the melanism mutation color in her fur on her entire body, her blotched spots were all invisible against her own black fur, similar to Tony Black's stripes being invisible against his own fur because of his completely black fur, thus making Tony Black and the black female giraffe share common appearances, because despite they're from two diffrent species, both of them are completely black, which makes the both of them unique to the animal kingdom.

When Shujaa, Chloe and Aylene saw the pure black female giraffe looking up at them and glaring at them all in the eyes, though she mostly eyed only Shujaa rather anyone else, Chloe asked "WHAT WAS THAT?! A BLACK GIRAFFE?!" and then Aylene added "THAT'S TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE! I THOUGHT THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS PURE BLACK GIRAFFES!", but then Gilad said evilly "SURPRISE!", and then he and his brothers, Black Heart and the other animals started to laugh, growl, roar and trumpet while the pure black female giraffe still looked up at Shujaa and glared at him directly in the eyes.

Then, Gilad introduced the pure black female giraffe to Shujaa in front of everyone and he said "SHUJAA, FOR BETRAYING US AND FOR BECOMING FRIENDS WITH OUR ENEMIES, WE ALL WANT YOU TO MEET YOUR REPLACEMENT! MEET CLAIRE, OUR NEW PURE BLACK FEMALE GIRAFFE!", but then he added "BUT LET'S NOT WASTE OUR TIME TALKING TO THE WHITE APE ANYMORE! WE'LL JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE UNTIL WE HAVE OUR PREPARED ARMY BY OUR SIDE! THEN HE'LL GET WHAT HE DESERVES ALONGSIDE ALL OF THESE STUPID PONIES AND THEIR PATHETIC NON-PONY FRIENDS! GOODBYE FOR NOW, SHUJAA THE TRAITOR! WE WILL MEET AGAIN, AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, YOU'RE DEAD FOR SURE!" and then he, his brothers, Black Heart and the other animals all laughed, growled, roared and trumpeted once more, before Gilad called for Claire to come with them, and the pure black female giraffe obeyed her new owner and so she turned around and started to walk away with her new owner, thus leaving Shujaa shocked, terrified and devastated.

However, after Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals (now including Claire the pure black female giraffe) were all gone from sight, Chloe and Aylene came close and placed their hand and hoof on each of Shujaaa's shoulders respectively, thus turning his attention to look and see both Chloe and Aylene standing by each of his sides as well as comforting him by placing their hand and hoof on each of his shoulders, thus calming him down from his fear of his now former owners will return to destroy him one day, before Celestia flew down and landed on the tall balcony and pulled Shujaa into a tight embrace, before she said to him "I'll promise you that your now former owners will never do anything bad to you.", and then Luna also joined the tight embrace as she also started to embrace Shujaa around his body, and then she added "And I'll promise you that your now former owners will never be able to get to you, and they won't be able to destroy you either. I promise. We both promise.", and these words of the two Alicorn princesses managed to melt his heart as he also wrapped each of his arms and hands around their necks and then he started to hug and embrace them too, much to everypony and every creature's happiness to enjoy witnessing Shujaa's joy and redeemed heart.

When everypony and every creature finally went back to their homes all across Equestria, Celestia and Luna allowed Shujaa to stay and live in the royal castle with them, and with Chloe and Aylene as well, and at the beginning of the following day, they also gave him a good job which he truly liked so much that he took it as an advantage to start anew as well as to start his new good life - as a royal guard, but sometimes, he also went to Chloe and Aylene's bedroom to protect them both from dangers and threats at night, or in case that some nightmares might hurt their minds if Luna wasn't there to stop them, thus also showing his new instincts as a kind, fun-loving, but also sometimes protective older brother for both Chloe and Aylene. At last, Shujaa finally found the happiness he's been seeking for that he truly needed for the most for his entire life.


	42. Chapter 41:meeting the okapis goes wrong

Two months have passed since Shujaa was been accepted by all the rest of Equestria, and it was also 44 months (3 years and 8 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 32 months (2 years and 8 months) since Aylene became her sister, but it also two days before Chloe is about to turn 12 years-old, which also means that Chloe is about to celebrate her twelfth birthday very soon.

Chloe was so happy to know that she's going to celebrate her twelfth birthday very soon, and Aylene was also happy for her, because this time, Shujaa is going to celebrate the birthday with everypony and every creature whom are their friends and family they love and like so much, and this time - for real.

However, Chloe and Aylene knew that despite they're going to have a wonderful birthday party, their troubles weren't over yet, as Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart now have Claire the pure black female giraffe as a replacement to replace Shujaa for his betrayal and redemption, and not to mention Lysander, Sayla and their jackals, whom are still known as threat to not just Chloe and Aylene, but also to all of their friends, allies and even their family.

However, when Shujaa came to their side, the human girl and her Pegasus sister both stopped thinking about all of their enemies for once, as they're now so glad that their big brother is always here to comfort the both of them when they need him. However, the two still thought about their enemies deep inside, because now they have some replacements and have progressed into becoming more dangerous and intimidating in comparison to when Chloe was just 9 years-old, before and after she met Aylene and became her sister, about 3 years ago.

The following day, Chloe and Aylene went out of the royal castle to be just with each other in the meadow, and this time - without playing. Chloe and Aylene eventually sat down in the meadow under a tree and looked down at the ground they're sitting on, and then Chloe suddenly started to cry out of sadness, and Aylene understood one of the few reasons to why - Chloe is thinking about her old home back in the human world, back on planet earth, and also because she's the only good human in all of Equestria.

Aylene clearly understood that Chloe is missing her old home, and then she did the best to cheer her up because everypony and every creature like and love her, including Shujaa, and once Chloe calmed down, she looked at Aylene before they started to hug each other for comfort, and then they left the meadow and went back to Canterlot and to the royal castle, to meet their mother, Celestia, and their aunt, Luna, who love them both so much.

However, during the night, when Chloe and Aylene were both already asleep, the two sisters are now suffering from another nightmare, but this time, it's not about being suddenly hated by everypony and every creature they love and like for the most, because this time, it's about somthing even worse - being randomly banished from Equestria for something their enemies did.

Inside Chloe and Aylene's shared nightmare, the two were trying to save Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, the mane seven and Spike from Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals, whom are all attacking them all together, but when the two came close to help their family and friends, they nearly got blasted by Celestia, who fired a magic blast at them, and not accidentally, but purposely, before she cried to them "Go away, you fools!", and then Luna added "You're traitors!", and then Thorax added "How dare you two turning on all of us?!", and then Pharynx added "You two are nothing but monsters!", and then Twilight added "It's all your fault! You're both to blame for everything!", and then Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Starlight shouted at them angrily in unison "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! LEAVE US ALL ALONE! RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN TO OUR WORLD!".

Chloe and Aylene were shocked and horrified to hear all their friends and their family randomy turning on them, and then Thorax also tried to blast at them both with his magic, but before they can blasted off by Thorax's magic, Lin Raju the Mammophant suddenly came in the way and blocked and knocked the magic blast away with his tusks, before he turned to the human girl and to the Pegasus filly, who both just looked at his with shock in their eyes, before he suddenly spoke up and said to them in a male voice "We gotta get out of here, girls!", and then he briefly knelt down and added "Now go on! Climb on my back! We must get out of here before it's too late!", but Chloe and Aylene hesitated as they believed he might try to attack them if they touch him, but then the male Mammophant cried "Hurry!", and that's when Chloe and Aylene decided to listen to him, and then the two sisters climbed onto his back, and once they sat down on his back, Lin Raju got back up onto his feet, and then he turned around and started to run away with the human girl and the Pegasus filly riding on his back.

However, when the mane seven saw Lin Raju escaping for his life with Chloe and Aylene on his back, this is when the mane seven managed to outfight Yigal and his brothers, as well as Black Heart and their animals, and as they managed to get past their enemies, Twilight said evilly to Celestia and to the others "Don't worry, Princess Celestia! We'll catch and eliminate these two traitorous scams and that big male Mammophant for you!" and then the seven mares all started to chase after Chloe, Aylene and Lin Raju.

Lin Raju heard the mane seven chasing after him so he needed to run as fast as he can for his approximately 9 ton weight, and with Chloe and Aylene riding on his back, and when he saw the Everfree Forest in front of him, this is when Lin Raju charged towards the Everfree Forest to clear a path for both himself and the two sisters in hopes to avoid the mane seven and prevent them from catching up to them, and once Lin Raju entered the Everfree Forest, he started to tear apart some trees to clear and make a pathway for himself, but he also made it twisted to make sure the seven mares won't be able to catch up to him and to the two sisters whom are both still riding on his back.

Eventually, Lin Raju stopped as he managed to escape and lose the mane seven, but when he tried to make a move to continue, he felt that his feet were sinking and that he couldn't get them out, and when he looked down to his feet and then all around him, he found out that he strayed into a quicksand. Lin Raju cried in distress as he started to sink deeper into the quicksand until his legs couldn't be seen anymore, leaving his head, trunk, tusks, large body and tail still above the quicksand surface level. He tried to pull himself out to save himself, but to no avail, and then out of nowhere, the mane seven all suddenly came and they soon began to surround him and the two sisters whom are both still riding on his back, and each of them gave the terrified human girl, Pegasus filly and trapped Mammophant an evil smirk, and then they started to shoot magic at Lin Raju, who desperately tried to get away but he continued to sink deeper into the quicksand.

However, just as things are going blackest, Lin Raju looked up and saw a strong tree branch stretching above the quicksand, just a few inches above his head, and Lin Raju knew that despite the end is near for himself, there's still a chance for him to save Chloe and Aylene from dying in the quicksand along with him, and so he tried to stretch his trunk up to reach to the branch, but Twilight and Starlight tried to prevent him from saving Chloe and Aylene by shooting magic at his head and trunk to make sure that Chloe and Aylene won't be escaping their doom.

However, Lin Raju didn't gave up as he raised and stretched his trunk up once again and then he sddenly felt he's grabbing and wrapping his trunk around the branch, and when he looked up, he saw that he's wrapping his trunk around the strong tree branch, and that's the chance he's been waiting for. Then, he said to achloe and Aylene "Now, this is your chance! Climb onto the tree branch by using my trunk while you both still can! Climb on my trunk to reach the tree branch above us before it's too late!", and Chloe and Aylene listened before they started to climb onto Lin Raju's trunk until they managed to have a hold of the branch, and once the two are safe on the tree branch, Lin Raju finally unwrapped his trunk and let go of the branch and then he continued to sink deeper into the quicksand until only his head, trunk, neck and back were still above the quicksand surface level.

When Chloe and Aylene looked down at him, they both cried "No! Lin Raju! Don't die! Don't leave us alone!", but the sinking Mammophant gave them a sad look as a few tears formed and rolled down his eyes, before his head, neck and back all disappeared, leaving onlt his trunk stuck outside the quicksand, and then Lin Raju's trunk waved for them one last time, before the Mammophant's trunk too eventually disappeared below the quicksand surface level, thus proving to Chloe and Aylene that Lin Raju had died, leaving the two sisters to hug each other and shed tears upon losing their unlikely savior.

However, the two stopped crying when they suddenly heard someone laughing evilly at the both of them evilly, and when they opened their eyes looked forward, they saw Celestia and Thorax flying in front of them, but both of them smiled evilly at them, before Celestia said with a rather evil snd distrubing tone "Now we're going to banish you two away from our world!", and then Thorax added in the same tone as Celestia's "Goodbye, traitors!", and then their horn and antlers both started to glow and they're about to blast both Chloe and Aylene with their magic, who looked at the both of them in fear and terror, before Celestia and Thorax both released together a golden and a green magic blasts which came towards the terrified sisters, before the magic blasts managed to blast them off the branch, and the two fell down towards the quicksand, but before the two can drown and die, Chloe and Aylene finally snapped and awakened from their terrible nightmare, before the two looked at each other and at the themselves to find out that it's just a bad dream, but then the two hugged each other and started to cry as they couldn't believe that one day, everypony and every creature they befriended and called their family will eventually just turn on them so randomly for no reasons at all.

The next morning, it was finally the day when Chloe finally turned 12 years-old, but she and Aylene believed that everyone the love and like so much actually can and will randomly turn on them and will even dare to banish them away from Equestria, even if Aylene was an Equestrian Pegasus (which means that she belongs to Equestria), and after they went to eat breakfast, the two decided to go to the meadow to have a private and peaceful time only with each other to ease the pain in their brains and hearts, and so after finishing eating their breakfast, Chloe and Aylene went together to the meadow to be alone and just with each other for support.

In the meadow, Chloe and Aylene sat down together and sighed as they both looked down to their own feet and hooves, but after a while, the two were interrupted by somthing that was brown-grayish that looked like a snake with two hollow cavities for eyes and no mouth, and the weird thing started to touch the both of them, until they looked up to see who is the owner of the 'snake' that is touching them, and then they saw Lin Raju is touching them with his trunk.

However, when Chloe and Aylene looked up at him in the eyes for a brief moment, they both just sighed and looked back down to their feet and hooves again, like if they don't care that he's here. However, Lin Raju knelt and sat down in front of the human girl and Pegasus filly and then he touched and stroked their hair and mane with his trunk, before Chloe and Aylene felt what he's doing, and then the two sisters just turned away from him, still not caring that he's here.

However, Lin Raju kept touching them and slowly pulling at their hair and mane with his trunk, but without plucking any hairs from them, but when Chloe and Aylene felt the male Mammophant's trunk is still touching them, this is when Chloe and Aylene suddenly turned angrily to Lin Raju and then the two sisters punched together at his trunk to make him stop touching them, even if he's trying to comfort them, and then Chloe said to Lin Raju with a sour face "Please, leave us alone!", and then Aylene added "Stay away from us and don't touch us and our hair and mane, you big dummy!", and this made the male Mammophant to get back up onto his feet and angrily trumpet loudly at them in the ears to make them both listen to him, causing to cover their ears in pain as the trumpeting was so loud for them to hear that they must cover their ears because it sounded too loud for both of them.

Then, they saw Lin Raju is now motioning for them with his trunk, showing them that he wants them both to follow him, before he started to slowly walk away. Chloe and Aylene didn't know if they should trust the Mammophant for once or not, but after one minute have passed, the two sisters reluctantly started to follow him, and so Lin Raju led them both after him into the Everfree Forest, where Chloe and Aylene kept following behind him to see where he's going and to where he will lead them.

Chloe and Aylene followed Lin Raju throughout the Everfree Forest to see where he will lead them to, and after following him for about a half an hour, the three finally reached into a beautiful place where a family of weird animals even Shujaa doesn't knows about is living. This family of weird animals was actually a family of okapis, which was led and ruled by a matriarch named Asha, who is like all the other animals and their respective leaders (Angalifu, Queen Tukta, Mekong and Sariah), a tolerant and kind animal, and so was her entire herd, except for one adult male named Akeno, who is intolerant and is even racism when meeting or even when seeing non-okapi creatures, especially humans and ponies, and he's always protective of all the members of the herd, except for Asha the matriarch to whom he always looks up for, who sometimes even punishes him for his mad intolerance towards non-okapis when she finds out that he's doing or already did something really bad.

When Asha the matriarch of the okapi family spotted Lin Raju, Chloe and Aylene, this is when Lin Raju stepped aback from the okapi family to make the okapis think and feel he's comfortable, before Asha turned her attention away from Lin Raju when she saw Chloe and Aylene peeking out from right behind him, and this is when Asha started to approach Lin Raju and the two sisters, and once she approached and got close enough to the trio, she saw Chloe and Aylene more clearly, but the two only stepped aback from her as they believed that she might mean harm for them, before Asha spoke in a kind female voice "Hi, girls. Don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you.", and that's when Chloe and Aylene approached her, but only a few steps closer as they still needed to get to know her.

Then, Asha said "I promise you two I mean you no harm.", and then she added "My name is Asha, and I'm the matriarch of my family. As you both can see, I'm not a giraffe, and I'm clearly not a zebra either. I'm an okapi.", and then she asked them "What's your names?", and Chloe answered "I'm Chloe, and I'm a human.", and then Aylene added "And I'm Aylene, and I'm a Pegasus pony.", and then Asha said "Interesting. Most of the humans who made contact with me and with my family only tried to hunt us down, and only two or three humans were been actually good and friendly to us before. Not to mention, most of the ponies who made contact with me and with my family also hated us because of how we looked like, and because they believed that our colors and stripes can curse them forever, and only six or seven ponies believed otherwise and did befriended us before.".

When Chloe and Aylene heard what the okapi matriarch just said, they both gasped and stepped aback in shock to know that only two or three humans and only six or seven ponies were the only individuals of their respective kinds and species to befriend the okapis. However, Asha said to them "But you two look very kind for a human and a pony, and I think you'll make good friends with some of the youngest members of my family.", and then she said to them "Follow me, girls. My family would like to meet you.", but at first, Chloe and Aylene both hesitated and they turned to look back at Lin Raju, who nodded in agreement, thus showing and proving to them that they can trust Asha and go with her to meet the rest of her family from a much closer look, and so Chloe and Aylene decided to follow him the okapi matriarch towards the rest of her family, but while they're following Asha towards her family, they couldn't see Lin Raju following them, because he actually didn't. Instead, the male Mammophant slowly turned around and started to walk away and deeper into the Everfree Forest, thus leaving Chloe and Aylene alone with Asha and her family.

When Chloe and Aylene met Asha's family, the okapis curiously approached until they all started to crowd around both Chloe and Aylene, who looked at them nervously as they felt uncomfortable with the okapis closing on them, like if they're a huge pride of Tanzanian lions surrounding and terrorizing a couple of helpless and defenseless Spotted hyena cubs. However, Asha stepped in and said to her family to step aback from Chloe and Aylene and give them some room and space because they can't just surround them both so randomly just because they're a human and a pony, and so when the okapis obeyed their matriarch, they all stepped aback from Chloe and Aylene to make them feel comfortable with them.

Then, Chloe and Aylene started to introduce themselves to the okapis, and once they finished doing so, this is when the adult okapis allowed the two sisters to see their youngsters, some of which are much younger than both Chloe and Aylene, but when Chloe and Aylene tried to approach the young okapis, they fearfully ran and hid behind their elders, thus showing and proving to the both of them that juat like the okapis back in the human world, back on planet earth, the okapis of Equestria were shy and afraid of humans and other animals, and will usually run away and hide, but the difference between both the okapis that live on planet earth to the okapis of Equestria is that the adult okapis of Equestria weren't shy and won't run away or hide when they see humans and other animals, but the young okapis are yet still shy and afraid when being approached by humans and other animals, and will flee and hide behind trees, rocks and even adult okapis to avoid contact with humans and with other animals.

However, when Chloe and Aylene tried their best to be kind and friendly to the okapis, some of their youngsters started to come out from right behind them and approached the human girl and Pegasus filly, until they stopped right in front of them, and then Chloe hugged one around the neck, while Aylene wrapped both her hooves and wings around the neck of another young okapi, thus showing them that there's nothing for them to be afraid of them at all, and when the young okapis got to know and befriend Chloe and Aylene, this is when all the rest of the young okapis also started to approach Chloe and Aylene as they also wanted to befriend them, wanting them to hug them around their necks, and Chloe and Aylene enjoyed hugging and befriending the young okapis, before the two decided to go and play and have some fun with them, and they also wanted to take it as an opportunity to tell the both young and the elder okapis about their painful and somewhat complicated pasts they've both endured and had been through before.

After playing a lot with the the young okapis, Chloe and Aylene returned them all back to the rest of the okapi family, and then Asha the matriarch said to them "Thank you two so much for being such good friends to my family's youngest members, and for a very good start.", and then she asked them "Anyway, what's your stories were about, girls?", and Chloe said as her and Aylene's faces both suddenly became saddened "It's too complicated.", and then Aylene added "It's better not to tell you all about our pasts.".

"Please, tell us all!" an adult female okapi said to Chloe and Aylene and then she added "We promise you two we'll understand everything we can from each of your past stories!", and Chloe and Aylene both sighed and then Chloe said in agreement "Okay, fine. We'll tell you all everything you all need to know about the pasts of the both of us.", and then she and Aylene said in turns about each of their pasts and about all the abuse each of them had endured and had been through before, and once the two sisters finished explaining each of their pasts and stories to the okapis, the youngsters and the adult females all started to cry and shed tears, while the adult males simply tried but yet struggled to hold back their tears forming in each of their eyes, and even Asha was very sad to hear these two painful stories of Chloe and Aylene and about everything bad they both endured and had been through before and after they met each other and became inseparable sisters.

Asha said as she still had tears in her eyes "I can't believe this! How could your own families randomly abuse you both like that?! It's definitely inexcusable!", and then she added "But I'm still so sorry for all of what happened to you two before!", and Chloe said "Don't blame yourself, Asha.", and Aylene added "Yes, that's right. You had nothing to do with anything bad that happened to us before.", and then one young male okapi said "I'd love to become a friend and companion for you lives, girls!", and then a young female okapi added "Me too!", and then another young male okapi said "Me three!", and then another female okapi added "Me four!", but then an adult male voice said "Like I should even care about this sort of nonsense!".

When Chloe, Aylene and the okapis all heard what the insulting male voice just said, they all turned to see an adult and extremely proud male okapi, and Asha and her family all knew who he is - it was Akeno, the most proud, snobbish and rudest okapi in Asha's family. Then, Akeno stepped forward and when he approached close enough to Chloe, Aylene and the other okapis, this is when Chloe asked him "What did you just said?", and then he answered and repeated "I said 'like I should even care about this sort of nonsense'!", and then Aylene asked "Excuse me? Who do you think you are that you have the rights to insult us if you don't even know us?", and then Akeno said rudely "I'm Akeno, the most proud okapi from Asha's family, and I demand you hairless monkey and stripeless zebra with chicken wings to stay away from my family if you two know what's good for you!".

When Chloe and Aylene heard the insults that Akeno is attacking them with for no reason, this is when a young female okapi cried "Hey, leave them alone, Akeno!", and then a young male okapi added and cried "They did nothing bad to you!", and then another young male okapi cried "Why don't just leave Chloe and Aylene alone, Akeno!", and then he added "So stop right now or else Grandma Asha will punish you for your painful and unflattering insults!", but Akeno didn't listened to the young okapis and then he demanded and said "Stay out of my way, kids! You don't know that you shouldn't mess up with the most proud and powerful male okapi who cares for our family's safety for the most!", but then Chloe said "Proud you are, but powerful and caring you aren't!", and Aylene added "That's right!".

However, when Akeno heard what the human girl and the Pegasus filly just said, he burst into much more anger and then he said more angrily "If you two won't shut up and go, I will promise to make both of your lives miserable to the very end!", and then he added "How dare you two lowly creatures speak and talk down to me like you two just did?! You're not even okapis like us!", and then he said cruelly to them "Perhaps there might be only one use for a hairless ape and a stripeless, chicken-winged zebra like you two!", and then Chloe asked him "And what's that?!" as she and Aylene both started to get angrier with every word the proud, snobbish and disrespectful adult male okapi said to them, and then Akeno said "If I was the leader and patriarch of this family, I would like to lock you up in a cage and send the both of you to a zoo or better yet a circus where filthy hairless apes and stripeless zebras all belong!", and then he added "Face it, Two Legs (Chloe) and Four Toes (Aylene), if you two dare to mess up with me, I'll show you no mercy!", and then he ran and charged towards them, and then he kicked at Chloe square in the crotch, before he turned to Aylene and then he kicked at her square in the chest with both of his forelegs, thus causing them both to yelp and cry in pain as they're thrown a short distance away, and as they got up, Chloe held both of her hands close to her crotch in pain, and so did Aylene as she held both of her front hooves close to her chest in pain, and tears of pain and sadness started to from and roll down the eyes of the two sisters.

However, just then, Akeno approached and managed to trap Chloe and Aylene between his forelegs and then he looked down at them with an evil smile and said "If you two want some more, I'd like to apply!", but then Chloe and Aylene looked up at him with rage and anger starting to burn in their eyes, before the two raised up their left leg and foot and right hind leg and hoof, and then the two moved them in a fast speed and they managed to give together a double kick to Akeno which hit him directly in the crotch, causing him to scream and yell in pain, before Chloe and Aylene quickly managed to get out from between his forelegs, and then Chloe jumped up high and Aylene flew up high by her side, and when Akeno turned to his side and saw them looking at him close and directly in the eyes, the two moved their right arm and hand and left foreleg and hoof very fast and they managed together to give Akeno a double slap across his face, causing him to shake his head from side to side in pain, and when he stopped shaking his head, he looked back at Chloe and Aylene, who both looked at him with angry faces and with tears in their eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Chloe and Aylene shouted together at Akeno, thus shocking and surprising all the other okapis, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" the two together yelled at the proud, snobbish and disrespectful male okapi who dared to insult and hurt them first while both sisters are in tears, and then Chloe cried "You don't even know anything about the both of us! So don't act like you have any right to hurt our feeling and even attack us like you just already did!" and then Aylene added "Chloe and I both have managed to escape from abusive biological families whom are all as heartless as Yigal and his brothers, and we both sure we don't want you to come and make us feel hated and unwanted by anypony and by any creature who lives in this world, you selfish, cruel and heartless beast!", and then the two started to trot and run away together as they tried to wipe away their tears forming in their eyes.

"No, wait! Chloe, Aylene, please, some back!", a young female okapi called out for them, but Chloe and Aylene didn't listened as they kept running away from the okapis and deeper into the Everfree Forest. Then, a young male okapi turned to Akeno and angrily said to him "You're nothing but deception to our whole family, Akeno!", and then a young female okapi added "I can't believe you'll dare to hurt our guests' feelings and also abuse them physically like you just already did!", and then an adult male okapi called out loud to the rest of the okapis "LET'S MOVE OUT AND GET TO THEM! THEY MIGHT GET INJURED OR EVEN KILLED IF WE DON'T GO AND FIND THEM!", and all the other okapis listened to him, and so they all started to run in the same direction where Chloe and Aylene both just ran away and left, thus leaving Akeno behind.

However, as Akeno turned to go and have some time to be proud of himself, he bumped into Asha, who looked at him with angry and disappointed eyes, before the okapi matriarch said "How dare you insult and attack our new guests, Akeno?!", and then she added "Why are you still doing all this against my permissions?!", and then Akeno said "You're stupid for a matriarch, Asha! Humans and ponies were both dangerous monsters to all of us okapis and to all other creatures as well! I was just trying to protect our family from getting killed by these hairless ape girl and her stripeless, chicken-winged zebra friend who can become potential enemies to us if more of each of their kinds comes here after them too!", but then Asha said to Akeno "Quite, Akeno! I'm very disappointed in you for using such violence against other creatures whom are much younger than you!", and then she added "If you dare to do such a horrible thing like this again, I will banish you from the family until you'll learn to dump your proud, cruel and heartless behaviors and attitudes! Because if you won't listen to me or obey my orders, I'll banish you to live all alone by yourself for the rest of your life!", and then she turned away from him and then she started to run after the other okapis to help searching for Chloe and Aylene, thus leaving the shocked and bewildered Akeno behind.

The okapi family (minus Akeno) started to search for Chloe and Aylene everywhere, but they couldn't find the both of them, no matter how long it took them to search everywhere for the two sad and wounded sisters. Meanwhile, Chloe and Aylene both have managed to escape from the okapis and lose them, and now they're sitting down next to each other, near a lake in the Everfree Forest. The two looked down at their own reflections in the lake's water, and they're both still very sad and wounded after what just happened when Akeno messed up with them and attacked the both of them for not being okapis like him and like his family.

"We should've not come with Lin Raju at all! If we didn't followed him none of this would've happened to us!" Chloe cried as she looked down into the lake, and then Aylene added as she too looked down into the lake "The way that male okapi mistreated us, insulted us and even hurt our feelings with no regret have just gone too far!", but then they both heard a familiar male voice calling for them, before they turned around and saw the worst unimaginable adult human male they never wanted to see or to hear from ever again - Yigal.

Then, Yigal approached towards both Chloe and Aylene a bit closer and then he called for them both to come over to him, but the two refused because of how they hated him so much for being evil. However, Yigal managed to make them to come over to him by telling them that this time, he said he promise he'll make it up for them. Chloe and Aylene believed Yigal's words, but they said and warned that if he would dare to lie to them, they'll fight him with all of their wrath. Yigal accepted Chloe and Aylene's warning, because he and his brothers (and Black Heart) all actually prepared for them yet another devious trap, which this time, it will be poisonous, in the form of food, and in that case - a poisonous birthday cake.


	43. Chapter 42:Stephan the young centaur

Meanwhile, back at the royal castle, everypony and every creature whom Chloe and Aylene love and like for the most were in the middle of preparing to throw a birthday party for Chloe's twelfth birthday, and they all wanted to make sure that everything goes exactly as planned and as expected, but they're all still unaware that Chloe and Aylene won't come back home to the royal castle soon after they all finish the birthday party preparations, and it's because the two were with Yigal and they're following him into a trap, which was this time - it the form of food, which is in that case - a poisonous birthday cake.

Back in the middle of the Everfree Forest, Chloe and Aylene continued and followed Yigal all the way until they finally reached his and his brother's second and current home, and upon arriving at their much larger house, Yigal's brothers (Gilad and Ezra) and Black Heart and their animals all came into sight and then Yigal went up to them and joined them, before he turned back to Chloe and Aylene and then he, his brothers and their evil Pegasus pony friend all shouted and called all together "Happy birthday, Chloe!", and then they moved out of the way to show to Chloe and Aylene a large table with snacks, candies, lollipops, chocolate bars, and a birthday cake which looked like a strawberry cake, but this cake was in face the poisonous birthday cake Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart have all prepared for them to eat. However, Chloe and Aylene won't get poisoned if each of them takes only one or two bites from the poisonous cake, but if each of them takes three bites or even more from the poisonous cake, they will get poisoned because the special poison inside the cake starts to work and sickens the victims only if the human, pony or any other creature took three bites or more from the poisonous cake.

Then, Yigal said to Chloe and Aylene as the two started to approach the table where all the food is on "Go ahead! You can eat everything you want! This is your birthday, Chloe!", but then Black Heart asked "How old are you now?", and Chloe turned to her for a brief moment and then she said "Now I'm 12 years-old!", and then she turned to look back at the table, and then she and Aylene went up to it, took their seats to sit down close to the table and then they both started to eat the snacks, the candies, the lollipops and the chocolate bars, but they didn't yet ate from the birthday cake.

However, when Chloe and Aylene saw the birthday cake standing on the center of the table, the two were happy to see how the cake looked like, with the white, pink and red colors, the heart-shaped candies on each layer of the cake, and the strawberries on top. Then, Yigal approached the two sisters and then he said to them "C'mon, go ahead! Eat from your birthday cake! You can start eating right now!", and then he gave Chloe a knife so she can use it to cut a slice from the cake and start to eat, and Chloe cut two slices from the cake, one for Aylene and one for herself, and then the two took the two slices of the cake to themselves and they opened their mouths and they're about to take a first bite each, but suddenly they stopped and turned back to Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart, who all just stood there with fake smiles on their faces while still waiting for the two sisters to take their first bite each from the poisonous birthday cake they've baked up for them.

Then, Chloe asked Yigal "Why are you and your brothers and friend were all smiling at us like this?", and then Aylene added "There's something in the cake that you don't want to tell us about?", but Yigal said "No! The cake is good! We're just watching you two so we can all react to how you both are going to eat from your birthday cake we baked for you!", and then Black Heart added "That's gonna be so good to see you eating together from this special birthday cake we all baked for you!", and then she finished and said "Now go ahead and take your first bite each! There's nothing bad in this birthday cake! Trust us!", and this made Chloe and Aylene believe in their worst enemies' words, before the two turned back to the table so each can take a first bite from the slices they took from the birthday cake, and then the two bit down on their cake slices and then they started to chew and swallow their first bite each, and once they finished eating their first bite from the birthday cake, the felt how tasty the cake is, and they truly liked it's strawberry flavor, and it tasted like if there's nothing bad inside the birthday cake at all, and also because they didn't know that if each of them takes two more bites from the cake, the poison will start to work and it will make them both very sick and too weak to escape for their lives, and this will allow Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart to finally finish them off for good.

Then, Yigal said to Chloe and Aylene "Go on, go ahead and take another bite from your birthday cake!", and Chloe and Aylene listened to him and then each of them took a second bite from their cake slices, and then they started to chew and then swallow their second bite each from their birthday cake slices, which means that one more bite and the poison will start to attack them and leave their bodies sick and weak enough to allow Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart to finally finish them off for good.

Then, Yigal said to Chloe and Aylene "Now go ahead and take one more bite from your birthday cake, girls! Enjoy your third bite!", and then he and the others all waited for Chloe and Aylene to take a third bite out of the poisonous birthday cake slices they took for themselves so the poison can finally attack them and leave their bodies sick and weak enough to allow Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart to take them down and finish them off for good.

However, as Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart's evil smirks grew wider, and as Chloe and Aylene were about to take a third bite each out of the poisonous birthday cake, an unfamiliar young male voice suddenly called for the two sisters "Don't take another bite from this cake!", and this made Chloe and Aylene to stop and turn back, and so did Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart as they all turned back as well, and then they all saw a human boy who appeared to be around Chloe and Aylene's age, he had a handsome reddish hair, he had beautiful green eyes, he wore a blue shirt on himself, and he also carried a brown backpack on his back, but what Chloe, Aylene and their worst enemies couldn't see in him is his legs, which were apparently hidden inside the nearby bushes.

When Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart looked at the human boy, they're surprised to see that there's another 'human being' in Equestria, before the human boy cried "Don't take another bite from this birthday cake! It's poisonous! The cake has poison which will make you sick and weak after you take three bites from it!", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what he said, Aylene asked him "Are you sure?", and he said "Yes, that's right! Don't eat more from this cake!", but this is when Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart all decided to force Chloe and Aylene to take a third bite each from the poisonous cake against their will by grabbing and restraining them, and then they forced them to chew and swallow a third bite each from the poisonous cake, and upon finishing eating their third bite each, due to Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart's force, Chloe and Aylene slowly started to feel weird as the poison finally started to attack their bodies until Chloe and Aylene were too sick and too weak to stand up on their feet and hooves, and this is the chance Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all waited for.

Then, the Yigal and Black Heart gave a double punch to Chloe and Aylene's faces to knock them out cold and then they walked out of the way to allow Gilad to cut off the two sisters' heads with his axe, and as he raised his axe up into the air, Gilad said "Revenge time!", and then he's about to strike and cut off Chloe and Aylene's head with his axe, but before he can do so, the human boy jumped out of the bushes to reveal that he actually have the lower body, legs and tail of a horse instead of human legs, thus shocking and surprising the four villains who were all in shock to see what the human boy actually is.

Then, Yigal asked the humanoid creature with the lower body, legs and tail of a horse in complete shock "What in the world are you?!", and then the young male centaur said back "I'm a centaur!", and then he added "And I won't let you murderers cut off the heads of these human girl and Pegasus pony, understand?!", but this made Gilad shout angrily at him "HOW DARE YOU?!", and then he added "FINE, WE'LL CUT YOUR HEAD FIRST!", and then he charged towards the young centaur and screamed at the top of his lungs as he's about to strike him with his axe, but the young centaur moved out of the way, and then he used his hind horse legs to kick Gilad in the butt and cause him to fly a few yards away and strike into a bush, thus leaving Yigal, Ezra and Black Heart shocked and angered as they looked at what the young centaur just did to Gilad, before the young centaur turned to them and then he called for them "Let's see if you three can catch me!" and then he briefly reared up on his hind horse legs as he pulled a raspberry at the three villains, who started to get angrier and determined to take him down too.

Then, Ezra charged towards him, but the young centaur managed to stretch his arms and hands when Ezra came close to attack him, and then he managed to grab the adult human male by the neck and then he started to choke him, and then he used his horse forelegs to kick Ezra twice in the chest, and then he turned tail and kicked him once in the crotch with his hind horse legs, causing Ezra to scream in pain and fall to the ground as he got beaten too, leaving only Yigal and Black Heart to take out of the way.

Then, Yigal and Black Heart decided to work together to take down the young centaur, and so Yigal decided to face him from the front, while Black Heart prepared to ambush and attack him from behind, but the young centaur was clever enough to take them out too, as he managed to kick the evil Pegasus mare in the face with his hind horse legs, and then Yigal screamed madly as he charged towards him, but the young centaur managed to rear up onto his hind horse legs, and once Yigal got close enough to attack him, the young centaur grabbed at his shoulders with his horse forelegs, and then he clenched his hands into fists and he started to punch Yigal 10 times on the top of his head, and once he let go, Yigal fell to the ground, defeated.

With all four villains were down, the young centaur approached the poisoned and unconscious Chloe and Aylene, and then he started to think about a way to pick up the both of them and take them to safety, and once he figured out what he must do, the young centaur first grabbed and picked up Aylene and then he gently placed her down on his lower horse back to make sure that she doesn't falls off, and then he turned to grab and pick up Chloe next, but because she might fall off his back because she's bigger than Aylene in body size, and also because Aylene was already on his lower horse back, the young centaur decided to carry Chloe in his own arms, and then he started to walk away slowly and carefully, and he carried both Chloe and Aylene on himself until they all finally reached a safe spot that was too far away for the villains from reaching to them with ease, and then he finally placed both Chloe and Aylene down on the ground gently, before he lowered down and sat onto his horse haunches as he looked down at the two sisters.

Then, the young centaur took his backpack off his own back and then he placed it down on the ground and then he put his hands inside it and pulled out of his backpack an orange magical potion, and then he said to himself "I hope my magical healing potion can heal them.", and then he used his tool which was only a small pocket knife to cut two pieces of wood from a tree and he crafted from them two wooden cups - one for Chloe and one for Aylene, and then he filled both newly crafted wooden cups with some of the orange potion, and then he slowly pulled Chloe close to him and then he opened her mouth and gave her the first wooden cup so she can drink from the orange potion, and once she drank and swallowed all the orange potion that was in her wooden cup, the young centaur pulled Aylene close to him to give her a drink from the orange potion as well, and then he opened the Pegasus filly's mouth and gave her the second wooden cup so she can also drink from the orange potion, and once she drank and swallowed all the orange potion that was in her wooden cup, the young centaur gently sat Chloe and Aylene down on their backs on the solid ground and waited for the orange potion to have an effect on Chloe and Aylene and also to do its work.

Then, after no more than five minutes later, Chloe and Aylene opened their eyes and they slowly got back up on their feet and hooves with no trouble as they're now completely healed from the poisonous cake's poison effect, proving that the young centaur's orange magical healing potion was good and powerful enough to cure poisonous effects within almost no time (with a minimum time of three minutes to a maximum time of five minutes for the magical healing potion to take effect and cure completely any poison and heal the victims who got accidentally poisoned).

When Chloe and Aylene were on their feet and hooves, the two looked around them and then Chloe asked "Where are we?", and then Aylene added "How did we ended up here?", and then the young centaur said to them "Hi, girls!", thus shocking Chloe and Aylene briefly before they both turned around and saw the young centaur standing behind them, and when Chloe and Aylene saw his face and upper human body, they soon recognized him as the 'human boy' who tried to warn them about the poisonous birthday cake Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart have baked up for them, but when they looked down and saw that he actually has the lower body, legs and tail of a horse instead of human legs, the two gasped in shock to realize that he's actually a centaur, and was in fact not an adult but a young centaur who is exactly around their own age.

Then, the young centaur's ears moved to the sides of his head and pointed upwards, showing Chloe and Aylene that he also have the cute-shaped ears of a horse, before he chuckled kindly as he started to approach the two sisters, who still looked at him in the eyes with shock and surprise to see that he's not the same as evil as one of the most worst criminals who is known to steal magic from all across Equestria, who is now locked forever in Tartarus - Lord Tirek.

Then, the young centaur stopped on front of Chloe and Aylene and then he stretched a human arm and hand for them to shake their hand and hoof, and at first, Chloe and Aylene hesitated, but then, the two decided to shake his hand, with Chloe being the first to shake hands with the young centaur, and then Aylene did the same by shaking her own hoof with his hand, thus the two sisters gained the trust of a newfound friend. Then, the young centaur spoke up and said "Usually, I would expect both ponies and non-ponies, including humans, to run away from me because I'm a centaur, and also because a demonic centaur whose name is Lord Tirek have caused many troubles to Equestria, like how he stole magic from all across Equestria, used magic for evil to make mass destructions, and even fooled Discord the Draconequus into listening to him and believing in him before eventually draining off his magic as well, despite that excuse for a centaur is eventually defeated in the end and was re-imprisoned back in Tartarus where I suppose he belongs.", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what the young centaur just said about himself but also about Lord Tirek, the human girl said to him "Yeah, I know who's that Lord Tirek you just talked to us about, and Aylene knows about him too, but you don't look evil or demonic like him at all. In fact, you look just like a normal human boy with the lower body, legs and tail of a brown horse, and I also like your reddish hair and tail. They truly look to me so lovely.", and then Aylene added "I truly think so the same way, but I must ask you something.", and then the young centaur asked her "What do you want to ask me about?", and then Aylene asked "What's your name?", and then Chloe introduced herself and said "I'm Chloe, and I'm a human being.", and then Aylene added "And I'm Aylene, and despite I'm a Pegasus pony, I'm still Chloe's beloved sister, and we're sisters for almost 3 years!".

Then, the young centaur said as he introduced himself "Well, anyway, I'm Stephan, and I'm a centaur.", but then Chloe said to him "You don't have to tell us about this. I already know what centaurs are and what they look like, because when I was very little, my grandmother, Elizabeth, told me tales, legends and even mythological stories about centaurs, and I wondered for once back then how centaurs were really like.", and then Aylene asked her "Did you just said that long before you arrived in Equestria your grandmother told you about centaurs?", and Chloe said "Exactly. I was like three or four at the time my grandmother told me about these creatures, and back then I even wanted to see a real one for myself, and now when I see Stephan just in front of me, I'm finally happy to have my old wish to see a centaur granted.".

Then, Stephan the centaur asked Chloe and Aylene "Anyway, what are you two doing here?", and then Chloe answered "Well, we came here after Lin Raju who wanted to show us a kind and tolerant family of okapis, and then he just left us alone with them to see how we'll get along with them, and we explained and told about ourselves to the okapis, but then one of them, an adult male named Akeno, came to us and he started to insult us for not being okapis, and then he called me a hairless ape and Aylene a stripeless zebra with chicken wings, and he even attacked us physically, telling us that he would like to attack us some more if we dare to mess up with him or with any other okapi, and he even wanted us to be locked in a cage and to be sent together to a zoo or better yet a circus!", and then Aylene continued for her and said "And in an attempt to defend ourselves and each other from more harm, we attacked Akeno back, then we both shouted at him, and then we started to cry and run away from the okapis and we mamaged to lose them, and then Yigal came out of nowhere and took us along with him to 'celebrate' Chloe's birthday, but then you suddenly showed up and told us not to eat from the birthday cake because it was poisonous, but then we're forced to take a third bite each from the poisonous cake by Yigal, his brothers and my biological, yet former mother, Black Heart! Then they all knocked us out cold after we got poisoned! I don't know what happened next and I don't even know how did Chloe and I managed to escape and heal!".

Then, Stephan said "It was me who saved you both. I used my magical healing potion to cure the poison and heal your bodies and help you both to recover in almost no time.", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what the young male centaur said, the human girl and the Pegasus filly both looked at him with happy smiles and with tears of joy forming in their eyes, and then the two sisters approached him and hugged him and locked him in a tight embrace with them, and this made Stephan happy too, because Chloe and Aylene were the first non-centaurs to actually befriend him, and so he wrapped his arms and hands around Chloe and Aylene to hug them too, and once the three eventually broke off from their tight embrace, a new friendship bond have just started to form between not two but three creatures - a human being, a Pegasus pony and a centaur.

Then, Stephan said to Chloe and Aylene "Now that we know each other as new friends, how about I'll take you both with me to show you a way to get out of the Everfree Forest. Will that be fine?", and Chloe said "Yes, and since you saved both of us, we both trust you.", and then Aylene added "Please, show us the way out of the Everfree Forest, Stephan, and in midway, we'll both get to know more about you.", and then Stephan said "Then let's go now!", and so he started to lead Chloe and Aylene after him as he took them both with him to show them the way out of the Everfree Forest, and in midway, Chloe and Aylene got to learn more about Stephan's early years of his life, how he was born to a malevolent father and to a benevolent mother, and how somewhere at some point, he became an elder sibling when his mother gave birth to twins who looked up to him and loved him and not just to his mother, but Chloe and Aylene also learned about how Stephan's father mistreated his own family as he wanted to make both his elder son (Stephan himself) and even the twins to be his revenge soldiers so he can use them all for a bad purpose, which was in fact to steal all the magic from all across Equestria so he can avenge Lord Tirek's failure and succeed where he failed.

But then Stephan also said that he and the twins refused to be evil centaurs like their father, and he also explained that even his mother didn't accepted his father's misuse of him and the twins, who hated their father for being cruel and mean to them without showing any love, and he also explained that his mother got sick and tired of his father's ambitious and extremely heartless plan so she decided to leave her mate and take Stephan and the twins with her, and this is when Stephan suddenly stopped as tears of sadness started to form in his eyes as he's now close enough to tell the most saddest part in the history of his life.

Chloe asked him "Why are you crying?", and then Aylene added "What are you hiding from us that you don't want us to know about?", and Stephan said sadly as the tears started to roll down his eyes that he and the twins ended coming back with their father after their mother got killed by a Beartaur, which was a cruel, heartless, meat-eating centaur with the upper body of a human and the lower body, legs and tail of a grizzly bear, which also has the claws of a grizzly bear on its human hands, and also has the front sharp teeth of a grizzly bear inside its human mouth, which makes it extremely dangerous to all kinds of creatures, including ponies and even humans.

Chloe and Aylene understood Stephan's pain because of the lose of his mother, and so Aylene explained that she lost a loving parent too, which was in her case - her father, and Chloe explained that she too lost a loving family member, which was in her case - her grandmother. Stephan was happy to know that Chloe and Aylene have somthing with him in common, but he also knows that there's another thing which all three have in common - they've all been abused by their own and respective bad family members before and/or after their last good members they knew from each of their own families died out.

Then, after talking and expressing each other's feelings about the the loss of Stephan's mother, the three continued together until they all finally found a pathway which leads out of the Everfree Forest, and so the three run on the pathway together until they finally found their way out of the Everfree Forest, but before they can finally run free out of the Everfree Forest, Akeno the proud, snobbish and disrespectful male okapi suddenly came out of nowhere and blocked the trio's path.

Then, Akeno asked in a quite insulting tone "Going somewhere?", but Chloe said to him "Please leave us alone!", and then Aylene added "And get out of our way!", but Akeno said "No, I don't think so!", and then he added "I gonna teach you two filthy abominations to respect me!", but then Stephan asked him "Excuse me, but who are you?", but then Akeno turned to him and said "I'm Akeno, the proud and most beloved okapi from Asha's family!" and then he asked him while insulting him at the same time "And what are you supposed to be? Some kind of a hairless ape with the lower body, legs and tail of stripeless zebra or something?", and when the insult hurt the feelings of the young and kind centaur, he said back to him "How dare you calling me like that?! Don't you know what a centaur is? I'm a centaur!", but Akeno just ignored his words and only said back "Yeah, whatever! Now if you excuse me, I'm going to give these hairless ape girl and her chicken-winged stripeless zebra friend a payback time, so if you don't want to get hurt, just turn around and go away before I decide you're a threat to me and to my family too!".

However, Stephan stood his ground and said "I'm not listening to a disrespectful ungulate like you! Who do you even think you are that you have the rights to pick on girls?! I'm not letting you go anywhere near my new friends!", and what Stephan just said shocked and surprised both Chloe and Aylene who looked at him as he stood his ground against Akeno, proving them that they can clearly accept him as their B.F.F (Best Friend Forever).

Then, Akeno said to him "Yeah, nobody even cares about what you filthy half hairless ape/half stripeless zebra are even saying! And I'm gonna make sure that you stay out of my way so I can finish these two new so-called friends of yours for not being okapis like me!", and then he's about to attack him, but Stephan reared up onto his hind horse legs, and then he wrapped both his horse forelegs and his human arms around Akeno's neck, and then he used his own head to give three head-butts to the side of the male okapi's head, causing Akeno to scream and cry in pain as he tried to throw the young centaur of himself, but when Stephan let go, he then turned tail and used his hind horse legs to buck Akeno in the chest, causing the okapi to scream and cry some more, before Stephan started to run around him until he reached his backside, and then Stephan turned tail again and then he used his hind horse legs to buck Akeno square in the crotch, causing the male okapi to scream and cry as the pain in his body has doubled itself, before he turned to see Stephan looking at him directly in the eyes and with a determined look on his face.

Then, Stephan said as he kept looking at Akeno directly in the eyes with his determined face "Don't you dare mess up with girls, you big, bad, helpless coward!", and then he clenched his hands into fists and then he used his fists to punch Akeno five times in the face, causing Akeno the cry in pain until he finally fell down to the ground, defeated. Then, Chloe and Aylene approached Stephan and each of them had something to say about his toughness and bravery. Then, Chloe said "Stephan, I can't believe you'll dare to fight this bad okapi to save us!", and the Aylene added "This is the most tough and bravest thing you have ever done for us before!", and then Chloe said "And it's just the second time you saved us!", but then Stephan said "It's okay, it was nothing.".

However, this is when Chloe came close to him and then she kissed Stephan on the left cheek, causing him to blush as he rubbed at his cheek with his left hand and looked with a shocked expression at Chloe, who just gave him a warm smile, before she's joined by Aylene, who also smiled warmly at Stephan, and then Chloe said to him "Thank you for saving us twice, Stephan!", and then Aylene added "You're a real friend indeed!", and then Chloe said to him "Goodbye, Stephan! It was so nice to meet you and get to know that you're a good centaur!", and then Aylene added "Goodbye, Stephan! And thank you for so much for standing up for us! We both owe you something good in return!", and then he kindly said to them "Goodbye, girls! Thank you two so much for accepting me as your best friend!", and then Chloe and Aylene waved for him before they turned and walked away together as they finally left the Everfree Forest and went all the way back to Canterlot and to the royal castle, while Stephan turned and walked back in the opposite direction back to the Everfree Forest, and he smiled to himself and he hoped that one day he'll get to see both Chloe and Aylene again.

After walking together for more than an hour, Chloe and Aylene finally arrived in Canterlot and then they continued and made their way and arrived back at royal castle, and the they finally went inside to see their mother, Celestia, and their aunt, Luna, who already finished the preparations for Chloe's twelfth birthday, along with the help of everypony and every creature, including Trixie Lulamoon and Discord the Draconequus, who also came to the royal castle because they're both so excited to see Chloe so they can show her some of Trixie's magic and Discord's chaotic powers.

Upon opening the doors to the Grand Galloping Gala ballroom, Chloe and Aylene were congratulated upon arriving back in time for the birthday party, and they're also rewarded with meeting two new friends - Trixie and Discord, whom are both happy to meet them, and especially Chloe, before Trixie used her magic tricks to make Chloe and Aylene amazed, and then Discord used his chaotic magic to make Chloe and Aylene even more amazed, and the two were so happy to meet their two newest friends, as everypony and every creature started to throw the birthday party and celebrate Chloe's twelfth birthday, which includes snacks, candies, lollipops, chocolate bars, and a real birthday cake that was safe to eat as it was not as poisonous as Yigal's cake, and to make sure the birthday is not poisonous, Chloe and Aylene took two slices from the cake and then they took from their slices three bites each and waited for something bad to happen, but luckily nothing bad happened and Chloe and Aylene didn't got poisoned, thus proving to them that the birthday cake they just ate from is NOT poisonous and it was safe to eat.

When evening came, everypony and every creature left the royal castle and went back to their homes, and Chloe and Aylene went to the table to eat some dinner, and once they finished eating their dinner, the two went together to their bedroom and when it was nighttime, they're about to fall asleep, but then they remembered how friendly and kind was Stephan the young male centaur to them, and how did he dared to defend them all by himself when they faced Akeno the bad okapi once again, and as the two finally fell asleep, the two hoped that one day, they will see their new best friend, Stephan the young male centaur, again.


	44. Chapter 43:meeting the twins

One month have passed since Chloe have turned 12 years-old and celebrated her twelfth birthday, and now it was also 45 months (3 years and 9 months) since she first arrived in Equestria, and as for Aylene, it was 33 months (2 years and 9 months) since she became Chloe's sister, and recently they met a new creature who soon became their best friend after he saved their lives and healed them from the poisonous cake's effects - Stephan the young male centaur, who is unlike most Equestrian centaurs whom are usually evil and like to steal magic from both ponies and non-ponies (like Lord Tirek for an instance), kind, gentle and extremely friendly towards ponies, non-ponies, and even humans and animals.

However, if he sees someone trying to harm or abuse another creature just for pleasure and for fun, Stephan will become angry and determined to come to the victim's aid and save, protect and defend the victim that was being picked on from the attacker and from harm, and he'll even dare to fight the attacker all by himself to save even more than just one victim at the time, just like how Stephan saved Chloe and Aylene and fought Akeno the proud, snobbish, rude and disrespectful male okapi from Asha's okapi family, who tried to prevent Chloe and Aylene from leaving the Everfree Forest so he can abuse and torture for not being okapis like him.

It was been a month since Chloe and Aylene met Stephan for the first time, and now they're really missing him, but they didn't saw him anytime throughout the last month because they don't know where he's living, and also because they too didn't had anytime to go and meet him again, but now it's finally the time for them to return to the Everfree Forest in hopes that this time, he might be waiting for the both of them to come so they can have some fun and play together, and so Chloe and Aylene went together to the Everfree Forest to meet Stephan again.

Once they both entered the Everfree Forest, Chloe and Aylene started to search together everywhere for Stephan, but even after searching everywhere they already know in the Everfree Forest from where Angalifu's troop lives to where Asha's family lives, the two sisters still couldn't find Stephan anywhere, but just then, a young male scream was heard a bit far away from Chloe and Aylene, and it soon followed by some babies crying and also by some angry and scary roars which sounded like those of a grizzly bear, and Chloe and Aylene decided to go investigate and see who's is danger, as deep inside their hearts they borh could feel that Stephan might be in danger and might need their help right now.

Chloe and Aylene started to run in the direction where the screams and the roars came from, and when the two finally reached the exact place where the danger is very close, they both saw much to their shock and horror Stephan and two baby centaurs whom they assumed are his twin baby siblings being threatened by a large adult male Beartaur, which stood on all fours (with his four bear legs) close to 10 feet (3 meters) tall at the top of his head, but when it stood on its hind bear legs, a male Beartaur could probably reach an approximate height of 14 feet (4.3 meters) tall, and with a maximum of 15 feet (4.6 feet) tall at the top of its head in the largest male specimens, making it an extremely dangerous predator that will eat everything that comes to its sight, including the normal horse-like centaurs, and even ponies and humans.

Then, the large adult male Beartaur reared up on his hind bear legs, thus making himself even more intimidating compared to Stephan and his twin baby siblings, causing the twin baby centaurs to cry in terror as they hugged their older brother tightly, but before the Beartaur can use his massive bear forelegs and his paws and claws to maul down at the centaurs, Chloe suddenly cried "Leave Stephan alone!", thus causing the Beartaur to stop and turn his attention to see Chloe and Aylene looking at him with angry and determined looks on their faces, causing the Beartaur to become angered at them as he decided to leave the three centaurs alone and mess up with Chloe and Aylene instead.

Then Aylene shouted at the Beartaur "Come and get us you foul man-beast!", and this made the male Beartaur angrier as he let out an angry grizzly bear roar and then he started to run on all his four bear legs towards the two sisters, who then started to charge right towards their much larger enemy, and once they're close enough to each other, the three started to fight two against one, and Stephan watched in shock as he saw his two new best friends fighting the Beartaur together to save him and the twins from getting killed by the beast.

Then, Chloe jumped up and Aylene flew up and the two grabbed onto the Beartaur's human chest and torso and then they both started to punch and kick him to weaken him, but the Beartaur just looked down at them with bafflement before he used his human arms and hands to grab the both of them and throw them away from himself, but even after the Beartaur fought back, Chloe and Aylene weren't done yet and they won't leave him alone until they defeat him, and so Chloe and Aylene looked down and saw two sharp stones which they soon grabbed in their hand and hoof and then they charged towards the Beartaur again, but now they have weapons which the both of them can use to defeat the beast.

Then, Chloe went around and then junped onto the Beartaur's lower bear back and then she started to stab him in the upper human back to weaken him, and this time it did started to wound the Beartaur, but to make sure that he'll go away, Aylene joined in and she flew around the Beartaur until she reached his rear end, and then she started to stab the Beartaur in both of the hind bear legs to weaken the beast some more, and after the Beartaur felt too much pain from being weakened, he shook and moved himself wildly and threw Chloe off himself and then he turned and kicked Aylene off with his left hind bear leg, before he turned and started to run away while crying and roaring like a grizzly bear as he couldn't believe that a human girl and a Pegasus pony were actually strong enough to take on him and wound him together, without any other creatures' help, and once the beast disappeared behind the tall trees that were all around the area, Chloe and Aylene turned to look Stephan who just stared and glared at them in shock as he was truly amazed by Chloe and Aylene's teamwork which made them both tough enough to fight their enemies together, even if their enemies were much larger then the both of them in size.

Then, Stephan stood and got back up on his hooves and then he started to trot over to Chloe and Aylene with his twin baby siblings are in tow, once they got close enough to them, Stephan said "I can't believe you both did that for us!", and Aylene said "We promised we owe you something in return, and now we finally did, didn't we?", and Stephan understood what the turquoise Pegasus said and then he said back "You're right, you saved our lives! Thank you, my friends!", and then he pulled both Chloe and Aylene into a tight and loving hug, and once they broke their hug from each other, Chloe and Aylene could see the two baby centaurs hiding and peeking out from behind Stephan, and when Stephan understood they're looking at the twins, he moved away to expose their entire bodies to his two best friends, and when the baby centaurs realized they're not behind their older brother anymore, they turned to see Chloe and Aylene looking down at them with kind smiles on their faces.

However, at first, the twin baby centaurs cowered in fear as they believed that Chloe and Aylene might mean harm for them, but then Stephan came in front of them and gave them a reassuring smile that proved to them that they can trust his two best friends, and once he moved out of the way, the twin baby centaurs looked at Chloe and Aylene and saw their kind smiles on their faces, before the male centaur twin started to approach Chloe and Aylene slowly and carefully so not to accidentally provoke and attack them, and once he's close enough to the human girl and Pegasus pony, Chloe said to the male centaur twin "That's nice to meet you and your twin sister, little one.", and then she introduced herself and added as she also motioned and pointed at Aylene with her right arm and hand "I'm Chloe, and this is my Pegasus pony sister, Aylene, who is standing close by my side.", and then Aylene added "We promise you two that we mean you no harm, we just rescued you and your older brother whom we already know since he saved us twice before when we three of us first met each other.", and then Stephan came close to Chloe and Aylene and then he said to them "This is my little brother, Andy, and this is my little sister, Zoey, and I want you to know that they're my twin baby siblings I talked to you about before.", and Aylene said "It's okay, Stephan. We both already know about them because you told us about them, but also told us about your father.", and then Stephan said as he turned away for a brief moment "Yeah, about that. He's always bad and mean to us and he wants us to steal magic from others against our will, as all what we three want is to be accepted by other creatures so we can show them that we use our magic for good purposes, like how I healed the both of you from the poison with my magical healing potion when we first met each other, which took no more than just five minutes for the magic healing potion to take effect, cure the poison and heal your bodies completely.".

"This is 'Wow to the Wow'! I can't believe the magical healing potion has effects in such a short time!" Chloe said, and Aylene added "Yeah, I can't believe this either!", and then Stephan said "My magical healing potion can cure, heal and save the lives of any creature just in time, and it also has other effects such as cleaning bleeding injuries and bruises as well in almost no time!". Just then, Zoey also approached Chloe and Aylene and stood by Andy's side and she looked up at the two sisters with her light blue eyes, before she giggled and reached with both her human arms and horse forelegs to hug Chloe first, and Chloe accepted to pick her up and hug and cradle her because she's already experienced in holding babies and younger children and other creatures compared to her age as a 12 years-old girl, and the she gently handled Zoey to Aylene so she can hold and cradle her too, and once Aylene placed Zoey back down, Andy is next to be held and cradled by Chloe and Aylene, who also looked at his dark brown eyes as they formed a trusting bond with him and with his twin sister, before Andy is placed back down, and Chloe and Aylene could also see that both Andy and Zoey has cute-shaped ears and reddish hairs and tails, similar to their older brother Stephan, but their lower horse bodies were yellow instead of brown, which also differs them from him, but they're still his beloved twin baby siblings no matter what's the difference between them.

Then, Stephan said as he realized his twin baby siblings also like Chloe and Aylene so much "Oh, look at them now! They're friends with you already! That's a good start!", but then he added "But I think we should go and leave right now because our father will be angry at us if he finds out that we made new friends with you girls!", and Chloe said "I understand what you say, Stephan, and it's okay to tell me that. I'm not angry with you that you and the twins must leave us now, and Aylene is not angry at you either.", and then Aylene added "That's right, I know you three need to go home, so I guess it's time for us to say goodbye! But I want you to know that we'll meet each other again someday soon!", and then Stephan said goodbye to Chloe and Aylene before he and the twins turned around and started to trot and run away together deeper into the Everfree Forest, and once the three centaurs were gone from sight, Chloe and Aylene decided to go back home to the royal castle, and so Chloe and Aylene left the Everfree Forest and went all the way back home to Canterlot and to the royal castle, and once the two arrived back home together, the two went and entered the royal castle to meet their mother, Celestia, and their aunt, Luna, and when evening came as Luna raised the moon, Chloe and Aylene ate some dinner, and after eating their dinner, the two went to their bedroom and fell asleep.

While asleep in their bed, Chloe and Aylene hoped that one day, they'll meet Stephan and the twins again, and maybe even introduce them to their family and their friends so they can realize and understand that not all centaurs in Equestria are evil like Lord Tirek, and also learn from Stephan that some centaurs in Equestria (like him and the twins for an instance) are actually good and are using magic for good purposes such as curing and healing the ill and the poisoned and saving their lives from facing death, and will even accompany the young, the old, the injured and the innocent and they will defend and protect them from dangerous, heartless or abusive creatures (like Akeno the male okapi for an instance), but most important of all - friendly, kind, fun-loving and even caring for both each other and for other creatures whom are non-centaurs, including ponies and humans.


	45. Chapter 44:Shujaa meets Stephan

Another month have passed since Chloe and Aylene met Stephan once again, but also a month since they first met his twin baby siblings, and it was now 46 months (3 years and 10 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was 34 months (2 years and 10 months) since Aylene became her sister, and now they also have Stephan the young and kind centaur as their new best friend, after the latter had saved their lives twice on that same day, two months ago - first from Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart, and then from Akeno the male okapi from Asha's family who dared to attack, insult and harass them both for not being okapis like him.

Now, Chloe and Aylene want to go to the Everfree Forest to met their friend, Stephan, and his twin baby siblings, Andy and Zoey, once again, but this time, they decided nit to go there alone, because this time, they want to take with them their good old big brother, Shujaa the male albino orangutan, who was once belong to Gilad, yet now is permanently replaced by a pure black female giraffe named Claire, who is now Gilad's current animal, aside from Kenai, who is his brown panda, and when the two went to find Shujaa and then found him, they asked the albino orangutan to accompany them and come with them to the Everfree Forest because they want him to come along and meet their new best friend, Stephan the young and kind centaur, and when Shujaa heard that Stephan is a centaur, Shujaa said "Of course I'll accompany you two to the Everfree Forest! I always wanted to see a centaur, especially when it comes out to be a kind centaur! And if you said that he's your best friend, then I'd like to meet him too and get to know him and see what's the best he can do! Take me along and let's go!", and then the three went out of the royal castle and then they went to the Everfree Forest together to meet Stephan and his twin baby siblings.

Once the three arrived at the Everfree Forest, they're about to enter and go forward, but then they heard someone calling for them, and when Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa turned around to see who's calling them, they saw the CMC standing a distance behind them, before Sweetie Belle asked them "Where are you three going?", and Aylene answered "To meet a new best friend of ours!", and when they heard what Aylene said, the four young foals all jumped and screamed happily in unison "YOU HAVE A NEW FRIEND?! THAT'S AWESOME!", thus shocking Chloe and Aylene and making Shujaa confused as they looked at the four young foals, before Chloe asked them "Why is that supposed to be awesome with that?", and then she added "We're just going to meet him, and by the way, his name is Stephan.", and after she said that, Randall suddenly jumped and came in front of her while looking up at her in the eyes, just like Pinkie Pie sometimes do when she hears about something that is new to her and to her friends from somepony or some other creature, and then he asked the human girl "What is that Stephan looks like? Is he a pony like us? Is he a changeling, a griffon or a dragon? Oh, oh, let me guess, is he a human like you, Chloe?", but Chloe said "No.", thus shocking the CMC, before Apple Bloom asked "Then who is Stephan and what he really is?", and Chloe took a deep breath and then she said "Stephan is a centaur, just like Lord Tirek.".

When the CMC heard what Chloe just said and also heard her mentioning the words 'centaur' and 'Lord Tirek', they all screamed, shrieked, panicked and trotted all around as they all believed that Stephan is an evil centaur just like Lord Tirek, but then Chloe tried to speak up and explain to the CMC that Stephan is actually a good centaur, but the CMC still didn't listened to what she just said as they continued screaming, shrieking, panicking and trotting around, and that's when Shujaa shouted at the top of his lungs at them "STOP SHRIEKING AND PANICKING THIS INSTANT!", and when the CMC all heard he loudly and madly said, they stopped shrieking and panicking before they turned to Chloe and Aylene, and then Shujaa took a deep breath and said calmly "That's better, and now listen to what Chloe has to say.", and then Chloe said "Stephan is indeed a centaur, but he's nothing like Lord Tirek, because he's not using magic for evil or stealing it from others, and he's also handsome, caring, defensive, kind and fun-loving compared to Lord Tirek. They're nothing alike, and Stephan also have twin baby siblings whom are also as good as him, and Stephan doesn't do anything bad to anyone except to those who dare to hurt, abuse, harass and physically attack others for foolish and nonsensical reasons that can sometimes be racism and hateful. Stephan will always come to defend and protect anyone who is endangered and threatened by those whom he knows are bad towards the victims, and will dare to fight the enemies only when he knows it's necessary. And last thing, Stephan uses magic for good purposes such as curing and healing those who got sick, wounded and poisoned.".

"You mean that he can use magical potions for good measures like Zecora?" Apple Bloom asked, and Chloe said "Well, yes, he can." and then she added "I'm sure you'll all like to meet him and his twin baby siblings he have, and they're the best and only proof we got about good centaurs whom are from this world.", and then Aylene added "Come along so we can meet them!", and the CMC decided to come along and follow Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa as they all entered the Everfree Forest and started to search for Stephan and the twins.

Then, after entering the Everfree Forest, Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and the CMC all searched for Stephan and the twins, but even after searching for them everywhere, they still couldn't find them, until a young male scream was sudeenly heard and it came from a bit far away from the group, and Chloe and Aylene knew who is screaming like this - it's Stephan,and so Chloe said "We must go that way! I know that it's Stephan who is screaming! He's in danger and he might need our help!", and so the group trotted and ran all together in the way and direction where Stephan's scream came from, and at some point, they also started to hear the cries of his twin baby siblings, but they also heard along with them a bunch of sinister laughs which they all knew to who they belong - the sinister laughs were three males and one female, and there are only four villains around who can all laugh sinisterly like this - Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart, and so Chloe, Aylene and their friends all knew that they're all up to no good.

When Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and the CMC all arrived at the right place where the screams, cries and laughs all came from, they all saw an awful sight - they saw Stephan and the twins all tied together to a tall tree, 20 feet above solid ground, and they also saw Gilad approaching the tree with a stick which was set on fire and then he cruelly and heartlessly threw the burning stick at the bottom of the tree, thus setting it on fire as it started to burn, and then Yigal approached the tree as he looked up at the helpless centaurs and then he said to then and especially to Stephan "You should've thought twice before you underestimated the power of humans like us!", and then Black Heart came to his side and then she said to the helpless centaurs "Enjoy meeting your doom, kids!", and then she and Yigal burst together into an evil laughter as they turned around and started to walk away from the burning tree, and then Ezra said to them and to Gilad "Let's go!", and so the three adult human males and their evil Pegasus pony friend all simply just walked away and left the area, thus leaving the helpless centaurs to burn to death as the flames started to get bigger and increase their size and go closer to Stephan who started to scream and cry for help, while Andy and Zoey started to cry out loud in terror as they felt the flames getting closer and closer to them.

Then, Sweetie Belle cried to Chloe and Aylene "We gotta save them!", and Chloe said "We both know just what we need to do!", and then Aylene turned to Shujaa and said to him "Shujaa, when the fire reaches, burns and tears apart the ropes from each centaur, try to catch the, before they fall into the fire, okay?", and Shujaa nodded and said "I'm on it, girls!" and then he started to run towards the burning tree, and at the same time, the flames touched the ropes which are tying Zoey to the tree, and then they started to burn and tear the ropes apart, and once all the ropes were burned and torn apart by the flames, Zoey was finally set free but then she started to fall down towards the big fire below, causing Stephan to cry out "Zoey, no!" as he saw his little sister about to burn and die, but before anything bad can happen to her, Shujaa managed to get close enough and then he jumped up and caught Zoey just a few seconds before she could've died, and then he landed back on solid ground and took her back to the rest of the group, thus leaving Stephan and his little baby brother, Andy, to be the only ones left to rescue from the flames.

Then, Shujaa saw that the flames started to touch, burn and tear apart the ropes which were tying Andy to the tree, and then he started to run back towards the tree as he saw that the ropes were about to tear apart and set Andy free, and once the ropes were burned and torn apart by the flames, Andy was finally set free but he started to fall down towards the big fire below, causing Stephan to cry out "Andy, no!" as he saw his little brother about to burn and die, but before anything bad can happen to him, Shujaa managed to get close enough, jump up and and catch Andy just a few seconds before he could've died, and then he landed back on solid ground and tok him back to the rest of the group, thus leaving only Stephan to rescue from the flames.

Then, Shujaa ran back towards the tree so he can catch Stephan before he'll get burned alive, and this is when the flames touched, burned and torn apart the ropes which are tying Stephan to the tree, and this is when he broke loose from the ropes and got set free, but before he's about to fall to his death, Shujaa managed to get close enough and then he jumped up and caught Stephan just in time before he can be burned alive, and when he landed on solid ground, Shujaa placed Stephan down and then the two ran and trotted back to the rest of the group alive and well like if nothing have happened.

With the centaurs are now rescued, Shujaa said "This is not over yet! We gotta get out of here before the fire spreads!", and then Stephan said "You're right! If the other trees will start to catch fire and burn, we'll become trapped and burned alive all together!", and so everyone started to run away for their lives before the fire could spread and trap them in a circle from which they can never escape alive. After escaping and leaving the area, everyone managed to get somewhere far and safe from the fire, and this is when Stephan introduced himself and his twin baby siblings to Shujaa and to the CMC, and he also explained to them about his extremely friendly but also defensive nature and also about how he can cure and heal the sick, the ill, the weak, and the poor and defenseless creatures whom he meets and befriends, and he even explained that he'll even interfere and defend and protect those who got their honor and respect crashed and hurt from other creatures whom are very mean, cruel and heartless (like Akeno the male okapi for an instance), thus shocking the albino orangutan and the four young foals who all looked at him with both shock and amazement because of everything he told them all about himself.

However, just then, everyone suddenly heard two evil voices that were one male and one female laughing behind them, and when they all turned to the direction where the voices came from, they saw Lysander, Sayla and their 8 jackals approaching towards them, and this is when Shujaa approached and put himself between his friends and the villains, and then he asked the ferocious crocodile and gorilla "What do you two want?", and then Sayla said evilly "Just coming to say hello to you. That's exactly what do we want.", and then she chuckled evilly as she and Lysander eyed both Chloe and Aylene in the eyes, but then Stephan came in the way and out himself in front of his friends to protect and defend them from the villains, and then he asked "Who are you two?", and then Lysander said "I'm Lysander, the infamous, shape-shifting crocodile!", and then Sayla added "And I'm his partner and friend, Sayla, the vicious and ferocious, shape-shifting gorilla!", and then they both laughed evilly.

When everyone heard what Sayla said about herself that she became a shape-shifter like Lysander, they all gasped in shock, while Stephan looked at her and at Lysander with nervousness in his eyes as his twin baby siblings hugged tightly at both of hind horse legs, and then Shujaa asked in shock "Did you just said that you can also use magic to transform and take the shape of every living creature with your will power just like your friend?!", and Sayla said "Watch this!", and then her forehead started to glow in a red magic aura, and then she used her new magic to transform herself into Princess Celestia, and then she started to talk and she said "Now do you all believe me? Thanks to Lysander's teaching me how to use magic to transform myself to anything I look at or think of, I can finally use my new magic to help him by his side as now the both of us can use our will power to transform ourselves to whatever or whoever we want to!", and the Lysander came to her side and used his own magic to transform into Thorax, and then he spoke up and said "Now with the both of us able to use magic to shape-shift and transform into everything we want to, we'll finally take you all down!", and then he and Sayla laughed evilly together.

However, Shujaa said "I don't even care that now the both of can use magic to transform to everything you want to! We will do our best we can to take you and your evil jackals down and put an end to your evil reign once and for all!", and when Stephan heard what Shujaa said, the young male centaur came forward and then he stopped by Shujaa's side, turned with his head to him and then he said "If you say so, then count me in!", and then Shujaa said to him back "Now that's the spirit!", but when Lysander and Sayla saw him next to Shujaa's side, Lysander asked him "Are you a centaur or something?", and Stephan said "Well, yes, I am!", but then Sayla said "Whi even cares you're a centaur?! You're supposed to be evil like Lord Tirek and make him proud that he has an avenger soldier who is trying to succeed in where he failed! Centaurs cannot be good and kind! This is entirely impossible to believe a centaur like you can be good!", but then Stephan said back "Well, I'm not evil, and I don't even want to be evil like that Lord Tirek you just spoke of! I'm friendly, kind and good, but I will also attack dangerous enemies whom are trying to pick on the young, the old, the injured and the innocent! I will never be a monster like Lord Tirek and I won't join your evil side either!".

However, Lysander said "Why do even need you?! centaurs like you are useless to us for many reasons! The only thing we can use you and your kind is by just destroying you and eating your meat, and that's all!", and then he said to the jackals "Now, jackals, attack them!", and the 8 jackals all started to run towards Shujaa and Stephan, but the two knew exactly what they must do to get rid of the jackals, and so when they got close enough, three of the jackals jumped up and they're about to swipe and strike at Shujaa and Stephan, but then the albino orangutan grabbed two of jackals while the young centaur grabbed the third one, and then they started to beat them up by punching them, swinging them around, kicking them hard, and eventually tossing them all onto what appeared to be a large purple rock, but then it turned out to be a Maulwurf, which started to attack and destroy the three jackals who landed on its back, and once the three jackals were destroyed by the Maulwurf, Lysander, Sayla and their five remaining jackals all turned and ran away together, but not before the two infamous animals transformed back to their true forms, and once the villains were all gone from sight, the Maulwurf turned to Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Shujaa and their group and it started to approach them, and once it got close enough, it raised its left arm and paw and it was about to move it down fast and swipe directly at Andy and Zoey, who looked up at the Maulwurf before they started wailing in fear and terror as they both looked at the Maulwurf up and directly in the eyes.

However, before the Maulwurf can strike at the twin baby centaurs, Stephan jumped up and struck the Maulwurf on the chest with a tough kick with his right horse foreleg, causing it to fall and land on its back, and then Stephan climbed on the Maulwurf and he started to beat it and he cried "You leave my twin baby sinlings alone, you monster!", and then he's joined by Shujaa who started to help him beating the Maulwurf, but then the Maulwurf snarled and cried in pain as it shook and threw both Stephan and Shujaa off itself and then it started to dig and go underground and leave the group alone, and once the Maulwurf was gone, Stephan turned to Shujaa and then he said to him "Thank you for helping me to save my twin baby siblings!", and Shujaa said back "That's no problem if we're working together!", and then Stephan told Andy and Zoey to come with him, and they listened and followed him and Shujaa back to the rest of the group.

Then, Randall asked in shock "What was that?!", and then Scootaloo added in the same way "That was unbelievable!", and then Sweetie Belle added "You just risked your own life to save your twin baby siblings!", and then Apple Bloom said "You did the same thing my big sister, Applejack, would always do for me!", and then Stephan said back "You're all right! I was trying to fight that Maulwurf to save my twin baby siblings from getting killed for sure, and that's exactly what big brothers and big sisters always do for their little siblings when they see them in serious danger!", and then Shujaa said "Let's go and have some fun for the time being, and then we'll say goodbye to Stephan and to his twin baby siblings so we can take you back to your homes!", and everyone listened and agreed with what he said because now they have only some time left for them before they'll have to part ways with Stephan and the twins and go back home.

After having some fun for the some time left for them, the group knew it's time to say goodbye to Stephan and to his twin baby siblings, and when each of Chloe and Aylene's friends, including Chloe and Aylene themselves (and Shujaa) said goodbye to Stephan and to his twin baby siblings, Stephan also said goodbye to them and he also said that he promise them all that he'll meet them all again another time with Andy and Zoey, and when the centaurs parted ways with Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and the CMC, they all left the Everfree Forest and went back to Ponyville, where the CMC said goodbye and parted ways with Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa who all continued on their way back to Canterlot and after they arrived back in Canterlot, the three went back to the royal castle, and upon arriving there at last, the three went and entered inside, and the royal guards who worked with Shujaa side by side and befriended him welcomed the albino orangutan for returning back to the royal castle, while Chloe and Aylene were both welcomed by Celestia and Luna, and when nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene ate some dinner before they went to their bedroom and fell asleep.

However, a new enemy is now plotting and willing to perform and do a kidnapping plan, and he had his eyes on Chloe and Aylene before - it was Akeno, but he didn't came all the way alone, because with him there are four baboons who will help him to kidnap Chloe and Aylene and dump them both in a dark cave, similar to how Sayla already did it, but only with Chloe, but Akeno is willing to kidnap and dump both Chloe and Aylene in a dark cave in the Everfree Forest to make sure the both of them will face a terrible fate together, as he believed that they both can spell grave danger to him and to his dominance, and now, he and his baboons were all standing in Canterlot, just outside the royal castle, waiting for the right moment to sneak into the royal castle and perform and do their kidnapping plan on Chloe Aylene whom he hates so much, and before Akeno and his baboons all started with their kidnapping plan, Akeno said evilly "If nobody will help me to get rid of these hairless white ape girl and her turquoise chicken-winged stripeless zebra friend, then my baboons and I will.", and then he chuckled evilly as he and his baboons were about to start performing and doing their kidnapping plan.


	46. Chapter 45:Kidnapped again

In the middle of the night, Akeno the male okapi and his four baboons started to make their move as they managed to sneak inside the royal castle without being spotted by any of the royal guards, and now they're all searching together for both Chloe and Aylene so they can capture and kidnap them, and when Akeno and his baboons managed to find, reach and get close enough to the doors that leads to Chloe and Aylene's bedroom, the five slowly and carefully opened the door to find Chloe and Aylene sleeping peacefully together on their bed, and that's when Akeno gave an evil smirk as he grew an evil Grinch-like smile on his face, and then he and his baboons approached closer and closer to the bed stealthily, and then they put out a strong rope and a big sack where they'll trap and carry Chloe and Aylene inside, but then Chloe started to stir and then she opened her eyes and saw Akeno and his four baboons looking down at her and then she whispered and said to Aylene "Pst, Aylene, wake up!", and when Aylene started to stir and then she opened her eyes as well, and then she saw Akeno and his four baboons looking down at her, and the two could also see Akeno's evil Grinch-like smile he grew on his face, before the male okapi said to his four baboons "Get them!", and so two of the baboons started to jump on Chloe and grab onto her to prevent her from trying to get away, while the two other baboons jumped up and grabbed onto Aylene and restrained her to prevent her from flying away, and then they all started to tie Chloe and Aylene together with the rope as Akeno opened the sack so the baboons can toss forward and throw the two sisters into it, and once Chloe and Aylene were tossed into the sack, Akeno quickly closed the sack to muffle and silence their screaming so not to attract any royal guards, though one of them entered Chloe and Aylene's bedroom shortly afterwards, and it was none other than Shujaa himself.

When the albino orangutan saw Akeno and the baboons in Chloe and Aylene's bedroom and also heard the two sisters' muffled screaming, he immediately became angered to see that the five are trying to kidnap them, and so he charged towards them, but the baboon managed to somehow overpower him before Akeno kicked square in the face twice, thus knocking Shujaa out cold and preventing him from ruining their evil kidnapping plan, and then Akeno said to his baboons "Let's go!", and so the five kidnappers started to sneak outside without getting spotted by any of the royal guards, and once they're all out of the royal castle, Akeno and his baboons started to trot and run away together until they all reached and entered the Everfree Forest, and once the five kidnappers were in the middle of the forest, Akeno said to his baboons "You all did a very good job helping me with my kidnapping plan!", and the he put out another big sack and he threw it down for the baboons to catch and then he said to them "And here's your reward!", and when the baboons opened the sack that Akeno just threw to them, they saw something which made them all happy and pleased - the sack was full of big and tasty melons, and after looking at all the big and tasty malons that were inside the sack, one of the baboons turned to Akeno and said to him "Thank you, Akeno! Thank you so much! We're so happy we served for you as your assistants for this once!", and then the baboon added and said as he and his friends were about to leave with their sack that was full of the big and tasty melons "Goodbye, Akeno!", and then the four baboons all left with their reward, and once they're all gone, Akeno was now alone with the human girl and Pegasus pony whom are both still trapped inside the sack he still carried on his back, and so the male okapi took his two captives with him until he reached and entered a dark cave while taking them along with him.

Once Akeno reached the middle of the dark cave, he dropped the sack from his own back and then he opened ot and tossed Chloe and Aylene out of it before he lowered his neck and head down to them, and then he started to untie them from the rope which they're restrained with, and once Akeno untied and freed Chloe and Aylene from the rope, the two looked up at him with tears in their eyes, but he didn't seemed to care or mind as he looked down at them with his evil Grinch-like smile creeping across his face, as he truly seemed to enjoy their fear and pain.

Then, Chloe asked "Why are you doing this to us, Akeno?", and then Aylene added "What did we did to you that we both deserve this?", but then Akeno smashed his cloven and even-toed hooves on the dark cave's floor as he down at both Chloe and Aylene with an angry face, before he took a deep breath and then he said, though in a rather grumpy tone "Well, you both know how to say my name and know and understand who I am, and that's true, but that doesn't change the fact that both of your kinds were a fatal danger to okapi kind!", but then Chloe asked him "Why did you brought us here?", and Akeno answered "So you two can do me a favor and go ahead and starve here to death!", and then Aylene asked "How could you do this to girls and fillies like us?", and Akeno smashed his cloven and even-toed hooves on the dark cave's floor once again as he looked down at the terrified girl and Pegasus, and then he said and explained "I saw how dumb, cruel, heartless and awful monsters were both of your kinds! You humans took my one and only son's life away! And you ponies killed my older brother with your evil magic!", and then he said angrily "Do you want to know what humans and ponies like the both of you do to us?!", and then an image inside Akeno's mind appeared which showed happy animals and other creatures in the Everfree Forest as suddenly a gunshot came out of nowhere and shot and killed a young gorilla, which was followed by a blast of magic which also came our of nowhere and blasted and killed a teenage elephant, before the animals and the other creatures all turned to see an army of humans and ponies standing side by side and shooting with their weapons and their magic at all the animals and the other creatures, shooting, blasting and killing them all mercilessly as lots of both male and female evil laughs can be heard from both the humans and the ponies as they all worked together and kept destroying every animal and every creature they looked at in the eyes, and then Akeno said "They don't hunt for food as Timberwolves and Crocophants do, they hunt for sport! for the fun of it!" and then he said and added with rage burning in his eyes "They're all the same! Even you two are nothing but evil!".

However, Chloe and Aylene quickly got back up on their feet and hooves and then Chloe cried "No! We're not evil!", and then Aylene defended and said "We killed all of these bad animals and monsters because they all tried to devour us and our friends first!", but then Akeno angrily shouted "ENOUGH TALKING EXCUSES!" and then he added as he shouted angrily at the human girl and Pegasus pony in the faces "HUMANS AND PONIES DON'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS BUT THEMSELVES!", and then he took another deep breath and calmed himself down a bit, but kept talking with an angry tone in his voice "Now if you two excuse me, I have to go back to my family! If you two find your way out of this dark cave all by yourselves - then you both shall live! But if you don't - you two will meet the evil Cockatrice and then you two will face a terrible fate!", and then he finished and said "See you never, hairless ape girl and chicken-winged stripeless zebra! See you again in the afterlife!", and then Akeno the male okapi turned around and ran away back in the direction where he came until he managed to find his way out of the dark cave and escape, thus leaving Chloe and Aylene alone in the middle of the dark cave all by themselves.

Then, Chloe and Aylene cried together for help for two minutes in great distress, but no one came to their help, and after awhile they both had no choice, so they had to start to walk, and then they began to wander together aimlessly in the dark cave in hopes that they'll eventually find a way out, but even after they wandered in the dark cave for a long time, they still didn't found a way out of the dark cave where they're both apparently lost. Just then, however, Chloe and Aylene saw something small that looked like a creature with the head of chicken, but it also had its other body parts such as the body itself, the wings and tail of a dragon, though its tail also looked like the one of a snake rather than a dragon's, and so Chloe and Aylene decided to run towards the small creature and then Chloe called for it "Hey, you! You over there! Please, help us! Please help us find our way out of this dark cave! We're both begging you! Help us!", and then Aylene asked "Do you know the way out of here?", but what they didn't know is that the creature they're running into is actually none other than the Cockatrice.

Then, the Cockatrice flew up until it reached and got right in front of Chloe and Aylene's faces, and then it its eyes and made them glowing red in front of the human girl and Pegasus pony, and this made both Chloe and Aylene scared and even a bit nervous so they decided to turn to run away, but they found out that they're both suddenly unable to move their legs and hooves, and when they both switched their attention from the Cockatrice to their legs and hooves, they saw that Chloe's legs and Aylene's hind legs and hooves were slowly turning into stone, much to their shock and horror to realize that they're both slowly turning into stone, before they desperately tried to get their legs and hooves to move, but to no avail, and the Cockatrice continued the process of turning both Chloe and Aylene into stone.

Then, the petrifying process managed to reach up to Chloe's waists and Aylene's flank, and from this point, Chloe and Aylene were both unable to escape their shared fate, as well as Aylene's tail also turned into stone, and then the petrifying process slowly gone upwards until it managed to turn the entire half of Chloe's body and the entire hind half of Aylene's body into stone, and once the petrifying process managed to reach op to Chloe's chest and Aylene's back and wings, Chloe and Aylene both turned back to look at the evil Cockatrice in the eyes, and they both saw it was using its gorgon ability to continue to petrify the both of them, and once Chloe and Aylene were both petrified up to their shoulders, this is where their arms, forelegs and front hooves also started to turn into stone, but at this point, however, Chloe and Aylene suddenly didn't seemed to mind that because they started to think about everything bad Akeno said to them before he dumped them in the dark cave, and then they started to believe that Akeno might be right about them and about all humankind and ponykind being actually cruel and heartless beasts with no hearts and with cruel minds like evil itself, and once they're both petrified up to their necks, Aylene softly said "I guess Akeno was right after all...", and then Chloe softly said "Goodbye, cruel world..." and then a couple of tears formed and rolled down each of their eyes and hit the dark cave's floor below, and then their heads and faces finally started to turn into stone, and once the petrifying process was completely all over, Chloe and Aylene were now a couple of stone statues, much to the evil Cockatrice's pleasure, before it laughed like an evil chicken and then it landed on the dark cave's floor and started to run away, leaving the now completely petrified Chloe and Aylene to remain a couple of stone statues for all eternity.


	47. Chapter 46:Aylene meets her father

After Chloe and Aylene became a couple of stone statues, the two are still alive only inside their minds, and right now they need to find someone inside their minds that will help them turn back to normal and escape the dark cave. Chloe and Aylene are now standing together in a white and empty void, and then Aylene asked Chloe "Chloe, where are we now?", and Chloe answered "I'm not sure. Somewhere in a white and empty void, I guess.", and then she added "But at least we're still together, that's what's important.", but then Aylene said "But we still need to find a way to get out of here.", and then Chloe said to her "Let's go.", and then the two started to walk together in the white and empty void, but then at some point, the two started to wander around aimlessly while sticking close together, until they both found out the truth - they got lost.

However, just then, a male voice suddenly said Chloe's name, and when Chloe and Aylene turned to the direction where the voice came from, they saw Jack Williams (Chloe's long deceased grandfather) standing and looking at them, before a kind smile formed across his face, and then he said "It's nice to see you again, my dear granddaughter whom I love for the most.", and this is when Chloe ran towards him and then she jumped and hugged him and said "Oh, grandfather! I missed you too!", and then Jack Williams gave to his granddaughter a kind chuckle before he said "I'm happy you came here to see me again, because this time, I'm not alone here too.",and then he turned and looked at Aylene for a moment and then he said to her "Come with me, little one. There's someone with me who is willing to see you. I met him some time before and we became friends.", and then Chloe, Aylene and Jack all heard hoofsteps approaching, and then Jack said "There he is. My dear best friend whom I met some time ago - Wild Berry.".

When Chloe, Aylene and Jack all turned in the direction where the hoofsteps came from, they saw a green Pegasus stallion with orange mane and tail, lime-colored eyes, and a bowl full of wild berries for a cutie mark, with white angel feathers on his wings and a golden halo above his head similar to Jack's, and Aylene quickly recognized who is the Pegasus stallion who is approaching her and her human sister and new human ally - it was Wild Berry, Aylene's long deceased father who died when Aylene was very young.

When Aylene saw her father for the first time since before his death, the Pegasus filly trotted and ran fast towards him and then she jumped up and hugged him by wrapping both of her forelegs and hooves around his neck, before she cried "Daddy!", and then Wild Berry said as he hugged his daughter back "It's so good to see you too, my darling.", and then a single tear formed and rolled down his eye as he continued to hug and embrace his daughter who missed him so much for years.

Then, Wild Berry said "I've heard that you became sisters with Chloe, the granddaughter of my new human friend whom I've already met in the afterlife.", and then he asked "Is that true?", and Aylene answered "Yes, daddy. Chloe's my sister since I dumped mommy behind me for being so cruel and heartless to me after you died.", and then Wild Berry said "I see. Who adopted you after you betrayed Black Heart?", and Aylene answered "Princess Celestia adopted me as her daughter, and she already adopted Chloe before me, and that's how the two of us became sisters.", and when the Pegasus stallion heard everything his daughter said, Wild Berry said "I'm so happy for you that you managed to find a new way of life away from that monstrous excuse that was once your birth mother, who is now your and your human sister's nemesis.", and then Jack added "Not to mention, she's friends with these Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and that's not good, because now the four are working all together.", and then Chloe said "That's right. These four were our main enemies, but Lysander and Sayla whom are a crocodile and a gorilla which can shape-shift and transform and turn to almost anything they want to. They are our secondary enemies compared to Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart.".

Then, Wild Berry sighed and said "Well, speaking of which, there's something I must show you, Aylene.", and then he added and explained "Something that will show you how I really died.", and then he turned to Jack, who responded back by using his spirit abilities and magic, and then Wild Berry said "Time to show Aylene the my side and my life story!", and then Jack unleashed his powers to take Chloe, Aylene and Wild Berry along with him, and then the four got engulfed together in a white light, before they all suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Then, Chloe and Aylene opened their eyes to find themselves with Jack and Wild Berry in an Equestrian environment which Chloe and Aylene both quickly recognized as the changeling kingdom, a few months after Chrysalis is dethroned from her position as queen and after Thorax became the king of the changelings and re-shaped the changeling kingdom and hive to look more beautiful and much more better than before. Then, Chloe and Aylene looked and saw a young filly whom Aylene quickly recognized as herself when she was a very young filly, and the young Aylene was walking to the new changeling kingdom to find and make new friends with the good and reformed changelings who live there, and then Aylene said "This is me when I was in the changeling kingdom for the first time! At the time I was trying to find and make friends with the changelings after I heard that they've transformed and became good!", and then she kept watching her own younger self continuing and walking in the changeling kingdom, before the young Aylene said "My daddy told me that changelings are now good and nice to ponies, and I really want to see one of them for myself so I can befriend it and have some company!".

Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry all continued to watch young Aylene still walking happily in the changeling kingdom until she encountered and met a good young male changeling who is around her own age, and that's when young Aylene approached the young changeling and tried to speak to him, and then she said "Hi there, changeling! What's your name?", and then she introduced herself and said and added "I'm Aylene, and I really want to make friends with you!", and then the good changeling smiled and approched her before he said "Well, I'm Strong Beetle, and I truly like to make friends and share love with both ponies and other changelings, and even with other non-ponies.", and then he gave his right foreleg to young Aylene so she can shame his hoof with her own, before he said "Let's be friends.", and young Aylene was so excited that she's very close to befriend a changeling, and so she slowly gave her own hoof to make contact and touch with Strong Beetle's hoof so she can shake hooves with him and become friends with him.

However, before young Aylene's hoof can touch Strong Beetle's hoof, an adult Pegasus mare suddenly jumped on Strong Beetle and started to attack and beat him in front of young Aylene's eyes, and the young filly looked in shock at what is happening in front of her eyes, and when Aylene saw the hostile Pegasus mare, she quickly recognized her as her mother, Black Heart. The hostile Pegasus mare continued to attack the young and friendly changeling until she managed to knock him out cold, and once she's done with him, Black Heart turned back to her little daughter with rage burning in her eyes that was mixed with anger and disappointment, thus shocking and scaring the little Pegasus filly who even stepped aback from her own mother as she saw how much scary she looked like right now, and also because she dared to attack a non-pony for nothing more than nonsensical reasons.

Then, Black Heart approached her little daughter and then she shouted at her angrily "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!", and young Aylene started to whimper and sob in pain and then she cried "I just wanted to make friends with Strong Beetle!", but then Black Heart stomped her hoof on the ground and roared at young Aylene in the face "HE'S A CHANGELING, YOU FOOL EXCUSE FOR I HAVE HERE FOR A DAUGHTER! YOU KNOW WHAT HE COULD'VE DONE TO YOU?! HE COULD'VE GOTTEN YOU KILLED BY FEEDING ON YOUR LOVE!", and then she took a deep breath to ease and calm herself a bit, though she then spoke still in an angry tone "Who even told you that changelings have changed?", and young Aylene said "Well, my father told me that changelings are good now and that ponies can make friends with them because they don't steal but share love.", but then Black Heart slapped Aylene twice across the face and shouted at her "That's nothing more than a huge, tricky and malicious lie! Now you're coming back home with me so I can speak to your stupid and simple-minded father about what could've happened to you if I didn't came here in time to save you!", and then Black Heart grabbed at young Aylene's hoof, and then she started to take her along with her back to their home.

Then, the environment was engulfed in a white light, before Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry found themselves in another environment which Aylene quickly recognized as her old home where she used live with her parents. Then, they switched places and got inside Aylene's old home where they saw Black Heart beating young Aylene cruelly and heartlessly and saying to her "You deliberately disobeyed me!", and then she added "If you listen to what your father is telling you again, then I promise you that you'll up like that Cozy Glow did - you'll serve a life sentenct in Tartarus for not obeying your mother - me!", but just then, the entrance door opened and in came Wild Berry, and when he saw his daughter with injuries and bruises all over her body, he was shocked to see that his daughter was also crying in pain, before she turned and trotted up to her father and then she reached up and hugged him around the neck before she brust out loud into tears, and then Wild Berry snapped from his shocked state and quickly hugged his little daughter back to comfort her and clam her down, before he kindly and gently asked her "What happened to you? Where did you got all these injuries and bruises from?", but before young Aylene can speak, Black Heart approached them and said "When our darling Aylene was in the changeling kingdom, she met some changeling and she tried to befriend him but he bullied her and beaten her up. I managed to knock the changeling out cold and save Aylene, but not before she's been attacked and wounded by that changeling she tried to make friends with.", and then she said to her husband with an angry face "From now on, she's not leaving this house for as long as she's still a filly!".

However, then young Aylene cried and said "She's lying! Strong Beetle the changeling didn't beaten me up, Mommy did this to me!", and when Wild Berry heard what his little daughter just said, he gasped in shock as he looked down at the wounded filly, before turning to his wife with a angry face and then he asked her "How dare you do this to her?!" and then he added "She's our daughter!", but then Black Heart said "She learned to be a foolish filly from you, Wild Berry!", and then the Pegasus stallion asked in shock and anger "Foolish?!", and then Black Heart said "If she keeps listening to you and not to me, then I'll promise you she'll be the one who will pay me with her own life!", and when Wild Berry heard what she said, he said back "How could you say such thing about her?! She's just a young little innocent filly!", but then Black Heart said to him "If she dares to try and befriend a filthy non-pony again, I'll have no choice but to feed her to the Timberwolves as a punishment for disobeying me!", and when young Aylene heard what her own mother said, she hugged her father tightly around the neck and burst into tears again, and Wild Berry tried to comfort his little daughter before he turned to Black Heart again and then he said to her "I don't want to hear such words from your mouth, Black Heart!", and then he added "And now, go away and leave Aylene alone!", and Black Heart said "Fine! I'll leave you with your daughter now, but once you're out of my way, that filly will have nopony to care for her but me!", and then she turned and walked away to her bedroom, leaving Wild Berry alone with Aylene, and then the stallion said to his daughter "It's okay, darling. I won't let that excuse for a mare do you any harm ever again. I promise.", and then he kissed young Aylene on her forehead before he took her with him to her bedroom so she can calm down and fall asleep.

Then, Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry were all engulfed again with the white light, and the four ended up in an another environment where they all saw Wild Berry buying Aylene's doll to her, and then he returned home and gave young Aylene the doll, much to Black Heart's jealousy and disappointment of her husband's caring and kind nature to his own daughter, before Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry all they switched places and ended up in another environment which later turned out to be Mount Aris, months after the evil Storm King is defeated, and some of the Seaponies are now living on land and on Mount Aris as Hippogriffs, and then they saw young Aylene going to Mount Aris to make friends with some Hippogriffs, until she ended up encountering a young female Hippogriff who is around her own age.

Then, young Aylene said to the young Hippogriff "Hi there, Hippogriff!", and then she added "I'd like to make friends with you!", and then she introduced herself and said "I'm Aylene!", and then she asked the young Hippogriff who stood in front of her "And what's your name?", and the young hippogriff answered "Well, I'm Beauty Pearl! That's nice to meet you, Aylene!". Then, Beauty Pearl stretched out and gave her talons to young Aylene so she can shake her hoof and make friends with her, and young Aylene willingly slowly moved her hoof to make contact and touch Beauty Pearl's talons to make hoof/talon shake with her, but before she can touch the Hipogriff's talons and shake them with her hoof, young Aylene is then shocked when her cruel and heartless mother came out of nowhere and started to attack and beat Beauty Pearl in front of her eyes.

When young Aylene saw what her mother is doing to the young Hippogriff she's about to make friends with, the Pegasus filly cried "Mommy, stop this, please! I'm begging you!", but the Pegasus mare didn't listened to her pleads and instead she kept attacking and beating Beauty Pearl until she managed to knock the young Hippogriff out cold. Then, Black Heart turned back to look at young Aylene with rage burning in her eyes that was mixed with anger and disappointment, before she approached her daughter and then she slapped her twice across her face and angrily shouted at her "YOU DELIBERATELY DISOBEYED ME AGAIN!", and then she added "I TOLD YOU NOT TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH FILTHY NON-PONIES, AND YOU'RE STILL LISTENING TO ALL THE POSITIVE AND NONSENSICAL THINGS THAT YOUR FATHER IS SAYING ABOUT THEM!", and then she grabbed young Aylene's hoof and then she took her along with her back home.

Then, Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry were engulfed in the white light once again, and then they ended up in another environment that was once again, Aylene's old home, and when they switched places and got inside the house, they saw Black Heart beating young Aylene once again, and young Aylene was crying in pain helplessly, until her father, Wild Berry, returned home and caught his wife beating his daughter, and then he quickly interfered by trotting up to them and putting himself between Black Heart and young Aylene, and then he said to his wife "How dare you beating our daughter again?! What did she do to you to deserve it?!", and Black Heart said with evilness in her voice "Your daughter was completely stupid! She tried to make friend with Hippogriff - A.K.A an easy way for herself to die!", but then Wild Berry turned and bucked her in the chest and said "How dare you speak such lies about non-ponies again, you excuse for a mare!", and when Black Heart got back up on her hooves, she looked at her husband and daughter with evil eyes.

Then, young Aylene cried and said to her father "Mommy beaten my again for her nonsensical reasons again!", but then Black Heart snapped at her and shouted "Shut your mouth, you ungrateful filly! Keep disobeying me, and I WILL feed you to the Timberwolves like I promised!", causing young Aylene to hug her father's side in fear and terror from hearing her mother saying that awful sentence again, and also causing Wild Berry to glare at his wife with angry and determined eyes before he said to her "I demand that you will stop abusing Aylene, because if you don't - I will tell on you to Princess Celestia, and she will make sure you won't come anywhere near Aylene anymore!", but Black Heart only laughed evilly and asked "Is that what you really think?", and then she added "There's no way even for a dumb Alicorn to take me down, because my father, Wolf Eye, was the most wanted Pegasus criminal in all of Equestria for abusing other ponies and killing non-ponies for fun!", and when Wild Berry heard what she said, he asked "What did you just said?", and Black Heart said "I'm cruel and heartless because I'm Wolf Eye's daughter who is willing to succeed his evil reign for him after he's been caught and was turned into stone for eternity by these filthy Elements of Harmony!".

When Wild Berry heard everything from what she said, he asked in shock "You're Wolf Eye's daughter?!", and Black Heart snapped and said "Yes! And if that filly for his granddaughter won't obey and accept becoming evil, then she don't deserve to LIVE!", causing young Aylene to cower in fear behind her loving and caring father, and Wild Berry understood his daughter's fear, before he turned back to Black Heart and said "Enough! I don't even care you're Wolf Eye's daughter, I'm going to prevent you from using violence against colts and fillies, you inexcusable and unforgivable monster!", and then he finished and said "And now, good night, my wife!", and then he turned to young Aylene and then he took her with him to her bedroom to comfort her and calm her down and help her fall asleep, but after Aylene and Wild Berry were out of Black Heart's sight, the Pegasus mare said "If you think I will dump my father's evilness and racism nature to all others and follow your kind and caring ways, you're wrong, Wild Berry. You're dead wrong. And one day, you'll be out of my way, and your little daughter will be all mine.", and then she let out a lowly and evil chuckle.

Then, the white light engulfed Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry once again and the four ended up in Aylene's old home once again, and it was an early morning at the time, and then they all saw young Aylene hugging her father around his neck as she's about to go to school and then she said to her father as she let go of him "Goodbye, Daddy! I love you!", and then she trotted out of the house and went to school, and her father watched her going away as tears of joy started to form in his eyes. However, soon after young Aylene left her home and went to school, Black Heart came behind Wild Berry and then she cleared her throat before she said to her husband "Wild Berry, we need to talk.".

When Wild Berry heard his wife's voice, he turned back to see her looking at him with disappointed eyes, and then he asked her "What do you want, Black Heart?", and the Pegasus mare said "When you'll be gone forever, that filly of yours will be mine. All mine.", and then she let out a lowly and evil chuckle, thus making Wild Berry a bit nervous before he asked her "What do you mean?", and then Black Heart said "After you'll die, I'll make her my obedient servant so she can become an avenger that will one day kill all four Alicorn princesses, the Elements of Harmony and all those filthy non-ponies rulers whom I hate so much!", and when Wild Berry heard what she said, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock, before Black Heart said "I will make sure Aylene will become a dangerous pony to every living thing, just like my dead father, Wolf Eye, always used to be!", but then Wild Berry snapped from his shocked state and then he looked at his wife in the eyes with anger and then he asked "Why would you dare to do to such a kind filly as Aylene such a horrible twist that will change her life for bad like that?!", and then Black Heart said evilly "Since she's our only daughter, it's my responsibility to make sure she becomes a dangerous criminal that will be a huge success after her evil grandfather who died a long time ago!", and then she laughed evilly.

However, this when Wild Berry said "So, you cannot let go of your father's evil, can you?" and then he added "Very well then, if you keep being rasicm to non-ponies and beat Aylene like you already did, then what's the point for both of us to be with you?", and then Black Heart asked "What's that?", and then he said "After I finish my work, I'm going to pick up MY DAUGHTER from school!", but then Black Heart approached him and then she slapped him twice across the face and then she said evilly "I'd like to see you try doing that!", but then Wild Berry turned back and bucked her in the chest and said "I've been suffering all the time from my loveless marriage I still have with you!", and then he added "But you know what else? Ever since Aylene was born, everyday in my loveless marriage I still have with you have changed from worse to much better!", and then he said "If you just stop being racism, threatening and intimidating to non-ponies and dump your father's evil behind you, then I will show you some love you truly deserve!".

However, Black Heart just said "I wish you show me the half the love you show that stupid filly of yours for a daughter!", but then Wild Berry said "Because you're too evil to let go of your father's monstrosity, that's exactly why I will NEVER show you love!", and then the kind and caring Pegasus stallion asked his evil wife "What happened to you, Black Heart? When you first gave birth to Aylene you told me you were happy to be her mother. I remember you calling her your lovely little mare when she first said 'Mama'. Why are you so downright evil today?".

Then, Black Heart snapped and said "I will tell you the second reason to why am I so downright evil today, you filthy stallion! Yes, I was and still am proud to be Aylene's mother, but ever since I gave birth to her, you have been paying more attention to her and less attention to me!", and that made Wild Berry make a sour face at his wife before he said back "So that's it, you're jealous of my precious little filly of mine, don't you?" and then he added "Well you know what, Black Heart, you can divorce away from and get married to another stallion that is just the same as evil as you are so you can have your OWN foal to exact your father's evil upon all of ponykind!", and then he said "In other words, you're not anymore my little filly's mother! You can start anew with some other stallion and take your racism and abusive nature your father gave you before he died with you!", and this made Black Heart speak up and say in shock and anger "What do you mean, you traitor?!", and then Wild Berry "I mean that after I pick up MY DAUGHTER from school, we're moving to live with my parents at their house until you'll finally dump that racism, cruel and heartless nature of yours that your father gave you! Because if you don't and I hear from others that you keep harassing and attacking non-ponies for nonsensical reasons, then I promise you, Black Heart, you won't see Aylene or me ever again!", and then Wild Berry stormed out of his house and left Black Heart alone.

However, after Wild Berry left Black Heart alone, the Pegasus mare grew an evil Grinch-like smile across her face and then she said "We'll see about that, you annoying hyena! I'll show you! We'll see who laughs last! If I can't have that filly, neither you can!", and then she burst into an evil laughter before she too left her home and followed after Wild Berry, and that's when Jack asked Aylene "Aylene, would you like if I stop here right now?", but Aylene said "No, Sir! Please show me everything I need to know! I really wanna know what really happened to Daddy!", and Jack said "As you wish, Aylene. Now here we go.", and then he used his spirit abilities and magic to take Chloe, Aylene, Wild Berry and himself and the four ended up in a grassy field that was in the midway to Aylene's school, and then they saw Wild Berry trotting to Aylene's school, but before he could reach there, Black Heart suddenly came in his way, knocked him out cold, and then she started to drag him away with her towards the Everfree Forest.

Upon entering the Everfree Forest, Black Heart said as she kept dragging her unconscious husband along "Once I kill that traitor, the stupid little filly will have nopony to care for her but me!", and upon reaching the middle of the Everfree Forest, Black Heart finally let go and dropped her husband's unconscious body on the ground, and just then, he slowly opened his eyes and started to move, but after he got up on his hooves, he heard his evil wife chuckling, and when he turned to his head to the left, he saw Black Heart looking at him with a wooden knife she just crafted and made in her hoof, and then she said "I can't let you get away with that filly! She's Wolf Eye's granddaughter and she must succeed in where he failed!", but then Wild Berry asked her "Why did you brought me here? And why are you holding that wooden knife in your hoof?", and then he added "Why is that? What this is all about?", but then Black Heart said evilly "You'll see for yourself!", and then she roared out loud "WHEN YOU DIE!", and then she flew toward him and she tried to attack him, but Wild Berry managed to fly up into the air to get out of her way, but then Black Heart turned and looked up at her husband who tried to fly away from the Everfree Forest, and then she also flew up after him and tried to get to him so she can stab him to death with her wooden knife.

However, when Wild Berry turned his head back and saw Black Heart is chasing after him, he did the best he can do to avoid her and escape and leave the Everfree Forest alive, but after a long flight chase in midair, Black Heart got the upper hoof by stabbing her husband in the left wing, causing him to lose control and then he started to fall down back into the Everfree Forest, and he ended up striking the ground below, thus giving Black Heart the chance to kill her husband and get the evil job done. Wild Berry managed to survive the fall and striking the ground, but he got injured in the process, and before he can slowly get up on his hooves and walk away, Black Heart came down and struck him in the back with her forelegs and hooves while holding the wooden knife in her mouth like a pirate, causing Wild Berry to fall down and hit the ground, before Black Heart landed down in front of him, and then she jumped at him and moved him upside down onto his back, and then he tried to punch at his traitorous wife in the face with his forelegs, but she managed to trap both of his forelegs under her hind legs and hoove to prevent him front attcking her, and then she looked down at him in the eyes, but she showed no mercy to him before she said evilly "Wild Berry, you're lost! Long live the stallion!", and then she moved up her left foreleg and hoof which now held the wooden knife, and then she quickly moved it down towards Wild Berry and then she ended up stabbing him in the chest, causing him to scream and cry in pain as he felt like if his heart has been pierced, and once Wild Berry's scream and cry silenced, his head, hooves and wings all dropped down on the side, and then his body became completely motionless, proving that now the damage has been done - Wild Berry is dead.

Then after checking and making sure to know that Wild Berry is dead, Black Heart placed her left foreleg and hoof on his chest and then she let out an evil cry, but then something strange happened - in mid-cry, Black Heart's cry slowly transformed into a wolf howl, which made both Chloe and Aylene shocked and confused at the same time. Why does Black Heart cry and howl like a wolf and not like a normal pony? Is there is something else that her father, Wolf Eye, gave her before he turned into stone and died?

After Black Heart howled and triumphed over her dead husband's body, she started to dig a deep hole and once she's done digging the hole, she grabbed Wild Berry's dead body and then she dropped it down into the hole, before she buried it with ground and dirt to make sure that nopony and no other creature finds him and tells Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about the murder, and once Black Heart was done burying her dead husband, she started to walk away with an evil smirk across her face, showing no regrets for her evil actions, and once she's far away from the spot where she killed and buried Wild Berry, Black Heart said evilly "Now with that weak and helpless stallion is dead, that little filly now have nopony to care for her but me!", and once she's out of the Everfree Forest, Black Heart took off and then she started to fly towards Aylene's school to pick her up and take her back home.

When Aylene saw the real reason to why her father died, she gasped in shock as she put both of her forelegs and hooves over her own mouth, and then tears of sadness and pain formed and rolled down her eyes as she started to cry after realizing that her own mother killed her own father so she can abuse and torment her and make her a successor to Wolf Eye's evil reign, before Chloe came to her side and then she started to hug her around the neck as she too had tears in her eyes because she too saw everything from what Black Heart actually did to Wild Berry, which turned out to be that she killed him to make Aylene evil like her evil grandfather, Wolf Eye.

Then, Wild Berry's spirit said to Aylene "Now you see the truth, I was killed by my own wife. I'm sorry you had to know about this. Maybe I am weak and helpless like she said about me after I died.", but then Aylene said as she continued to cry "No, Daddy! You're not weak! And you're not helpless either!", and then she and Chloe broke their sisters hug before Aylene trotted up to her father, and then she hugged him tightly around the neck and cried into his chest fur and said "I want you to know that I will always love you! Always! Even if you're now just a spirit!", and when Wild Berry hugged her as well, tears of joy started to form in his eyes, and once he and Aylene broke off their hug, Jack said "This is so sweet to see such a family reunion between a father and a daughter, isn't it? But I'm it's time for both Wild Berry and me to go.", and then Wild Berry said to him "You're right, we need to go now.", and then Aylene asked him "What?", and then Chloe asked "You want to say that you have to leave us?", and Jack said "I'm afraid so, but don't worry, girls. Wild Berry and I promise you we will return to meet you both some day, when the right time comes. We both promise. Both of us.", and then Wild Berry said "Goodbye, my precious daughter. I promise you that we will meet again some day. I promise.", and then both Jack and Wild Berry started to fade and disappear together in front of Chloe and Aylene, and when that happened in front of their eyes, Chloe cried "Grandfather, please don't go!", and then Aylene added "Daddy! Come back! Don't leave me!", but Jack and Wild Berry completely faded and disappeared into thin air, thus leaving Chloe and Aylene in the white void all alone.

However, just then, Chloe and Aylene suddenly started to get engulfed together by the white light, and eventually, once Chloe and Aylene were engulfed completely by the white light, the two ended up to find themselves and each other back to normal as the two were no longer stone statues and were back to normal, and the two were also no longer in the dark cave, and when the two looked around them, they saw and then they realized where they are - Chloe and Aylene were both back in the meadow, and it was also daytime right now, and then Chloe said to Aylene "We're both alive and well! We made it back! We're back to normal! We're almost home!", and just then, some familiar voices called out their names, and when Chloe and Aylene approached in the direction where the calling voices came from, they saw Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, the mane seven, Shujaa and Spike in front of them but they're all standing a bit a far away, but when Chloe and Aylene ran and trotted towards them all as fast as they could, this is when their family and friends all turned and saw them running towards them, and so the group of ponies, changelings, albino orangutan and dragon all went to them as well and once they're all reunited, Celestia pulled first Chloe and then Aylene into a tight embrace each, and then she cried "My two beloved daughters were both okay! Now we can all go home!", but not before Thorax and Shujaa also joined as the five hugged each other and they formed a tight family embrace all together, and once they all let go of each other, they all went back home to Canterlot, and once they all arrived at the royal castle, Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to the mane seven, Spike, Thorax and Pharynx, before they entered the royal castle with their mother, Celestia, their aunt, Luna, and their older brother, Shujaa, and when nighttime came, Chloe and Aylene went to their bedroom and fell asleep.


	48. Chapter 47:Akeno's banishment

The next day, Chloe and Aylene woke up and went to the dining table to eat their breakfast, and then they're approached by Celestia and Luna, who then asked them both what happened to them and what was the reason that they both suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night, and then Chloe explained "Akeno and four baboons got here during the night, and when they found us both sleeping together in our bedroom, the five captured the both of us and they put us in a large sack, and they also managed to knock Shujaa out cold to prevent him from stopping them or from alarming the royal guards.", and when Celestia heard Akeno's name, she asked "Akeno? Who is he?" and the Luna asked "Is he a baboon too? Or a gorilla just like Sayla?", and Aylene answered "Akeno is an adult male okapi from Asha's family, and Ezra's Mammophant, Lin Raju, took us both to meet them after we had a nightmare of him dying in a quicksand trying to protect us when you and everypony else got mad at us, and after Lin Raju left us alone with the okapis to see how we'll get along with them, Akeno suddenly came to sight and he started to first insult us, before he managed to hurt our feelings by calling Chloe a hairless ape girl, and me a stripeless zebra with chicken wings!".

When Celestia and Luna heard what the two inseparable sisters said, they both gasped in shock to know that Akeno is too bad just like Lysander and Sayla, before Chloe said "He hated both me and Aylene so much just because we're a human being and a Pegasus pony, and not okapis like him, and he even dared after offending us with words to attack and mean us both harm physically as well, and he even said when he had us between his forelegs that if we want to get from him some more beatings, then he would like to apply, but we managed to get away from between his forelegs and then we gave him a double kick to the crotch in return for both insulting and harming us directly, and then we slapped a 6 across his face to teach him a lesson not to underestimate girls and fillies like us, before we shouted out loud and yelled together at him in tears, before we ran away from the okapis.".

Then, Aylene added and said "He returned and ambushed us when we're about to leave the Everfree Forest and he threatened he'll abuse and torment us some more for being non-okapis, but this time, we're rescued by a young male centaur named Stephan, who also saved us before and used a magical healing potion to cure and heal our bodies after Yigal mamaged to force us to eat a poisonous birthday cake which he baked for us, which its poison works and weakens anypony or any other creature who took three bites from the cake in which the poison was embedded in.". However, when Celestia and Luna heard the word 'centaur' in Aylene's words, the two Alicorn princesses gasped in shock before Celestia asked "Did you said that a centaur saved your lives?", and Chloe said "Yes, of course. And now, he's our new best friend.", but then Celestia said "But I thought all centaurs in Equestria were evil monsters who steal magic and use it for evil!", but then Aylene said to her "Not Stephan! He's so friendly and kind that he even dared to face Akeno and fight him for us so that he'll mean us no harm!".

Then, Luna asked "Really?", and then Chloe said "Sure! When Akeno threatened us again when we're about to leave the Everfree Forest, Stephan interfered and stepped in his way to defend and protect us from further harm that foul and abusvie okapi would've brought us!", and then Aylene added "Then he taught that Akeno a lesson by giving him fairly strong and painful beatings for what he did to us before!", and then Chloe finished and said "In the end, Stephan knocked Akeno out cold and won in the fight he had against him, and then he parted ways with us and let us go back home.".

When Celestia and Luna heard everything from what Chloe and Aylene said about how Stephan saved them twice before and in the second time taught Akeno a lesson, the two Alicorns were shocked to know that Stephan is indeed a good centaur that will dare to stand up for both himself and others and will dare to stop and fight dangerous bullies and enemies to save innocent creatures from them, but then Celestia asked "But what about what Akenl did to you when he kidnapped you both last night?", and then Luna added "Where did that monster took you to?", and Chloe answered "Since he decided he's not done abusing and tormenting us for not being okapis like him, Akeno kidnapped and took the both of us with him to the Everfree Forest and to the same dark cave where Sayla first dumped me all alone, and then he assaulted us some more and he angrily told and explained to us why he's so racism, cruel and heartless to both humans and ponies - because our kinds killed both his older brother and his son!".

Then, Aylene added and explained "And if that wasn't enough, he even told us that both humans and ponies like us and our kinds kill animals and all other kinds of creatures for sport and for fun!", and then she added "He also said that all of humankind and all of ponykind were the same as evil, and that we're the same as he told about both of our kinds!", and when Celestia heard what her Pegasus daughter said, the alicorn mare said "This is outrageous! How dare he telling you two such horrible things and also telling you that you're evil?!", and then Luna said "We'd like to go to the Everfree Forest to have a talk with Asha and with her okapis and tell them about what their Akeno did to you two right away!", and before Celestia and Luna were about to go, Celestia said to Chloe and Aylene "Goodbye for now, my dear daughters, and thank you both for telling me and Luna everything we need to know! I promise we'll return back to you after we make sure that Asha and her okapis deal with that Akeno!", and then Chloe said to her back "I trust you both with that, mother Celestia and aunt Luna! We both trust you, and we're counting on you to do what's needed to deal with that foul beast!", and then Luna said "Goodbye for now, my dear nieces!", and Aylene said back "Goodbye, aunt Luna! We hope you'll deal with our most recent problem with ease!", and then Celestia and Luna left Chloe and Aylene home in the royal castle, but before they left the royal castle, they asked Shujaa to come with them, and so he and his some of his royal guard partners and friends also joined and accompanied the princesses as they're about to leave the royal castle to do the next important thing - make sure that Asha and her okapis deal with Akeno's racism, cruelty and heartlessness to both humankind and ponykind.

However, before they're about to go to the Everfree Forest, Celestia and Luna decided to go to the changeling kingdom first to tell Thorax and Pnarynx about Chloe and Aylene's newest enemy and recent problem they had with him, and after arriving at the changeling kingdom and hive and explaining to them everything, Thorax and Pharynx accepted coming with Celestia and Luna to the Everfree Forest so they can all talk to Asha and to her okapis, but not before he told some of his subjects whom are some of his changelings to come along to make sure that Shujaa and royal guards will by able to help in case Akeno is as wild and as aggressive as an adult bull African elephant in musth, and so the ponies, changelings and albino orangutan all went together from the changeling kingdom all the way to the Everfree Forest to talk to Asha and make her deal with Akeno and with his cruelty, racism and intolerance to both humans and ponies (like Chloe and Aylene for an instance).

Upon arriving at the Everfree Forest, the Alicorn princesses, the changeling kings, their subjects and Shujaa all started to search together for Asha and for her okapi family, and after a long search, they finally managed to find them in a place that was close to their natural habitat where they live, and then Celestia, Luna, Thorax and Pharynx found Asha and they started to talk to her about Akeno's continuous and never-ending heartlessness to both humans and ponies, and after she heard from the four Equestrian rulers about Akeno's deception and about how did he kidnapped both Chloe and Aylene and took them with him to the dark cave in the middle of the Everfree Forest and just left them both alone to die there, the okapi matriarch was angered by Akeno's cruelty to Chloe and Aylene, and so were the other okapis who also heard what the Alicorn princesses and changeling kings said to their matriarch about Akeno still being abusive to Chloe and Aylene, and about that he'll stop at nothing until he gets rid of the both of them once and for all just to avenge both his deceased older brother and son.

However, what they all didn't know is that Akeno is watching and hearing them all from right behind some nearby trees, and he's getting quite angry at everything that the Alicorn princesses and changeling kings were all telling his family's matriarch, because he knows it's about him, which made him say to himself "So the hairless ape girl and her stripeless zebra with the chicken wings both managed somehow to escape from the dark cave I took them to! Well, this fight isn't enough until these two were gone forever from this world!", but then a young male okapi suddenly talked to him and asked him "Is that you, Akeno? What are you doing here?", and Akeno gasped in shock and surprise as he realized that he's been spotted, before he said to him back "Go away, kid! Just please, leave me alone!", but then other okapis heard him too and they soon turned around to see him standing behind them with one of their male youngsters standing next and close to him, before one of the adult female okapis called "Asha, Akeno is here!", and when Asha heard what the adult female okapi who called for her said, she slowly turned around to see Akeno as well, before the young male okapi who stood next and close to him ran and trotted back to the rest the rest of the okapis, leaving Akeno to face his entire family all by himself, and they don't seems to be happy to see him again after what he have done to both Chloe and Aylene before.

Then, Asha stepped forward and her okapis allowed her, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Shujaa and the royal guards and the changelings to face Akeno all together, before Asha said to him "I'm very disappointed in you, Akeno! How could you still go and abuse and torment these innocent human girl and her Pegasus pony sister like you already did?!", and Akeno said as he slowly walked towards her until he stopped 20 feet away from her "Don't you mean the two most dangerous killers who have the powers to drive all kinds of animals and other creature to nothing but extinction?!", but then Thorax said to him "How dare you speak about my two little daughter like this, you monster!", but then Akeno said to him angrily "Shut your mouth, you stupid stag-like bug or else I'll have to add you and your entire race and kind to my black list to which I call 'List of species and kinds which all okapis should hate and avoid forever'!", but then Shujaa yelled at him "Don't you dare talk to my father like this!", but then Akeno snapped back and said "Silence your mouth, white ape!", but then Celestia said "Stop being so cruel and heartless to my two little daughters, Akeno! Or we'll all make sure you will pay for this!", but Akeno said "And who are you supposed to be? Their mother or something? That's just ridiculous!".

However, what Akeno said made Celestia really angry that she couldn't control herself and then she flew up into the air, and then she aimed down at Akeno with her horn and then she blasted at him with her magic, and the evil adult male okapi didn't had enough time to react, and then he turned and tried to get away, but the magic blast shot him and hit him directly in the right hind leg, causing him to yelp and cry in pain as he lost his balance and fell directly on his front, and when he tried to get up, he turned to see a bleeding cut on his right hind leg that was made by Celestia's magic blast she just shot at him, and when he looked up, he saw Celestia was still flying in the air, before she's joined by Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and the Pegasi royal guards and the changelings, and when Akeno barely managed to get back up on his feet, he turned to see Asha and all the other okapis looking at him with anger and disappointment in their eyes, before Asha said to him "Leave our home and never return again, Akeno!", and this made Akeno cry "Please, don't banish because of that hairless ape girl and that stripeless zebra with the chicken wings!", but then an adult male okapi said to him "Did you heard what Asha said?! Leave now or else we'll have no choice but to kick you out!", and this made Akeno cry with rage burning in his eyes "Fine then! Go ahead and live the rest of your lives without me!", but then he added and said "But I promise you all that one day, I WILL return to destroy the hairless ape girl and her stripeless zebra with the chicken wings! Be warned, because my true evil monstrosity has just began!" and then he laughed madly and evilly before he turned to go and then he started to run away deeper into the Everfree Forest.

Once Akeno is gone, an adult female okapi said "He's gone!", and then an adult male okapi added "Good riddance!", and then when Celestia, Thorax, their siblings and their Pegasi royal guards and changelings all slowly flew down and landed safely on solid ground, Asha said to them all and to her entire family "From now on, Akeno is no longer a member of our family!", and then every creature cheered for her as they all agreed to what she just said, and then Celestia said to her "Thank you so much Asha!", and then Thorax added "I can't thank you enough either!", and then Shujaa said to her "Goodbye, Asha! And thank you for helping us dealing with that beast!", and Asha said to them all "No problem!", and then Celestia, Thorax, their siblings, their royal guards and changelings and Shujaa all said goodbye to Asha and to her okapis, before they all went together to Canterlot and to the royal castle to tell Chloe and Aylene the good news about how they managed to chase Akeno away from Asha's family for good.

However, after telling the good news to Chloe and Aylene, the two in return told them all what happened to them after Akeno dumped them in the cave, and so Chloe and Aylene explained to them about how did they accidentally ran into the Cockatrice and got petrified and turned into a couple of stone statues, and how did they managed not only to get to meet Chloe's grandfather's spirit again, but also managed to get to meet Aylene's father's spirits for the first time, and how the two showed them what really happened to Wild Berry (Aylene's father) and what caused his death - they told Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Shujaa and the royal guards and the changelings that Black Heart (Aylene's mother) cruelly and heartlessly killed him in the end of his life story so she can have Aylene for herself, but then Chloe and Aylene also explained that thanks to that kind of information, they know more about both of Aylene's parents and how did Black Heart became so cruel as they also found that Black Heart's father is the infamous and most dangerous Pegasus stallion to have ever existed in all of Equestria - Wolf Eye.

Once Chloe and Aylene finished explaining to their family and allies about the truth behind Aylene's original and birth family, Celestia said to Aylene "I don't care that you're Wolf Eye's granddaughter, Aylene! Because I want you to know that we'll all always love you for the friendly and kind filly you really are!", and then she pulled Aylene into a tight embrace, and once she let go of her, Thorax and Pharynx said goodbye to Chloe and Aylene, but before they're about to take off and fly and return back to the changeling kingdom with their subjects, they also told Aylene that even though that's a fact that she's related to the most infamous and dangerous Pegasus stallion to have existed in all of Equestria, they'll always love her for who she really is as the kind Pegasus filly whom they all love and care for the most who always stands by Chloe's side as her sister for life.

Once Thorax, Pharynx and their subjects all left and went back to the changeling kingdom, Chloe and Aylene went to the dining table to eat some dinner once evening came, and after they finished eating their dinner, the two went together to their bedroom and then they finaly fell asleep. However, somewhere in one of the darkest parts of the Everfree Forest, Akeno is once again plotting about a new revenge against both Chloe and Aylene, and he said evilly "When the right day comes, I will get you and destroy you, hairless ape girl and stripeless chicken-winged zebra! I will have my revenge!", and then he laughed evilly, thus showing and proving that Chloe and Aylene now have three animal enemies who weren't part from Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart's evil animal team - Lysander the crocodile, Sayla the gorilla, and now Akeno the okapi, and these three were all willing to have their revenge on Chloe and Aylene and destroy them both for good.


	49. Chapter 48:a new friend in need

A full month have passed since Akeno kidnapped Chloe and Aylene and then got banished from Asha's family forever for his crimes, and it was now 47 months (3 years and 11 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 35 (2 months and 11 months) months since Aylene became her beloved sister, and now the two are both willing to meet their new best friend, Stephan the young male centaur, once more and see how he and the twins were all doing after not seeing them throughout the last month that have passed.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went out of the royal castle and to the Everfree Forest with Shujaa to meet Stephan and the twins again, and upon arriving the Everfree Forest, they're joined by the CMC, but also by Sandbar and Ocellus, who also wanted to see the good centaurs, because the CMC told them about Stephan and his twin baby siblings and how good they are, and so the group entered the Everfree Forest and they all started to search for Stephan and for the twins together.

However, even after searching for Stephan and for the twins everywhere in the Everfree Forest, Chloe, Aylene and their friends still didn't found them anywhere, but then a young scream that was also crying in pain was heard and it came from somewhere behind the big bushes and the tall trees, and so they all followed in the direction where the screams and cries came from, and when they all reached and arrived at the right place where the screams and cried all came from, Chloe, Aylene and their friends finally found Stephan and the twins, but unfortunately, they knew when they looked at Stephan that something's wrong.

Then, when they looked closer, they saw Stephan has lots of injuries and bruises on his body, on both his upper human body and lower horse body, before Stephan felt a sharp pain in his left hind horse leg which caused him to scream and cry in pain again before tears of pain formed and rolled down his eyes as he couldn't stand the sharp pain in his left hind horse leg, and that's when Chloe and Aylene went to him and then Chloe asked "What happened to you, Stephan?", and then Aylene added "You look horrible! Where did you got all these injuries and bruises on your body?", and Stephan said while still being in great physical pain "My father did this to me.", and when Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa, the CMC, Sandbar and Ocellus all heard what the young centaur just said, they all gasped in shock, before they're interrupted again when Stephan cried in pain again as he tried to reach and hug his left hind horse leg which seemed to Chloe, Aylene and their friends to be broken.

Then, Sandbar and Ocellus saw Andy and Zoey sitting nearby with injuries and bruises similar to Stephan's on their bodies, and the teenage stallion and his changeling friend both heard the twin baby centaurs screaming and crying in pain equally to how Stephan is screaming and crying in pain, and then the two teenage students and best friends trotted up to the little baby centaurs and then Sandbar tried to carry Andy on his back, while Ocellus tried to carry Zoey on her back to take them back to the rest of the group.

When Sandbar and Ocellus carried Andy and Zoey and managed to place them both down when they reached back to the rest of the group, Shujaa decided that Stephan and the twins must be moved to Ponyville so somepony can take them to the hospital to treat their injuries and bruises as well as to heal the sharp pain in Stephan's left hind horse leg, and when everypony and every creature agreed with him and with what he said, Sandbar, Scootaloo and Randall carried Andy, Ocellus, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle carried Zoey, and Shujaa, Chloe and Aylene carried Stephan, and they left the Everfree Forest all together and went to Ponyville to take the three injured centaurs to the hospital to heal their injuries and bruises their father actually gave them to punish them all for being good.

Chloe, Aylene and their friends took Stephan and the twins all the way to Ponyville, but upon arriving, a Unicorn mare suddenly screamed "A centaur! Run for your lives!", and when everypony turned and saw Stephan and the twins being carried by Chloe, Aylene and their friends, everypony started to scream and they all panicked and trotted and galloped away for their lives, believing that Stephan and the twins might be dangerous because of them being centaurs and also because of them fearing and hating Lord Tirek for his great evilness.

However, Shujaa cried for them all "No! Please, don't run away! These centaurs aren't dangerous! They're injured and they need help to heal and recover! Please, come back!", but everypony ignored his words and pleads and they continued to run, trot and gallop in fear of the centaurs. Then, as the group is about to continue into Ponyville, the mane seven, Spike and the four other students (Smolder, Yona, Gallus and Silverstream) all suddenly came right in front of them, and when Twilight saw Stephan being carried by Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa, she firmly said to them "Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa, stay away from that centaur!", but Shujaa said back "Stop! Don't hurt him, girls! He's injured and he needs our help!", and then Scootaloo said "He's not the only one who is injured!", and then Randall continued and added "His twin baby siblings were also injured!", and then Apple Bloom said "They need our help to get to our town's hospital!", and then Sweetie Belle cried "We're all telling you the truth! These centaurs need our help so they can heal!", and then she cried out loud "RIGHT NOW!".

When everypony and every creature heard what Shujaa and the CMC all said about Stephan and the twins, Fluttershy slowly approached from behind her friends and she got close to see Stephan from a closer look to check and see if Shujaa and the CMC were all telling the truth about him and his twin baby siblings being injured and that they need their help to heal and recover, and when she saw Stephan as she got close enough to him, Fluttershy saw that Stephan is only a preadolescent centaur who appeared to be around the same age as Chloe and Aylene's or a bit older, but when she got a bit more closer, Stephan suddenly moved and cried as the sharp pain in his left hind horse leg started to make it swell rapidly because the long foot bone of his left hind horse leg was broken, and then Stephan cried in pain "Ow! It's happening again! My hind leg is broken! Help me!", and this caused Fluttershy step aback from the centaur for a brief moment, before she approached him again and then she said to him "It's okay, no need to cry in pain. We'll take you to the hospital right away.", and then she turned and said to her friends and students "We need to help this centaur. He's really injured and he needs our help. I knew that when he suddenly moved and cried like he did just now, that showed me that his hind leg is broken. We need to take him to the hospital so we can help him heal and recover from his leg trauma.".

However, at first, everypony and every creature just stood there in silence, but after two minutes, the silence broke when Twilight stepped forward and then she asked Chloe and Aylene "Do you know this centaur?", and Chloe said "Yes, we do know him, and we love and like him too for whta he did for us!", and then Aylene added and explained "He stood up for both himself and for us to defend us from Akeno the okapi before we heard from Mother Celestia and Main Aunt Luna that Akeno is banished from Asha's family for his last crime he have done which is kidnapping us and spouting mad, angry and insane things about both humankind and ponykind at our faces before dumping us! In other words - he's a very good and kind centaur who always uses his magic for good purposes such as curing and healing the weak, the sick and the ill if they got infected or poisoned, and he'll always defend the young, the old, the innocent and the threatened from dangerous creatures or bad animals who are trying to insult, hurt, or even attack the victims!", and then Shujaa added "Chloe and Aylene were both right! His name is Stephan and he's indeed a proof that shows that not all centaurs are evil, and he's also indeed a very good friend that will come to help in times of need!", and when Twilight heard what Shujaa also said about Stephan, she then turned back to her friends and students and then she told them all to come over and help carrying Stephan to the hospital, and the ponies and the non-ponies all listened and agreed to help Stephan get to the hospital so his broken left hind horse leg can heal and recover from the painful leg trauma.

The mane seven and their four other students helped Chloe, Aylene and their friends to carry Stephan to the hospital and on the way, Fluttershy saw that Stephan also has twin baby siblings behind him, and so she came close to look at them, but they both seemed frightened of her at first as they both believed that she might beat them like their own father have already done to them before, but when Fluttershy gave a kind smile to them and then she said to them "No need to fear me, little ones. I won't hurt you.", and then she asked "You must be Stephan's twin baby siblings, don't you?", and Andy and Zoey looked at each other for a brief moment before they turned back to Fluttershy and they both nodded in agreement, and then Fluttershy said to them "You both look so cute and I can also tell by your beautiful red hair and you cute and beautiful eyes that you're both indeed just like your older brother, Stephan.", and then she added "But I also see that you're both so injured, so you need to go to the hospital so these injuries and bruises on your cute little bodies can heal, and don't worry about this because my friends and I we're all taking you two and your older brother there so you can all heal and recover from that awful trauma you've got on both your big and little bodies.", and then she finished and said "Don't worry about anything, little ones. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, and nothing bad is going to happen to your big brother either. You're all going to be fine, I promise.", and then she gave Andy and Zoey a kind and reassuring smile to make them feel happy a little bit as Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa, the mane seven, the students and the CMC all finally reached and arrived at Ponyville Hospital.

However, upon entering Ponyville Hospital, everypony and every creature saw all the doctors and nurses shaking in fear while looking directly at Stephan, and then a white Earth pony mare slowly approached Chloe, Aylene and their friends and allies. The mare had pink mane and tail and a white medical cross with five hearts, four of which were on each corner of the medical cross, and the fifth heart was in the middle for a cutie mark, and for addition, the mare also wore a nurse's hat on her head with the same medical cross and hearts that also appeared as her cutie mark on her flank.

The mare whose name is Nurse Redheart stepped forward while shaking in fear as she looked right at Stephan, but then Twilight approached her and then she said to her "Please, help us. This centaur here needs your help because he's wounded.", but then Nurse Redheart asked while still shaking "But, isn't he going to steal magic from my body?", and Twilight said "Of course not, he's actually very friendly and kind and he actually uses his magic for good purposes such as curing and healing against dangerous diseases and poisons.", and then Fluttershy came forward as well and then she added "His name is Stephan, and he's not the only one who need your help here.", and then she turned and motioned with a forehoof at Andy and Zoey and then she added "These two poor little baby centaurs were his little siblings and they also need your help.", and then Rainbow Dash added "Some much older centaur probably wounded them and left them looking like this, and their older brother here is also suffering much more from a broken hind leg. You gotta help us with them because they're all in pain, with Stephan is the one who is suffering for the most.".

However, at first, Nurse Redheart stood in silence as she didn't knew what to think, but after two minutes, the silence broke when she said "Okay, I will help you with these centaurs you just told me about, and I will do my best to help them heal and recover and I will make sure that they all get the care and comfort they all need to survive, especially Stephan because he needs to have his hind leg covered in plaster bandage so he can heal from that leg trauma he have.", and then she added "I accept them all here after what you just told me about them, and I promise you all I will do my best to keep them happy here until all of them completely heal from their wounds. You can all trust me.", and then she gave a kind smile to Stephan and to the twins before she turned back to the other nurses and doctors and then she said to them "There's no reason for all of you to be afraid of these centaurs. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Flutteshy and Rainbow Dash told me that they're good centaurs and that they really need our help to heal their injuries, and the older centaur here also needs a plaster bandage to be put on his hind leg because his leg is broken and he's also suffering from a leg trauma. Please, help me do the job and get it done, Okay?", and then two nurses slowly approached Nurse Redheart and then one of them said "Let's do this now!", and the other added "Let's help our newest patients!".

Then, when everypony heard what the two nurses said, they went up to Stephan and to the twins and they started to slowly and carefully carry them into a patient room and they all placed the three down on a soft and warm bed, and then a doctor which was an adult Earth Pony stallion came to the room and he started to check and do some X-ray on Stephan's hind horse leg to see which part of the leg is broken, and he found out that Stephan's foot bone is broken and so he called for a nurse to come over and wrap plaster bandage on Stephan's hind horse leg, and then a nurse which was an adult Earth pony mare came to the room with some plaster bandages and she started to wrap them slowly and carefully around the lower part of Stephan's left hind horse leg, but first she got them wet so they can become within the first 24 hours a plaster cast on Stephan's left hind horse leg, and that will help his broken foot bone heal and recover from the leg trauma.

Then, after the process of dealing with Stephan's broken left hind horseleg was done, all the nurses need to do is to treat the rest of the injuries on Stephan and the twins' bodies, and after doing so by cleaning the injuries and the bruises and stopping them from bleeding and then dressing all the wounds so to prevent any of them from getting infected, the nurses were approached by Chloe and Aylene who then asked them how Stephan and the twins were all doing in their room, and one of the nurses said "They're all doing fine, and despite we didn't helped, cured and/or healed any centaurs before, we're still happy to give it a try on Stephan and the twins, and they all seems to be fine, and they're going to stay here for the next two months until Stephan's broken hind leg completely heals from the leg trauma.", and then the other nurse said "We promise you both that your centaur friend here and his little twin siblings will have here the lots of help and comfort they need to heal completely. We all promise.".

When Chloe and Aylene heard what the nurses said about Stephan and the twins, they thanked them and then they turned to go back to all their friends and allies to tell them the good news about Stephan and the twins, and when everypony and every creature were told about the good news, they all cheered as they hoped that one day, Stephan and the twins will show all of Equestria that not all centaurs are bad and evil like Lord Tirek. For now, Stephan and his twin baby siblings, Andy and Zoey, were all enjoying relaxing and healing from their injuries, bruises and broken left hind horse leg in Ponyville Hospital.


	50. Chapter 49:the princesses meet Stephan

A full month have passed since Stephan and the twins were taken to Ponyville Hospital by their friends and new allies, and right now, Andy and Zoey the twins both fully recovered as all their injuries and bruises their father gave them have healed, but as for Stephan, his left hind horse leg is still broken, but the good news about this is that his leg is actually in the middle of healing and recovering from the leg trauma, and he'll be ready to get up and leave the hospital within the next month, and his twin baby siblings, Andy and Zoey, stayed by his side as they wanted to stay in the hospital until their older brother's left hind horse leg completely heals, and then they can leave the hospital all together.

It was also almost 48 months (almost 4 years) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also almost 36 months (almost 3 years) since Aylene became her beloved sister, and as for them, they go to the hospital to visit Stephan and the twins three times a day, which makes the centaurs and especially Stephan himself bery happy to know that they're loved by someone or more who really do understand their pain their own father have given them before.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Celestia and Luna were planning to make a special party for Chloe and Aylene to dedicate the day which was exactly 4 years since the day Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and was also exactly 3 years since the day she and Aylene became inseparable sisters, and they're also planning to go to Ponyville Hospital to meet Stephan and the twins and see the good centaurs for themselves and maybe even hear from them about their life story before they met Chloe and Aylene.

While Stephan is still healing in the hospital, Twilight Sparkle is trying to find a magical spell that will help speed up the rest of the time left for Stephan's leg to heal completely from the leg trauma so he can be a special guest in the special party that Celestia and Luna were planning for Chloe and Aylene, and after searching in some of her books about a very quick and easy way to heal Stephan's leg in almost no time, she finally found a magical healing spell that can heal and repair and fix broken bones back to work and so after she tried to use it on some injured forest animals which also hve gotten their legs broken in the Everfree Forest, it came out successful after a few failed attempts, and so she went to Ponyville Hospital to use her new magical healing spell on Stephan's broken and injured leg.

When Twilight arrived at the hospital, she made her way to Stephan and the twins' room, and she found them with Chloe and Aylene by their sides, and then she lit up her horn in a meganta aura and said to Stephan "Don't move, Stephan. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to heal your leg so you can finally get up and walk again, okay?", and Stephan said "Okay then, I'll just stay still and not move until you finish healing me.", and then Twilight used her magic to get a hold on Stephan and then she started to lift him up from his bed and then she started to use the magical healing spell to heal his left hind horse leg completely, and once she's done, she gently placed him back down on his bed and waited for him to try to get out of his bed and start to walk, but at first, nothing happened yet as Stephan just sat down still on his bed, but after ten minutes, Stephan slowly started to move his left hind horse leg and he felt no pain at all, proving that the magical healing spell successfully healed his leg, and then he slowly started to get off his bed and he started to slowly walk up to Twilight, and then he said to her "Thank you for healing my leg, Twilight. You're a good and powerful mare indeed.", and then he stretched his human arms and hands and then he grabbed Twilight and pulled her close to his chest and then he hugged her for helping him and for healing his leg, much to Chloe, Aylene and the twins' happiness as they watched Stephan forming a friendship bond with Twilight for healing him.

Just then, two nurses came to Stephan and the twins' room to see how they're doing and this is when Stephan said to them he and the twins were all ready to leave the hospital because Twilight managed to heal his leg completely, and then Twilight explained that she used a magical healing spell on Stephan's leg which healed it completely, and with the explanation being told, the nurses finally allowed Stephan and the twins to leave the hospital, and so they left with Chloe, Aylene and Twilight and went to the Castle of Friendship to meet Twilight's friends again and show and explain to them how Twilight successfully managed to heal Stephan's leg and help him get up and walk again thanks to the new magical healing spell she found and used on injured animals who broke their legs before to test it on them and how it came out successful after only a few failed attempts.

Then, after telling Twilight's friends of the magical healing spell's success in healing Stephan's left hind horse leg completely, Shujaa and two royal guards from the royal castle suddenly came and asked if Stephan and twins are here, and when they saw Stephan and the twins with Chloe, Aylene and the mane seven, Shujaa said to them "You must come with us to the royal castle right now.", and then one of the royal guards said "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wants to meet the good centaurs and learn everything they need to know about them.", and Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, the twins and the mane seven all accepted coming with Shujaa and with the two royal guards to the royal castle to meet Celestia and Luna and to introduce Stephan and the twins to them.

Upon arriving at the royal castle, the other royal guards let everypony and the three good centaurs to enter and go to the throne room so they can see Celestia and Luna, and upon reaching and arriving at the throne room, they all met Celestia and Luna, but then Celestia asked "Where are these three good centaurs whom you befriended?", and then Luna added "We already went to the hospital to meet them, but they've already left.", and Chloe answered and explained "They're with us, and it's because Twilight successfully managed to use a magical healing spell on our new best friend, Stephan, which managed to heal his broken hind leg from the leg trauma completely.", and then Celestia asked "If a princess may ask, can I please see that good centaur who is Chloe and Aylene's new best friend?", and Twilight said "Of course! Stephan would like to meet you!", and then she said to Stephan who hid most of himself behind Twilight's friends "Come out now, Stephan! The princesses wants to meet you!".

Then, Stephan came out from behind Twilight's friends and he showed himself to Celestia and Luna before he stepped forward until he stopped in front of the Alicorn princesses with a gap of 30 feet between them, and just how young and handsome Stephan looked like for a very young centaur made Celestia and Luna amazed as they looked at his eyes, his hair and his handsome, though still preadolescent, face. Then, Celestia descended from her throne and went to meet Stephan from a more closer look with Luna folowing her close behind as she too descended from her own throne after her older sister to meet the young centaur.

Then, Stephan lowered and bowed down in front of Celestia and Luna and then he said "It is both a pleasure and a great honor for me to meet you, princesses.", but then Celestia said to him "Thank you, but you don't have to be formal with us.", and then Stephan asked "Then may I shake your hooves, princesses?", and then he stretched his right human arm and hand for them to shake their hooves, and so Celestia was the first to give her hoof to him and then he touched and shook her hoof with his hand, before Luna was next to do the same thing.

Then, after shaking hooves with Stephan's hands, Luna said to him "So you must be Stephan the good centaur whom Chloe and Aylene told us about, don't you?", and Stephan nodded and said "In fact, yes I am, but I'm not only a friend of theirs, because actually I'm their new best friend after I saved their lives twice before and after we met each other - once from Yigal and from his evil brothers and their Pegasus friend, and the other from Akeno the male okapi who abused your daughters.", but then Chloe interrupted them and then she said "Mother Celestia made sure that Akeno is banished forever from Asha's family!", and when Stephan heard that, he turned to Chloe and he asked "Really?", and then Aylene cried "Yes! Yes! She and Father Thorax taught this long-necked racist guy who hates both humans and ponies so much a big good lesson for what he did to us after we saved you and your twin baby siblings in return for saving our lives!".

Then, Stephan gave a small chuckle before he said "Well, he really deserved that.", and then Celestia said and asked him "Anyway, Stephan, if a princess may ask, can you tell us about yourself?", and Stephan said "Sure.", and then he started to tell Celestia and Luna a lot of things about himself that happened to him when he was young, which it's long before he met Chloe and Aylene and became their new best friend, but after telling all the good things that happened to him in his life, he knew it was the time for himself to tell everything bad that have happened to him during his life as well.

Then, when Celestia and Luna asked him to tell more about his life, Stephan started to tell about bad thing that happened to him during his life, starting with his own father forcing him against his will to avenge Lord Tirek's evilness, to him being berated for his kindness by his father, to him being hated by his father for defending and protecting non-centaurs, to the saddest thing that have ever happened in his life - when he and the twins lost their good and kind mother when a large male Beartaur attacked and killed her, when the twins had just learned to trot and gallop, right in front of their eyes.

Then, when Stephan finished telling about his mother's death, Celestia, Luna and the mane seven all shed tears to know the truth about Stephan's family which now have just a father and three children with no mother to care for them, leaving the father to care for Stephan and for the twins, though he's actually mean and abusive to them, and especially to Stephan himself. Then, Celestia and Luna heard the crying and wailing sounds of two babies, and when the two princesses moved their head and necks to look behind Stephan and at Chloe, Aylene and the mane seven, they both saw Andy and Zoey crying and wailing because of Stephan's reminding about their mother's death, and so Celestia asked "Stephan, who are these little ones?", and then Stephan turned back to Andy and Zoey and then he said "These are my beloved twin baby siblings, Andy and Zoey.", and then Luna asked "And why are they crying and wailing like this?", and Stephan said "I guess it's because they heard me telling you about our mother's death, and they probably want to see her again, just like I do want to see my good and kind mother again, but since she died, we can't, and this makes me responsible for them instead of her.".

Then, Celestia and Luna slowly approached the little baby centaurs, but when they saw the two tall Alicorn princesses towering over them, the two little centaurs stopped crying and wailing, but then they hugged each other tightly and then they started to shake in fear as they both believed that Celestia and Luna will try to hurt them if they do anything that would look bad in their eyes, just like they feared they very own father when they tried to do something and he always shouted and yelled at them, even if they only did just a tiny mistake.

Then, Celestia lowered down onto her haunches and then she stretched a foreleg and hoof to touch the little baby centaurs and then she said to them kindly in the softest of voices "Shhhh, don't be scared of me and of my sister. We won't do you any harm, we promise.", and then she started to gently stroke Andy and Zoey's upper human backs with her forehoof to get them to trust her, and when the little baby centaurs felt how kindly and gently Celestia is touching and stroking them, this is when they stopped shaking in fear and then they slowly turned to look up and see the kind and motherly-looking smile on Celestia's face as they also looked into her eyes and saw she's not a dangerous threat to them at all, before Luna also lowered down onto her haunches next to Celestia and then she spoke up and said kindly in the softest of voices "We won't do to you any harm, little ones. We're not dangerous monsters and we don't threaten young creatures either. You're definitely safe around and with us. We promise.", and then she stretched out her foreleg and hoof and then she used her forehoof to gently stroke the centaur twins and look at them in the eyes and show them that she's not a dangerous threat to them, and after Andy and Zoey started to trust and like the two Alicorn princesses, Stephan shed tears of joy as he saw the new bond between his twin baby siblings and Celestia and Luna, and he took it in a good and positive way in which he believed that the twins were seeing good and caring mothers in both Celestia and Luna, and that's exactly how Stephan also feels because when he looked at Celestia and Luna, he saw their kind, caring and motherly nature to orphans, but he saw the most of this in Celestia, as she's the most kind, caring and motherly out of the two, even more than her younger sister, Luna.

However, just then, the good moments were all interrupted when a new foe with a mad and racism attitude suddenly appeared as he made his way to the throne room, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan knew who he is, as well as Celestia and Luna also knew him very well - it was Akeno, and behind him, there are his four baboons whom are all following his lead as they entered the throne room and faced Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, the twins, the mane seven and the princesses.

When Celestia and Luna looked at Akeno, their eyes widened in shock but also in anger, while Chloe and Aylene stepped aback, the mane seven were all ready to fight the intruder, Stephan clenched his human hands into fists and the twins cowered in fear when they saw how scary and intimidating Akeno is making himself to look and to be in front of his enemies, as well as his four baboons were helping him to look more dangerous by standing by both of his sides to help and support him, two baboons by his left side and two others by his right side, thus showing the human, ponies and centaurs that they're all here to get their revenge on Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the princesses.

Then, Celestia asked Akeno as she lit her horn in a golden aura and she readied herself to blast at him "What do you want, Akeno? What are you even doing here?", and Akeno lied and said "I'm just here to visit some old friends of mine, that's all.", and then he took a few steps forward and then he added "And I see that you have here some new guests, such as these seven mares whom are all standing right there.", but then Celestia said to him with angry eyes "Go away, Akeno! Get out and don't come back!", but Akeno said "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's very rude for a princess like you to turn a guest away, 'darling'." he said in a rather mocking tone.

Then, Akeno looked down and saw Andy and Zoey cowering in fear at his presence, and then the adult male okapi said as he turned to look back at the princesses "And it seems that you have some new babies with you as well.", and then he asked "Can I hold one of them?", but then he gave Celestia and Luna an evil and malevolent smirk as he and his baboons started to get closer to them, and this caused Celestia to stand up on her hooves and then she said "No! You're not going to have these cute little innocent baby centaurs, you abusive monster!", and then Luna added as she too stood up on her own hooves "We're not giving Stephan's twin baby siblings to a wounded and scarred ungulate like you, Akeno! Do us all a favor and just go away and take your filthy baboons with you!".

However, Akeno and his baboons all just laughed evilly at what the princesses said to them, and then Akeno said "I wasn't even asking if I can have these baby centaurs or not! They're both coming with me so I can use them as live baits for Timberwolves and Crocophants!", and then two of Akeno's baboons bolted as fast as they could towards the princesses and the baby centaurs, but then Celestia used her magic to blast at the baboons, but when the attacking move was over, the results were that one of the baboons is blasted and killed by Celestia's magic, but the other dodged in time and managed to snatch and kidnap Andy all by himself and bring him to Akeno, and then Akeno laughed evilly before he said to his two other baboons to go get the other baby centaur for him, and so the two other baboons bolted towards the princesses and the only baby centaur left by their side, but then Luna used her magic to blast at the baboons, but when the attacking move was over, the results were that another baboon is blasted and killed by Luna's magic, but the last dodged in time and managed to snatch and kidnap Zoey all by himself and bring her too to Akeno, who then laughed evilly with his two remaining baboons, much to everypony's shock and horror to see that Akeno now has the advantage to abuse and torment both Andy and Zoey for fun.

Then, When Andy and Zoey tried to escape, Akeno restrained them by pinning them down by their lower horse backs to the floor with both of his forelegs and then he lowered his head and neck down to them and said and asked them evilly "Who wants to be beaten up first, you little half-hairless apes/half-stripeless zebras?", and then he added "If you want more than what I will give you, then I'd like to apply!" and then he laughed evilly as his two remaining baboons clenched their hands into fists and they're about to beat up Andy and Zoey for Akeno, but then Stephan cried "Stop! Leave my little siblings alone, you crazy monkeys!", but then baboons just ignored him as they're about to deliver a first blow to Andy and Zoey's faces, but before they can actually do the baby centaurs any harm, the totally unexpected happened.

A loud trumpeting roar was heard from coming from outside and after two minutes since the trumpeting roar was heard, Lin Raju the Mammophant finally entered the throne room, charging towards Akeno and his two remaining baboons, and then he managed to use his powerful trunk to slap, punch and knock Akeno out of the way, and in the process, Lin Raju accidentally tramples and kills a third baboon under his large and heavy legs and feet, thus leaving Akeno with just one baboon left, and also allowing Chloe and Aylene to quickly run and trot to the baby centaurs and take them back to the others, before Akeno managed to recover from the attack and get up on his feet and look at Lin Raju in the eyes, and then the male Mammophant trumpeted angrily at him and demanded him to leave the royal castle, but Akeno didn't listened, and not only he didn't listened to Lin Raju, but he also underestimated him and then his fourth and last remaining baboon climbed on his okapi master's back and then he blew an insulting raspberry at Lin Raju, thus making him even angrier as he stomped a forefoot on the floor and shook his head from side to side repeatedly to scare Akeno and his last baboon away.

However, Akeno and his last baboon stood their ground as they kept insulting and underestimating Lin Raju's lethal powers which are in fact not only his legs and feet, but were also his trunk, tusks, but most importantly - the weight of his entire head all at once when he places it down and presses hard on a human or an animal to break its bones with only his entire head, which actually weighed more than a half a ton (500 kilograms), which is also the same weight as a full grown adult T-rex's entire head.

Then, Lin Raju used his trunk to punch and slap the last baboon and knock him off Akeno's back, and when the baboon landed on the floor, he tried to run for his life, but then Lin Raju used his own gigantic and heavy head to smash the baboon, suffocate him and eventually kill him under the lethal weight of his entire head, thus leaving Akeno to face Lin Raju alone, and then the male okapi ran into the Mammophant and then he tried to bite at his left ear with his mouth and front teeth, but before he can do this, Lin Raju managed to grab at him with his trunk and then he started to wrap it around Akeno's neck in an attempt to choke him to death, but Akeno barely managed to bite down at Lin Raju's trunk, prompting the Mammophant to let go of him and then Akeno started to run away for his life as he finally left the royal castle, much to everypony's shock to see that Lin Raju actually came to help and even killed Akeno's evil baboons before chasing him away just a moment ago.

However, when Lin Raju saw everypony and every creature were all looking at him with shocked expressions, the male Mammophant also turned to go and he started to run away, but then Stephan called for him "Wait! Stop, please!", and when Lin Raju heard him calling for him, Lin Raju stopped for a brief moment and then he turned back to see Stephan approaching him, and then the young male cenatur said "I just want to say...thank you for saving my little siblings.", and when Lin Raju clearly understood what Stephan just said to him, the Mammophant just nodded in agreement once before he turned and then he continued to run away and then he left the throne room and the royal castle as well, and then he continued to run fast all the way back to the Everfree Forest.

Once Lin Raju was gone, Rainbow Dash asked in shock "What was that?", and then Applejack added "I never thought I would say that, but now I will - Ezra's weird-looking woolly elephant just saved Stephan's twin baby siblings' lives.", and then Rarity said "But I thought he was loyal to Ezra and was also following his orders.", but then Fluttershy said "Maybe he have some good inside him too.", and when she said that, all her friends and even the princesses turned to her in shock, before Pinkie Pie asked "What are you talking about, Fluttershy?", and then Twilight said "That is true that Shujaa have reformed, but I'm not sure if we should say the same on Ezra's weird-looking woolly elephant.", and then she added "He probably tried to save us for only this once, meaning that now he won't return to help us anymore.".

However, after they all decided not to talk about Lin Raju's random rescuing attempt for now, the mane seven turned to check on Stephan and on the twins to see if they're all doing fine, and much to their happiness, Stephan and the twins were all very happy to be back together, but then Stephan said "Now I think it's time for us to go back home, but I promise my little siblings and I we'll come to visit you all when we have a good time.", and then Chloe said to him "I understand you, Stephan. You and the twins can leave now, because if you won't go back home in time, your father will be angry at you again, wouldn't he?", and Stephan said "Yes, he will.", and then Aylene said "Goodbye, Stephan. You can come back to meet us all whenever you can.", and then Stephan said "Goodbye, Chloe. Goodbye, Aylene. Goodbye, Celestia and Luna. Goodbye, girls. Thank you all for what you've done for me and for my little siblings.", and then he and the twins turned and started to trot and run away and leave the throne room and the royal castle, and then Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and the princesses all called for them for a goodbye as well as they waved their hand and hooves for them, and once Stephan and the twins were all gone from sight, Celestia turned to Chloe and Aylene and then she said "What a real good friend Stephan is to you two. You both showed me, my sister and my dearest subjects that not all centaurs are like Lord Tirek, and you both accomplished that by showing us all that Stephan and the twins are indeed good proofs that tell both ponies and other creatures that there are good centaurs as well. I'm so proud of you two.", and then she and Luna pulled Chloe and Aylene into a tight and loving family hug, while the mane seven were all watching the beautiful moment between all four of them, before Twilight interrupted them when she said "It's time for us to go back to our homes too.", and then she added and said "Goodbye, Chloe and Aylene, and goodbye for you too, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.", and when Chloe, Aylene, Celestia and Luna broke their family hug and turned to the mane seven, they all said goodbye for them when the seven mares all turned to go and then they all left the throne room and the royal castle.

When evening came, Chloe and Aylene ate their dinner, and once they finished, they went to their bedroom, bed before they fell asleep in their bed, Chloe said inside her mind _"Stephan, I hope that one day, you, Aylene and I will be living here all together, and your little siblings will also have here the perfect place you all really need to call home."_ , and then she and Aylene yawned and then they both closed their eyes and they finally fell asleep in their bed.


	51. Chapter 50:the great celebration

There are only three days before the day that will mark 4 years since Chloe's arrival in Equestria which was also the day that will mark 3 years since Aylene became her beloved sister, and Celestia and Luna are now still planning to make a great celebration for both Chloe and Aylene, but this is also a good chance for them to show and introduce Stephan and the twins to everypony and every creature whom are all going to attend and be part of the great celebration, and this will also show them all that there are indeed good centaurs in Equestria and not only just evil ones.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Aylene are both enjoying having fun and playing with their friends together, now including Stephan and the twins among them, but Shujaa also joined the, all sometimes in case Lysander, Sayla or Akeno will come out of nowhere and attack them all for revenge, but for some reason, Akeno doesn't shows himself anywhere around since his failed attempt to harm Andy and Zoey and since the deaths of his baboons, but Shujaa suspected that Akeno is probably up to something really bad due to his total disappearance.

The following day, while Celestia and Luna were still planning the great celebration for Chloe and Aylene, Shujaa went alone to search for Akeno and see what he's really up to, and upon entering the Everfree Forest, he kept his eyes open wide enough to keep on the lookout as he searched for any tracks of the adult male okapi, and after searching everywhere in the Everfree Forest for a full hour, Shujaa finally found the trail of Akeno's even-toed hoofprints and then he started to follow it so he can find Akeno, but after following Akeno's trail for a while, Shujaa ended up in the front of the opening of a large cave.

Shujaa had to choose between entering and going inside the cave or just returning back to the royal castle empty-handed, and after struggling to choose for a minute, Shujaa finally made it up in his mind and he chose to go into the cave and continue searching for Akeno inside it, and so Shujaa entered the large cave and then he continued his search for Akeno, and after following Akeno's trail's in the darkness, Shujaa finally got another sign that proved that he's getting warm - he heard some evil laughs as well as jackals growling and snarling, and so he followed the voices and noises until he finally found Akeno, but much to his shock, the adult male okapi wasn't alone - Lysander, Sayla and their pack of jackals were all there with him, and the jackals' pack now consists of 15 jackals instead of just five (because the crocodile and the gorilla managed to find and recruit a pack of 10 jackals and merge them together with their own five jackals, thus turning them all into a big pack of 15 jackals).

Then, Shujaa heard Akeno suddenly talking to Lysander and Sayla and then the adult male okapi said "I see I'm not only animal here who hates these hairless ape girl and her stripeless zebra with the chicken wings!", and then Lysander asked him "Are you talking about Chloe and Aylene whom we both hate so much?", and then Sayla added and asked "Who are you?", and Akeno said "I'm Akeno, and I was once part of Asha's family until she banished me because of those hairless ape girl and her chicken-winged stripeless zebra friend!", and then Sayla said to him "No wonder why you hate them as well, and you're kinda hard and crashing madly on them, just like a rock!", and then she let out an evil chuckle, before Lysander asked him "Did you fought these two before?", and Akeno answered "Well, in fact, yes I did, but these two managed to stand up against me and they even gave me a double kick to my crotch and then they slapped a 6 across my handsome face!", and then he said as he trembled in anger "These two will pay for underestimating adult male animals like me!".

Then, Lysander said to him "Anyway, I'm Lysander.", and then Sayla added "And I'm Sayla.", and then Akeno said to them "You both truly have such good names for villains, I have to admit it.", but all three of them didn't know and were all unaware that Shujaa is listening to their villain conversations, and when Shujaa slowly backed away to avoid being heard, found or detected, the three animal villains were all still talking to each other as they didn't heard Shujaa trying to sneak out of the cave behind their backs so he can inform everypony and every creature about Akeno is joining forces with Lysander and Sayla so the three villainous animals can work all together to finish Chloe and Aylene once and for all as part of their shared revenge.

Shujaa tried his best to sneak behind the three villainous animals' backs without getting detected and captured, and after sneaking inside the cave for a while, Shujaa finally managed to find the exit and leave the large cave without being detected and captured by Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and their 15 jackals, and once he's out of the cave, Shujaa started to run and bolt his way out of the Everfree Forest as fast as he could to get back to Canterlot and to the royal castle, and after running and bolting for a while, Shujaa finally slowed down as he found himself out of the Everfree Forest and back in the meadow instead, and the meadow was only a bit far away from Ponyville, to which he ran to next, and then he continued all the way back to Canterlot, and upon arriving back in Canterlot, Shujaa finally started to walk slowly and normally instead of running fast as he slowly made his way back to the royal castle, and when he finally reached and arrived at the royal castle, Shujaa entered and went inside to inform Celestia and Luna about Akeno is joining forces with Lysander and Sayla so the three can get their shared revenge on Chloe and Aylene and finish them once and for all.

However, despite Shujaa tried to tell Celestia snd Luna about Akeno's joining forces with Lysander and Sayla, the princesses didn't listened to him at all because if them still busy planningthe great celebration for Chloe and Aylene, much to Shujaa's disappointment. Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends all played and enjoyed fun together, but none of them knows what upcoming threat is coming for all of them, especially for Chloe, Aylene, but also for Stephan as well.

The following day, Celestia and Luna finally started to prepare everything they need for the great celebration for Chloe and Aylene to come out as a huge success that will spark a very happy memory in Chloe and Aylene's minds unlike anything very-very good they've never seen before, and with the help of the mane seven, Spike, Thorax, Pharynx, Discord, Trixie, other ponies from Ponyville and Canterlot and the changelings from the changeling kingdom, they're all ready to do all the preparations for the upcoming great celebration to come, and all the extremely hard work will last for the next two days until the great celebration really begins.

For the next two days, everypony and every creature all prepared everything for the great celebration all together, but what they all didn't know is that three known animal villains whom are all now working together after they joined forces will come to destroy Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once and for all, and these three were none other than Lysander the crocodile, Sayla the gorilla, and their new partner and friend who joined forces with them - Akeno the okapi.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends were all having fun and they're all enjoying playing together, but after playing a lot, they all found themselves somehow lost in the Everfree Forest. Then, they searched together for the way out of the forest, but then they all got suddenly surrounded and attacked by the 15 jackals, but as it looked like things were going to end up very bad for Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and all their friends, the unlikely and unimaginable savior which none of them expected to come actually came in time to save them all, and in the process he killed four of the jackals with his sheer size, causing the 11 other jackals to retreat and run away for their lives, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all already knew who he is - it was Lin Raju.

Then, Lin Raju trumpeted and roared once before he shook and moved his head three times for everypony and every creature to realize that he wants them all to follow him, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan managed persuade their friends that they should trust the Mammophant for once as he knew exactly the way out of the Everfree Forest, and when their friends all listened to them, they all started to follow Lin Raju until they ended up finding their way out of the Everfree Forest, thanks to Lin Raju's help, before they all said goodbye to him as they got out and left the Everfree Forest, and Lin Raju then turned and walked back into the forest.

When all the preparations for the upcoming great celebration were all done and completed, it was now today the day which marks 4 years since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it also marks 3 years since she and Aylene became sisters for life, and when evening came, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all returned back to the royal castle, and when they entered and went inside, and they're greeted by Twilight Sparkle who then took them all with her and led them all to the Grand Galloping Gala ballroom, and when she let and allowed Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to open the doors to the ballroom together, the three opened the doors together as they're all given the honor to do that single job, and when the doors were wide open, they saw lots of ponies and changelings everywhere, and then they all shouted "SURPRISE!", and then Chloe asked "Surprise for what?", and then she pointed out "It's not yet the time for my 13th birthday.", but then Celestia came forwards and said "We all know it's not your birthday, Chloe, but this is a celebration party to celebrate 4 years since the day you first arrived in Equestria!", and then Luna added "And it's also 3 years since the day you and Aylene officially became sisters for life!", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what their mother and aunt said, the two started to cry tears of joy to know that the both of them were respected, dedicated and loved by everypony and every creature who also love them for the most, before Pinkie Pie shouted out loud happily "LET'S HAVE A GREAT CELEBRATION PARTY!", and then everypony and every creature all cheered happily for her, before they all started to celebrate for Chloe and Aylene.

Chloe and Aylene liked everything in the great celebration party, and Stephan was also the same way as he too liked everything in the celebration party, but when everypony and all the changelings spotted him, an Earth pony mare cried "Ahh! A centaur! Get away!", and then the ponies and the changelings stayed away from Stephan upon seeing and noticing him, but then Celestia and Luna stepped forward and then Celestia said to the mixed crowd of both ponies and changelings "It's okay, every creature! There's no reason for you all to be afraid of this centaur!", and then Luna added and explained "This centaurs means no harm to any of you! In fact, he uses magic for good purposes such as healing, which proves that he's a good centaur! And if that wasn't enough, he even defended Chloe and Aylene from a vicious and rasicm adult male okapi whose name is Akeno who hates both all humans and all of us ponies over just two incidents each of our kinds have done to his kind before!", and then Celestia said "He couldn't let go of his hatred to both humans and us ponies and that turned him into a vicious beast who is the same as Lysander and Sayla!", and then Luna added "Please, accept this young and kind centaur after what he and his twin baby siblings have all been throughout the years! He saved our Chloe and Aylene twice and became their new best friend, and ever since then, he became more and more inseparable from them, which my sister and I truly suppose and believe it's a good thing, because if he can use his magic to heal other creatures, then maybe one day he and his twin baby siblings will be living with us ponies in peace and harmony!".

When Stephan heard everything from what Celestia and Luna said about him, Stephan burst into tears of joy to know that he and his twin baby siblings were all accepted to live with ponykind, before he calmed himself down and said to Celestia and Luna "Thank you, princesses.", and then he turned to everypony and every creature and then he introduced himself and said "Hi there, everyone! I'm Chloe and Aylene new best friend who is now almost inseparable from them! My name is Stephan, and I have twin baby siblings whose names were Andy and Zoey, and we all truly like making new friends and enjoying having fun with them!", but then he quickly added and said "But our lives weren't as easy as it seems, because we have a cruel father who wants us and especially me to become his revenge soldiers to avenge Lord Tirek's evilness! But we also had a good, kind and caring mother who completed managed to make good centaurs out of us, much to our father's displeasure, because he saw mother as an obstacle to his plans to make us his revenge soldiers to avenge Lord Tirek's evilness! And when our mother got killed by a ferocious male Beartaur, our father tried to twist us into becoming bad centaurs, but luckily for us, he always failed in every one of his wicked attempts, so he had no choice but to beat us and he even broke my hind leg out of anger!", and then he continued and said "But luckily, Chloe, Aylene and their friends found us and they carried us to Ponyville to get us to its local hospital so we can heal from our injuries and bruises that our father gave us as a punishment for us not oebying him and always following mother's good, kind and caring ways! Thanks to Twilight, however, my hind leg healed faster and earlier than I expected, and it's also because she used a magical healing spell on my hind leg to speed the rest of the time left for it to heal completely, and I'm so happy and grateful!".

Then, Chloe and Aylene stepped forward and then they both stopped by both of Stephan's sides and then they pleaded from the mixed crowd of both ponies and changelings to accept Stephan, but for two minutes, they all just stood all around in silence, but then the silence broke when Thorax and Pharynx stepped forward and gave their hooved to Stephan so he can shake their hooves with his arms and hands, and once he did so, Thorax gave him a warm smile and said to him "I truly like you for being an almost inseparable best friend to my daughters, Stephan.", and then Pharynx also gave the young centaur a warm smile as well before he added "If my brother truly accepts you as an ally, and so do I.", and then Thorax and Pharynx turned back to the rest of their changelings and then Thorax said to all of them "Do not fear this centaur, my subjects! He's not dangerous and he won't attack any of you!", and then Pharynx added "And since he told us all that he's almost inseparable best friends with Chloe and Aylene, then we accept him too as our ally!", and when all the changelings heard what their two kings just said, they all accepted Stephan and the twins just like everypony just already did, and this made Stephan very happy, before everyone resumed the great celebration party after they all got to know Stephan and his good, kind and caring side which he picked up and carried for the rest of his life from his mother.

Then, Cadance and Shining Armor, as well as their little daughter, Flurry Heart, who all came to Canterlot after they all heard about Stephan from Celestia and Luna, approached Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the twins, and then they all turned to meet the royal Unicorn stallion and his wife and daughter, and then Chloe said to Stephan "Stephan, meet our Uncle Shining Armor!", and then Aylene said to Shining Armor "Uncle Shining Armor, this is Stephan the good centaur who is our new best friend who is almost inseparable from us!", and then Stephan spoke up and said "It's nice to meet you, Prince Shining Armor!", and the royal Unicorn Stallion said to him back "Thank you, Stephan, but you don't have to call me like that. You can just call me Shining, and by the way, it's nice to meet you too.", and then he gave his hoof to Stephan to allow him to shake his hoof, and so Stephan willingly lowered himself a bit and gave his arm and hand to shake Shining's hoof, and after shaking his hoof with his hand, it was now Cadance's turn to talk and speak to Stephan and to introduce herself to him.

Then, Cadance approached close to Stephan and then she said to him "Hi, Stephan! Let me introduce myself to you! I'm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can just call me Cadance! And I'm also Shining Armor's wife!", and Stephan said back to her after hearing what she said "It's nice to meet you too, Cadance! You and your husband were both so nice and kind, unlike my own father who mistreats me and my little siblings so much because he wants us to be evil against out own will!", and this made Cadance gasp in shock before she asked "Really? Is your father really that bad?", and Stephan said "I'm afraid so, because this is the truth, but we don't want to be like him, or like that monstrosity who is also known to all of Equestria as Lord Tirek!", and then Cadance said to him "This is terrible! I can't believe your own father would treat you so badly!", and Stephan said "I hope that one day, my little siblings and I we'll all find a good place to live here with your kind so father can no longer cause us any more harm!".

Then, Andy and Zoey suddenly walked up and stopped by Stephan's left side, and when Shining Armor and Cadance saw and noticed them, Cadance asked Stephan "These are your little siblings?", and Stephan said "That's correct! They're both kind just like me and they also like to play and have fun with others! Their names were Andy and Zoey, and they're also twins!" and then Cadance said "Awww, they're so cute!", and then she asked "Will they like me?", and Stephan said "Sure they will, and they will like Shining too, because you're both look beautiful and handsome and you both also have big hearts with lots of room to care for others!".

Then, Cadance lowered down a bit and then she said to them "Hi, Andy and Zoey! You two are good little cuties! I really like you and your older brother, Stephan, and so my husband surely likes you too!", and then she added "Now listen to me, if somepony tries to bother or tries to be mean to you, you just come to good kind Cadance or to Shining and we will take care of him/her or them for you.", and then Andy and Zoey gave Cadance and Shining a single nod each before they giggled, but when they both saw Flurry Heart on Cadance's back, they started to make happy baby noises as they also pointed and tried to reach with their arms and hands to Flurry Heart, who then looked down and saw and noticed them looking up at her, and then the young Alicorn flew down to meet them from a closer look, and then she asked them as she now talked much more properly for a filly around her own age "Hello there, who are you two?", and then Stephan lowered down onto his horse haunches and this made Flurry Heart to say "Oh, so they're yours, I'm sorry.", but then Stephan said to her "It's okay, I won't hurt you. These little ones were my little siblings. Their names were Andy and Zoey, and they're twins.", and then he finished and said "And they also like to make friends with other creatures and play with them and have fun with them, just like I always do.", and then Flurry looked back at the little centaur twins before she asked "Do you wanna play with me?", and they both nodded as they giggled and approached a bit closer to look at her horns and wings from a closer look, and then Flurry said "So, you both like my horn and my wings, don't you?", and then she added and explained "Well, just like my mother, I'm an Alicorn. That's exactly why I have both a horn and a couple of wings.", and then she said to them "Now let's go and have some fun together.", and then she started to fly and Andy and Zoey started to chase after her from below as they trotted after her on the floor since they can't and don't fly because they don't have wings like Flurry have.

When Stephan saw Flurry Heart having fun with the twins, he then turned to Shining and Cadance and then he asked them "Excuse me but I still must ask, who is that little filly who is playing with my little siblings?", and then Cadance answered "That was Flurry Heart, and she's our little daughter.", and when Stephan turned and looked at her again for a moment, he then said "She's beautiful, and she also looks very kind to other youngsters as well. I hope one day my little Andy and Zoey will become very close and good friends with your daughter, just as I'm an almost inseparable best friends with Chloe and Aylene.", and when Cadance heard what the almost-teenage centaur just said about the idea of having her daughter becoming a best friend of Andy and Zoey, she had tears of joy forming in her eyes before she said to Stephan "Oh, Stephan! Thank you so much for accepting our precious daughter as a best friend of your little siblings!", and then Shining Armor added "We'd like our little Flurry to make new friends with non-ponies and have so much fun with them too and play with them a lot as well!", and when Stephan heard what the royal Unicorn stallion and his Alicorn wife both said to him, the young male centaur had tears of joy forming in his own eyes before he said back to them "Thank you so much.".

Meanwhile, however, Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and their 11 jackals have all arrived in Canterlot to exact their revenge on Chloe, Aylene and even Stephan, and now they're all making their way to the royal castle, and upon finally arriving there, they all started to search for a way to get inside without being spotted by Shujaa or the royal guards. Eventually, they all found a way in when Lysander and Sayla worked together and used their magic to quietly remove one of the windows, and then they, Akeno and the jackals all started to climb up and go through the hole where the window used to be until they removed it out of its place to get inside the royal castle without being spotted, and once they're all inside the royal castle, the three animal villains and their 11 minions all started to search for the Grand Galloping Gala ballroom while they're all sneaking their way inside the royal castle to prevent anypony or any creature from hearing them and also to prevent their evil plans from getting ruined.

When the villainous animals all finally reached to the doors which led to the Grand Galloping Gala ballroom, they all planned to quickly burst through the doors and then charge, attack and cause havoc and chaos when it's the right time, and when they said 'Now!' all together, this is when they quickly burst through the doors and then Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and their jackals all ran in and then they all started to charge and attack everypony and every creature, causing them all to run, trot and/or fly as they're all screaming and panicking all over the ballroom.

Then, Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all started to search for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and they managed to find all three of them with Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and the mane seven, but then they're all distracted by something else which they decided to take down instead, which was in that case - Flurry Heart, and they also saw Andy and Zoey with her, so they decided to capture all three of them so they can use them to get Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and after charging and running through the mixed crowd of both ponies and changelings, the three evil animals all managed to jump up into the air and catch Flurry Heart first, and then they landed in front of Andy and Zoey and they to catch them both too by pinning them and then Flurry to the floor with each of their forelegs, causing the three youngsters to start to cry as they all struggled to escape from the crocodile, gorilla and okapi's grips, but to no avail.

When Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their family, friends and allies saw Flurry, Andy and Zoey all trapped under Lysander, Sayla and Akeno's feet, Cadance cried "Flurry, no!", and then Stephan also cried "Let her and my little siblings go!", and then Celestia angrily said to the three evil animals "Lysander, Sayla, Akeno, how dare you?! Stop this at once this instant!", and this made the three animal villains shocked at first, but then they gave her and everypony else as well as every creature a trio of evil smirks, before Luna yelled at them "How dare you do this to innocent foals and little non-ponies like the once you just caught?!", and then Thorax said and demanded "Let go of Flurry Heart and the baby centaurs right now! What you're doind now is inexcusable!", but then Akeno angrily shouted at him and at everypony and every creature in the faces "SHUT UP YOUR MOUTHS! I'M THE KING OF THE OKAPIS WHO STILL LIVE IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA!", thus shocking all the ponies and the changelings, and some of them even trembled in a bit of fear at Akeno's outburst.

Then, Akeno took a deep breath to calm himself down, though he still spoke up in a bit angry tone "These three stupid youngsters were going to nowhere but to the afterlife!", and this shocked Cadance and angered Shining Armor, who then demanded Akeno to let go of both Flurry and the baby centaurs and set them free, but then Akeno said back "Never I will let a filthy stripeless zebra with both a pair of chicken wings and a horn, as well as her hairless ape/stripeless zebra hybrid friends go!", and then he added "In fact, I'm willing to kill them all in an act of revenge for what both no good humans like that girl and all of you filthy ponies have all done to my kind for thousands of years!".

Then, Pharynx asked him "What are you even talking about?", and then Akeno angrily said "Back on planet earth, there might be as much as 25,000 okapis, but here in Equestria, there are fewer than 100 okapis! And out of all these less than 100 okapis who live in Equestria, I'm one of them!", thus shocking everypony and every creature to know that in their world, okapis are classified as a Critically Endangered species. Then, Akeno said madly to everypony and every creature "Humans and ponies were nothing but killers! I saw what each of their kinds did to my family! They took the lives of my older brother and my only son away!", and then he said as he, Lysander and Sayla kept trapping Flurry Heart, Andy and Soey under their forelegs "Do you all wanna know what humans and dumb and cruel ponies like you do to us?!".

Then, the same terrible image that appeared in Akeno's mind before came back and showed humans and ponies working together and using both weapons and magic to shoot and kill both animals and other creatures and destroy them all into oblivion, before Akeno yelled in anger "Your kinds don't kill for food as Timberwolves and Crocophants do, your kinds kill for sport! FOR THE FUN OF IT!" Akeno shouted in pure anger as the humans and the ponies kept shooting and destroying every animal and every creature they saw in front of their eyes, before they all laughed evilly at what they've all already just done.

Then, Akeno said "All humans and ponies are the same as evil! Even these two!" and then he turned to look at both Chloe and Aylene with angry eyes, and then Lysander said "Face it, you fools! Humans and ponies have done nothing but trouble to other species on both Equestria and planet Earth, and some even gone extinct because of them!", and then Sayla said "That's right! There might be as much as 1,000 gorillas back on planet Earth, but if you humans and ponies keep messing up with our kind and species, then gorillas will be gone extinct in both worlds within less than just 10 years!". Then, the three villainous animals all turned to look down at the little Alicorn and baby centaurs, and then Akeno said to them "Even stupid little babies like you three will grow up to become full-grown killers, and that can destroy my species and make it completely extinct within less than just 5 years! But my friends and I we're going to fix everything, right here, right now!", and then he, Lysander and Sayla all shouted out loud in anger all together "WHEN YOU ALL DIE!", and then they're about to strike the three helpless youngsters they trapped under their forelegs, and this made Stephan, Cadance and Shining Armor to cry out loud all together "NOOOOOOOOO!".

However, just as thing were looking blackest, an unknown voice suddenly called to the three animal villains "Leave these babies alone!", and then when Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all turned their heads and looked up to the ceiling, a mysterious shadow suddenly came from above and then it swooped down at the three animal villains, and then the shadow kicked and bucked Akeno right in the face with its hind legs, causing Akeno to lose his balance and fall down aside and hit the floor, thus allowing Flurry Heart to escape and fly back to her parents, and she's then rewarded with a loving family hug from both Shining Armor and Cadance.

Then, the shadowed creature swooped down again and it bucked both Lysander and Sayla on the heads, causing them to scream in pain and fall down to the floor, thus allowing Andy and Zoey to trot and run back to their older brother, Stephan, who then hugged the both of them as tears of joy formed in the three centaurs' eyes. Then, when Akeno recovered and got back up on his feet, he asked angrily "Which of all of you did this to me?!", and then Lysander and Sayla also got back up and they said together "Ow, that hurts! Who did this?!", and then the unknown voice said "I did!", and when the three villainous animals all turned and looked up, they saw the shadowed creature flying above them, before it came to a stop when it slowly flew down until it landed safely on the floor in front of them, and then the shadowed creature cleared and turned out to be a centaur just like Stephan and the twins, but it wasn't a male centaur, and in fact - it was actually a female centaur (A.K.A a centauress), and she's around the same age as Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.

The centauress had a beautiful blonde hair and tail and a cute and beautiful face, and she also had blue eyes, white coat of fur on her lower horse body, but what made her beautiful for the most was her beautiful white bird wings she had on her lower horse back, and her appearance made Stephan to look at her in shock as he never saw a centauress around his age looking so lovely. Then, the young centauress turned to look at him and at his friend and allies before she said "Hi, everyone!", and then Celestia asked her in shock "You're a centaur with wings?!", and the young centauress nodded before she said "To make things to be cleared up to all of you, I'm a princess!", and then everypony and every creature all gasped in shock to know that the winged centauress who is standing in front of all of them is actually a princess.

"I'm Princess Bluebell, one of the future rulers of centaur kind.", said the young winged centauress, and then when she saw and gazed into Stephan's very young and yet handsome look and also into his eyes, she's shocked to see a young male centaur who is around her own age looking so handsome, before she slowly approached him and then she asked "What's your name?", and Stephan "Well, I'm Stephan. I'm the oldest of my siblings, and to tell you the truth, I'm the one who is carrying for my own siblings.", and when Princess Bluebell heard what Stephan just said, she asked him while in shock "Really? You're the one who is responsible for your own siblings?", and Stephan said "You can take a good look at my twin baby siblings, Andy and Zoey. They truly look up to me as I'm the one who is caring for them, and I'm also responsible for them for the most.", and when Princess Bluebell turned and looked down, she saw Andy and Zoey standing by both of Stephan's sides before the baby centaur twins slowly approached the winged centauress, and then Bluebell smiled at them before she lowered down onto her horse haunches to reach close to their eye level and then she said "Aww, they're so cute! They're just like you, Stephan!", and Stephan said as he too lowered down onto his horse haunches "Yes they are, and I'm truly proud to be their older brother, and I won't let anyone bad near them!", and then he added "However, I'm not the only one my little siblings are trusting today, my two best friends, Chloe and Aylene, also became good to their kind favor, just as I'm always here for them when they need me for the most!".

Then, Chloe and Aylene came towards the centaurs and then Chloe said "Hi there!", and Aylene added "You look so cool!", and Princess Bluebell said to them "Thank you.", and then she asked them "Are you Chloe and Aylene?", and the two answered "Of course we are!", and then just Chloe asked "And who are you?", and Princess Bluebell introduced herself and said "I'm Princess Bluebell, one of the future rulers of centaur kind.", and then Aylene said to her "I really like your beautiful wings! They're so beautiful!", and then Princess Bluebell said to her "You look beautiful too! So is your human friend, Chloe!", and when Chloe heard what the winged centauress just said, Chloe gave her a kind smile in return for being called beautiful by her.

However, Akeno suddenly yelled at them while looking at them with an angry face "Hey, you! Don't ever think my friends and I have all done with you yet! We'll take you and that half-hairless ape/half-stripeless zebra with the chicken wings to your doom!", and when Bluebell heard what the adult male okapi just said, she said as she got offended by his mad insult "How dare you speak to a princess like that! Don't you even know what is a centaur?", but then Akeno yelled her "Shut up your mouth! You're the second of your kind who said this stupid nonsense to me! My friends and I will finish you, the hairless ape girl and her stripeless zebra friend once and for all!".

Then, Akeno shouted in anger "CHARGE!", and so he, Lysander and Sayla all started to run towards Princess Bluebell, but she looked at all three of them with determination in her eyes as she knew what she must do to take them down. Then, when Lysander managed to run past Akeno and Sayla and he's about to strike at Princess Bluebell, she managed to grab tightly at his head and shut his snout with her human hands, and then she reared up on her hind horse legs and used her horse forelegs to grab around the crocodile's torso and then she tossed him into the air, and he ended up falling on the jackals, accidentally killing one in the process (and leaving only 10 jackals).

Then, Sayla was the second to strike as she managed to run past Akeno and then she jumped up and tried to strike at Princess Bluebell, but the winged centauress saw her in time, and so she managed to fly up and grab at the gorilla's wrists, and then she threw her at Lysander, and Syala ended up falling on the jackals as Lysander quickly managed to get out of the way in time, and that caused Sayla to accidentally strike and kill another jackal (and leaving only 9 jackals).

However, just then, Princess Bluebell is suddenly being pulled down, and when she looked down, she saw Akeno is pulling her down by her horse tail in an attempt to kill her for taking out his two friends, but then Stephan interfered by coming behind Akeno and then he turned tail and bucked him in the crotch, causing the okapi to scream in pain and let go of Princess Bluebell, and then the winged centauress managed to grab at Akeno's neck, and then she threw him at Lysander and Sayla, who managed to move out of the way, and this caused Akeno to accidentally kill a third jackal (and leaving only 8 jackals).

Then, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Shining Armor, Cadance, Twilight and Flurry Heart all lit up their horns and antlers and then they released together a multi-colored magic beam at Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and their 8 remaining jackals, and that magic beam was strong enough to blast the animal villains out of the royal castle, causing them all to retreat when they barely got up and started to run away and back to the Everfree Forest for their lives, and once they're all gone, everypony and every creature cheered for both Stephan and Bluebell for being able to take out Lysander, Sayla and Akeno.


	52. Chapter 51:Bluebell the centaur princess

When the great celebration for Chloe and Aylene was over, Celestia announced both Stephan and Princess Bluebell the two near-teenage centaurs as friends and allies to both ponykind and to all non-pony creatures who live in Equestria, and Chloe and Aylene were so happy for not only their best friend, but also for their potentially newest friend they just met who dared to face Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all by herself, though Stephan helped her deal only with Akeno, as Bluebell managed to take out both Lysander and Sayla all by herself.

Following the end of the great celebration, Princess Bluebell started to hang out with Stephan and with the twins, and she also acted like the mother figure Andy and zoey needed for the most since their real mother was killed by a Beartaur, and when Chloe and Aylene saw the bond forming between Stephan and Bluebell, they were both jealous at them at first, but then they slowly came to realize that Stephan and Bluebell need each other because both have proven to Equestria that they're good centaurs, and also because they might even become mates in the future, with the twins joining in to become the young uncle and aunt for their future children.

A week have passed since the great celebration for Chloe and Aylene took place and ended with Stephan and the new centauress, Princess Bluebell, becoming friends and allies to ponykind and to the changelings who live in Equestria, and Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell and the twins were all doing fine together, but one day, an adult male centaur suddenly appeared in Ponyville. The adult male centaur had grayish skin, the lower body of a black stallion and dark brown hair and tail which nearly matched the same color as his lower horse body, but he also had scary and intimidating features which are his demonic looks, and he also had a pair of a male Bighorn sheep's horns growing from the sides of his head, cloven hooves like an even-toed ungulate, and evil looking eyes which had yellow on the outside and red on the inside with a single pupil in each of them.

The demonic and evil looking centaur made his way through Ponyville and after a while, he finally reached and arrived in Canterlot, and then he said "I hope my disobedient son and my stupid little twins were all here in this disgusting place infested with so many ponies. When I find these three, I will take them all back home and make them, and especially Stephan, my obedient revenge soldiers.", and then he continued into Canterlot to search for Stephan and for the twins, and that demonic adult male centaur is none other than the worst centaur which Stephan and the twins all hate for the most - it was their own cruel and heartless father who always abused them and he's still willing to continue with his harsh doings. His name was Howard, and he's indeed Stephan and the twins' father, despite how he looked like compared to his own children and to Princess Bluebell.

When Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell and the twins came out of the royal castle to have some fun with their friends from Ponyville, they all encountered Howard the centaur, and when Stephan and the twins saw him, Stephan gasped in shock before he took a step back, and Andy and Zoey both hugged tightly onto both of their older brother's hind horse legs as they trembled in fear like a couple of leaves, while Chloe, Aylene and Princess Bluebell all looked up at the scary, intimidating and somewhat demonic centaur.

Then, Chloe asked the adult male centaur "Who are you?", and Howard said to her "I'm Stephan and the twins' father. My name is Howard, and I came all the way here to take them back home to where they belong.", but then Aylene flew up to look at him in the eyes and then she asked him "You're Stephan and the twins' father?", and Howard said "Yes I am, and I'm taking them back with me.", and then he added and said in a rather rude tone "Now get out of my way.", but then Chloe asked "Why are you being so rude?", and then Aylene added "Can't you be a little bit nice to us at least?", but then Howard said "No.", and when he turned and saw Stephan and the twins behind Chloe, Aylene and Bluebell, Howard said to them "My children, come now. We're going back home.", and then he approached close and grabbed Stephan by the wrist and then he said to him "Say goodbye to these Pegasus pony and human girl.", but then Chloe said "My name is Chloe, Mister.", and then Aylene added "And I'm Aylene.", but then Howard said to them "Whatever, and now my children and I we're going back home.", and then he forced Stephan to come with him by pulling him by his wrist, and Stephan no choice but to turn his head back to look at Chloe and Aylene one last time before he said to them "Goodbye, Chloe! Goodbye, Aylene! Thank you both for everything!", but then Howard pulled him by the wrist in a much more stronger force and he said to him "Shut up, son. We're going home.", as he took Stephan with him, and the twins followed them close behind as they parted away from Chloe, Aylene and Bluebell, who all just stayed behind and watched them all leaving together.

Then, Chloe and Aylene turned to Princess Bluebell, but when when they look at her beautiful face, they saw tears forming in her eyes of sadness forming in her eyes, before the tears began to roll down her eyes and then the young centauress started to cry, and Chloe and Aylene knew why she's crying like this - it's because she loves Stephan so much for being a good centaur, and also because she wanted to be his mate one day, but the obstacle that always prevented them from having each other as mates for the future was Howard (Stephan's father) who hated her so much for being the same as good as his own son, and he always kept himself between Stephan and young centauresses whom are all around Stephan's own age.

However, then Aylene flew up to look at Bluebell in the eyes, before she used her forehooves to wipe away the tears from her eyes and then she said to her "Go after him, it's okay.", and then Chloe added "We know how much you started to love each other for we know the both you are kind and caring for both yourselves and for others.", and when Princess Bluebell heard what they said before she saw Chloe and Aylene are both looking at her with reassuring smiles, this is when she said back "I'll keep in touch with you two. I promise.", and then Chloe said to her "We know you will. Now go.", and then Princess Bluebell said to them "Thank you both so much, and goodbye.", before she used her beautiful wings and then she flapped them up and down repeatedly as she started to fly up and leave Canterlot, and as she flew away to the horizon, Chloe and Aylene waved for her and called for her for a goodbye, and then she responded back by waving her own human arm and hand for them as she continued to fly to the horizon, and once Princess Bluebell was gone from sight, Chloe and Aylene returned back to the royal castle, but the two still hoped they will see the four good centaurs again someday.

A full month have passed Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to their new centaur friends, and it was now 49 months (4 years and one month) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 37 months (3 years and one month) since Aylene became her beloved sister, and the two decided to go together to the Everfree Forest to meet Stephan, Bluebell and the twins after not seeing any of them for the last month, and so the human girl and Pegasus pony went out of the royal castle and they went together to the Everfree Forest in hopes they'll meet their centaur friends when they get there, but Shujaa also followed them to see what they're up to.

Eventually, Chloe and Aylene arrived in the Everfree Forest and so they entered the forest to search for their centaur friends while also being unaware that Shujaa is following them too. In the Everfree Forest, Chloe and Aylene searched for Stephan, Bluebell and the twins, but even after searching almost everywhere, they still couldn't find them anywhere, until, however, a female scream was heard, and Chloe and Aylene knew who is screaming - that was Bluebell, and so the human girl and Pegasus pony followed in the direction where Bluebell's screams came from, and once they reached the right place, they found Bluebell, but much to their shock and horror, she's not alone - she's surrounded, attacked and threatened by two Beartaurs - an adult male and an adult female.

Princess Bluebell was unable to escape because the smaller adult Beartaur (which was the adult female) managed to trap her by pinning her down to the ground with all her four bear legs, and she also gave the perfect chance for the larger adult Beartaur (which was the adult male) to kill Bluebell, and then the male Beartaur reared up on its hind bear legs and he was about to maul down at Bluebell with both his human arms and hands and front bear legs and paws, and this caused Bluebell to close her eyes and wait for the male Beartaur to finish her off, but before the Beartaurs can end Bluebell's life, a male voice suddenly shouted at them from behind Chloe and Aylene "Leave that centauress alone!".

When Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell and the two Beartaurs heard the voice, they all turned their heads in the direction where the voice came from, and then Shujaa jumped out from behind the bushes which stood right behind Chloe and Aylene, and then he ran past the human girl and the Pegasus pony and then he jumped up and grabbed onto the male Beartaur's chest and torso, and then he started to punch and bite the massive giant, thus forcing the male Beartaur to fight him and take on him instead, but after five minutes of battling the massive giant, Shujaa managed to grab a sharp stone in his right hand and then he climbed up onto the male Beartaur's lower bear back, and when he reached up to the upper human back of the massive giant, Shujaa stabbed the male Beartaur in the back of head with the sharp stone in his right hand until the massive giant eventually collapsed and fell to the ground, dead and defeated.

Once the male Beartaur was killed, Shujaa then turned his attention to the female Beartaur, who then just stepped aback from before she just turned around and started to run away screaming and roaring like if she saw Shujaa as a ghost to her eyes because of his white and albino fur and body, and once the female Beartaur was gone from sight, Shujaa turned back to Chloe and Aylene and then he asked them "What are you doing here, girls?", and Chloe answered and explained "We went all the way here to search for Stephan and the twins, but all we found is just Bluebell instead.".

Then, Shujaa asked "Bluebell? Who is she?", and Aylene motioned with a forehoof to the winged centauress who sat down right behind him and then she said "She's the centauress who is just sitting down right behind you.", and when Shujaa turned back and noticed Bluebell sitting down behind him, he said "Oh, now I see.", and then Bluebell asked him "Um, excuse me? Who are you?", and Shujaa answered "I'm Shujaa, Gilad's former albino orangutan whom he randomly and accidentally dumped behind him, and now Chloe and Aylene's older brother and a royal guard back at the royal castle in Canterlot.", and then he added "It is my good pleasure to meet you too, Bluebell.".

Then, Aylene asked the winged centauress "What are you doing here all alone by yourself?", and then Bluebell answered and explained "I'm looking for Stephan and for the twins, same as you.", and then Chloe said "Well, we searched for them all almost everywhere in this forest, but we still can't find any of them anywhere.", and then Shujaa added "Well, I'm also very worried about these three. Who knows what have happened to them?", but then the four all heard a couple of baby voices squeaking before something started to move inside the bushes right behind them, and this made Shujaa turn his own hands into fists as he readied himself to attack what's about to come out from the bushes which stood right behind him and the girls.

However, much to his and to the girls' shock and surprise, Andy and Zoey suddenly came out from the bushes and they started to trot fast towards Shujaa and the girls, and this is when Shujaa let go his fists back into hands and then he started to walk up to the centaur twins to greet and welcome them again after not seeing them for a whole month, and once they got close enough, Andy and Zoey jumped up and hugged tightly onto Shujaa's chest, and so he quickly hugged them back as well by wrapping both of his arms and hands around their small bodies and then he said to them "It's good to see you two around again.", and then he asked them "Where's your older brother Stephan?".

However, when the twin baby centaurs heard what Shujaa just said when he asked them about their older brother, they dropped away their cute smiles they had on their happy faces, and then tears of sadness started to form and roll down their eyes, before the two baby centaurs started to cry together as they hugged and held tightly onto Shujaa's chest and torso, which surprises him and confuses the girls. Then, Bluebell stoop up and slowly approached Shujaa and the twins, and Chloe and Aylene followed in tow to see what's wrong, and when they got close enough, Bluebell sat down onto her horse haunches again and then she asked the twins with the softest of voices "What happened to you? Where's Stephan?", and when Andy and Zoey heard what she said, they slowly turned to look at her before they let go of Shujaa's chest and torso as they went up to Bluebell and hugged her instead as they continued to cry in sadness and pain, but then Bluebell gently stroked them both on the tops of their heads with each of her hands and said to them "Shhh, it's okay, little ones. You can tell me everything you know about what happened to your older brother. I won't be angry at you at all, I promise.", and then a single tear formed and rolled down Bluebell's own eye before she managed to calm the twins down until they had enough crying in sadness and pain about what happened to their older brother Stephan, and then they both looked up at Bluebell who then just gave them a reassuring smile as she nodded her head and kept looking down at them, thus making and helping the twins to realize that she can be trusted when they need her help.

Then, Chloe and Aylene came close to them and then Chloe spoke up and said to them "Please take us with you to your older brother Stephan.", and then Aylene asked "Please?", and when the twins heard what they said, they slowly broke their tight embrace with Bluebell and then they turned around and started to slowly walk away, and Shujaa and the girls all started to follow them, and after wandering in the Everfree Forest and following after the twins for a while, Shujaa and the girls finally found Stephan, but they also found out that he's in trouble - his body was tied up to the bottom of a tree and was left to die alone from starvation or left alone to be eaten by either Timberwolves or Crocophants, much to Shujaa and the girls' shock and horror to see Stephan being tied up to the bottom of the tree and was left alone to die or to be eaten by any passing predators.

Then, Chloe and Aylene ran and trotted together towards the tied-up Stephan and then they started to untie him from the ropes, but when the two got stuck in midway of setting him free, Shujaa ran away and after five minutes he returned with a sharp stone in his hand, and then he did his best he can to cut the ropes without harming Stephan, and once Stephan was set free from the ropes, he fell down and hit the ground with his head, and then Shujaa approached close enough and then he started to put his ear close to the centaur's upper human chest and torso to listen to and hear Stephan's heart, and after hearing weak heart beatings from Stephan's heart, Shujaa turned back to the girls and said to them "Girls, Stephan is okay, but he's still too weak to open his eyes and stand back up, I need your help to help me carry him to Ponyville's hospital.", and so Chloe, Aylene and Bluebell started to help Shujaa carry the weak and unconscious Stephan away from the Everfree Forest and all the way right to Ponyville so Stephan can rest in the hospital until he'll be strong enough to open his eyes and stand back up.

It took long for Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and Bluebell to carry Stephan to the hospital, but after all their hard efforts, they finally arrived back in Ponyville, and they all started to make their way to the local hospital, and upon arriving at the hospital at last, they're all allowed to go inside, and when Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and Bluebell showed the weak and unconscious Stephan to the nurses who then started to take him with them to one of the patient's rooms to ensure that he heals and gets back to his consciousness within the next 24 hours, and so Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa turned to go and left the hospital, but Bluebell stayed behind with the unconscious Stephan. As for Andy and Zoey, they stayed behind in the Everfree Forest all alone, looking down at a mysterious trail of cloven hoofprints, before they decided to follow the cloven hoofprints and see where they will lead them to.

Eventually the baby centaur twins ended up finding their father, Howard, who is the one who left the trail of cloven hoofprints behind him, but they kept themselves hidden away from his sight so he won't detect them, and as he started to walk away, Andy and Zoey continued to follow him to see where he's going, and they ended up following him into a large cave, where they ended up finding him with two of the most vicious and ferocious villains who still exist in all of Equestria - King Sombra, who is now back from the dead, and he's with Queen Chrysalis, and the two were together with Howard, as the three started to talk with each other about a dastardly plan to eliminate both Chloe and Aylene so Howard can have his three children back, not knowing that Andy and Zoey were spying on them from behind their backs, behind a nearby rock that was large enough to hide them from the three villains, and that's exactly how Andy and Zoey were both able to hear and listen to the villains' evil conversation about Chloe and Aylene to be destroyed so Howard can have his children back with him.

This horrified the baby centaur twins who then gasped in shock before they quickly covered their mouths with their little baby hands, thus nearly getting detected by King Sombra, who then walked away from Howard and Chrysalis to see who just gasped behind his and his allies' backs, but luckily for the twins, they managed to hide behind another large rock to prevent getting detected by King Sombra, who then returned back to Howard and Chrysalis after checking the nearest large rock that stood behind them. Then, the twins decided to quietly sneak away and out of the large cave without getting spotted and to prevent any detection from their father, Howard, King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis, and once the two reached and got out of the large cave without getting spotted or detected by the villains, Andy and Zoey started to quickly trot and bolt away for their lives as fast as they could all the way to Ponyville to find their older brother Stephan, and his friends, including Princess Bluebell.

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville Hospital, Bluebell is still keeping company for the still unconscious Stephan, but when nothing worked to get Stephan back to consciousness, Bluebell sat down close to him and started to shed tears as she didn't wanted her potentially future mate to die, but then some of Bluebell's tears touched Stephan's eyes through his eyelids while others fell into his mouth and he just drank and swallowed them, and then a miracle happened in front of Bluebell's eyes - Stephan suddenly coughed before he finally opened his eyes, and when his vision slowly cleared he found himself in the hospital with Bluebell by his side.

Then, Stephan spoke up and asked "Where am I?", and when Bluebell saw Stephan is still alive and well, she cried joyfully as she quickly started to hug Stephan and then she said to him "Oh, Stephan! You're alive! You're alive!", and Stephan said "Well, yeah, of course I'm still alive, darling.", but then when he saw that Bluebell is the only one with him, but the twins were nowhere to be found, Stephan quickly became worried and then he asked Bluebell "Where are Andy and Zoey?", and when Bluebell also noticed that the twins weren't around them, she then said "I don't know.", and then Stephan quickly jumped out of the patient's bed and then he said "We gotta find them! They might be in trouble!", and when two of the nurses came with Nurse Redheart to check on Stephan, they gasped in shock to see him alive and well and was ready to leave the hospital with Bluebell to search for the twins, and so Stephan and Bluebell were both given permission to leave the hospital by Nurse Redheart, and then the two near-teenage centaurs left the hospital together and they started to search for the missing twins.


	53. Chapter 52:Terrence the evil elephant

Andy and Zoey continued on their way to Ponyville to find their older brother, Stephan, and when they finally arrived in Ponyville, they started to search for him everywhere, as well as in Ponyville Hospital, but there Nurse Redheart told and explained to them that Stephan and Bluebell already left the hospital and Ponyville to search for them, and that prompted them to leave Ponyville to search for their older brother and for his new girlfriend.

Andy and Zoey started to bolt, trot and run away from Ponyville and they went all the way to the Everfree Forest to search for their older brother and for his girlfriend and see if they're there so they can all reunite with each other. Then, when the twins arrived and entered the Everfree Forest, they started to search for Stephan and for Bluebell everywhere, but even after they searched for them almost everywhere in the Everfree Forest, they still couldn't find them anywhere.

Then, Andy and Zoey lowered and sat down on their horse haunches and then they started to cry because they failed to find their older brother they always loved for the most, but after crying for a while, the baby centaur twins suddenly heard something moving behind the large and nearby bushes, and the baby centaurs could tell by the sounds of its footsteps that it was likely a large predator like a bear or a lion, and these caused them both to hug each other tightly as they started to tremble in fear like leaves, while the sounds of the footsteps got closer and closer with each moment.

Then, much to the twin baby centaurs' surprise, an adult male brown panda came out from behind the bushes, but what they didn't know is that the brown panda that just revealed himself in front of them is none other than Gilad's only animal which was veteran to him from the start - Kenai. Kenai the brown panda turned his head to his right and saw the baby centaurs trembling in fear at his presence, and so he decided to approach them to see why they fear him if they don't even know who he really is.

When Kenai got close enough to the twin baby centaurs, they both shrieked in fear and caused Kenai to turn his own head away from them as he can't stand their shrieks, but when he turned his head back to them, he tried to speak up to them and then he tried to say "Hey, easy there, little fellas. Calm down, it's okay. I promise I won't hurt you.", and then he tried to give the little centaurs a reassuring smile, and when Andy and Zoey looked at him and saw him smiling while he was looking at them too, the two stopped trembling in fear, before Andy slowly approached Kenai and then he stretched his right human arm and hand to him, and when he got close enough, Andy started to lightly stroke at Kenai's face without provoking him, and the brown panda surely appreciated what the baby male centaur was doing to him.

Then, when Andy stopped stroking at Kenai's face, he then slowly moved his human arm and hand away from the brown panda and he went back to his twin sister, and then the two waited for Kenai to speak to them, and then Kenai said to them "It's okay, I won't mind if you come with me, because I bet you two seems to be lost.", and Andy and Zoey turned to look at each other in the faces for a brief moment before they turned to look back at Kenai and then they both nodded to him with their heads, thus showing him that they would like to come with him, and it's also because they don't like to be alone, and so they slowly walked up to Kenai before the both of them hugged at both of his forelegs, and then they said together in baby language (since they don't how to talk properly like older children, teenagers, adults and elders) "Pliz, tek us wif yu, Mr. Braun and waite bear!", and Kenai then gave them both a smile and then he said "Then you can come along!", and then he added "Let's go!", and when the baby centaurs let to of Kenai's forelegs, he slowly turned around and started to walk away, and Andy and Zoey started to follow the brown panda close behind, still unaware that his owner was Gilad, one of the three adult human males who tied them and Stephan up to a tall tree and tried to burn them all to death.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa were informed about Andy and Zoey being missing, and so they asked Celestia and Luna if they can go and find them, and the princesses allowed them to go, but they also sent the mane seven to go and find them in case Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa all fail in finding them, and so the two searching groups went to the Everfree Forest to search for the missing baby centaur twins, where Stephan and Bluebell have also headed before them to search for the twins as well.

Meanwhile, Andy and Zoey are both still following Kenai, and they're too very curious to see where will he lead them to, and after walking for a while, the three ended up reaching an untouched area that has lots of stocks of bamboo which made Kenai so happy to know that he can finally eat bamboo again after all he ate for all these years are leaves, berries, fruits, and sugar canes, with only a little bamboo (which he rarely ate). Feeling happy, Kenai ran into the lots of stocks of bamboo and then he started to break apart, grab and take one of them in his paws, before he sat down and started to chew on the bamboo shoot he took for himself, and Andy and Zoey were curious to see why Kenai is eating bamboo instead of meat, because the baby centaurs didn't know that pandas are the one and only bear species which was purely herbivorous, unlike black and brown bears which are omnivorous, and much unlike polar bears which are purely carnivorous.

Then, Andy asked in his baby language "Waw, wat Mr. Braun and waite bear is iting?", and then Kenai said "Oh, this is so good! I rarely ate bamboo for all these years! Now I can finally eat bamboo as much as I want!", and when Andy and Zoey heard him saying the word 'bamboo', the two baby centaurs looked at the lots of stocks of bamboo shoots, and then they came to realize that he's talking about the bamboo shoots that were growing all around them, right in the area where they are now.

"Shud wi trai it dis bambu?" Zoey asked her twin brother in her baby language, and then Andy went up to the bamboo shoots and then he broke apart, grabbed and took one of these so he can try for himself first and then tell his twin sister if bamboo is safe to eat. Then, Andy opened his mouth, and since he had baby teeth in his mouth, which means he can eat solid food, and then the baby centaur took a first bite from the bamboo shoot he took for himself and for his sister, and then he started to chew his first bite, but then he felt it was too disgusting, inedible and unsafe to eat, because to him the bamboo shoot tasted really bad, and to make matters worse - it also tasted just like wood, before Andy started to spit and puke out the bamboo shoot which he tasted and then he turned back to Zoey and said to her in his baby language "Yuck! Dis is so disgasting! Dis bambu taists laik wuud!", and then he added "We kanot it dis bambu! It's inadibol!", and then the two baby centaurs turned back to see Kenai is still enjoying eating his bamboo shoot, much to their disgust and disappointment because they're not pandas like him, which means that they can't eat bamboo shoots.

Once Kenai finished eating his bamboo shoot, he got back up on his feet and then he turned to Andy and Zoey and then he said to them "Alright, let's go!", and the two baby centaurs reluctantly followed their new brown panda companion as they all started to walk away and leave the bamboo area. However, before they left the area, Andy took another bamboo shoot with him, but this time not to eat it, but rather to use it as a weapon in case a large and ferocious beast or a monster will come to attack him, his twin sister and Kenai.

Meanwhile, Stephan and Bluebell were already searching for the twins in the Everfree Forest, and they're still searching the forest to find them, and after a long search which came out with a failure of finding the twins, Stephan said "We must find them no matter what. They're my little siblings, and I won't lose them like I lost mom.", but just then, as the two near-teenage centaurs were about to continue their search for the missing twins, another centaur-like creature came out of nowhere and came into sight. However, it was not a normal centaur like Stephan, Bluebell or the twins, but it was also not a Beartaur either.

The centaur that suddenly appeared in front of them had the upper body of a human just like Stephan, Bluebell, the twins and all other centaurs and Beartaurs, but unlike both species, it had the lower body, legs and tail of a tiger, thus showing to Stephan and Bluebell it was a tiger centaur, A.K.A - Tigertaur, because of being half-human/half-tiger.

The Tigertaur who appeared in front of Stephan and Bluebell was a male, but he wasn't an adult, but was instead a young Tigertaur who appeared to be around the same age as Stephan and Bluebell. The young male Tigertaur wore on his upper human body a black shirt, he had dark brown hair, his eyes were golden yellow, and he looked as handsome as Stephan is, well, for a Tigertaur around his own age, but when he opened his mouth and yawned, Stephan and Bluebell saw he have the teeth of tiger, but it's not all his teeth though, but just his fangs were the ones of a tiger, much unlike Beartaurs, which have all their teeth the ones of a bear.

Then, the young male Tigertaur spoke and said "Oh! Hi there, strangers!", and Stephan and Bluebell were shocked to know that he does talks the same language they talk - which was English, before he then added ans asked them "Who are you guys? What are you both doing here?", but then Stephan asked him "Wait, do you know how to talk? Just like us?", and the Tigertaur said "Yes, I have the upperbody and the ability of speech like a human.", and then he asked Stephan "Why do you ask that?", and Stephan explained "Well, it's because I thought only normal centaurs like me, Bluebell and our kind can talk like humans do.", but then the Tigertaur said "You're wrong! Just because I have the lower body, legs and tail of a tiger, that doesn't mean that I don't have the ability of speech!".

Then, Stephan said "Anyway, I'm Stephan, and Bluebell here is my girlfriend!", before he turned to look at Bluebell for a brief moment, and then he turned back to the young male Tigertaur and asked him "And who are you?", and the Tigertaur said "I'm Aron, and as you and your girlfriend can both see, I'm a Tigertaur, and I'm also around your own age, don't I?", and then Stephan said back "You surely do!". Then, Bluebell asked him "Are you looking for someone or something too?", and then Aron said "Yes, I do.", and then Bluebell said "We're looking for Andy and Zoey! They're Stephan's twin baby siblings!", and then Aron turned to Stephan and asked him "Do you have twin baby siblings? Is your girlfriend here is telling me the truth?", and Stephan said "Well, yes!", and then he asked him back "Why do you ask that?", and then Aron answered and explained "Well, it's because I too have a girlfriend I love so much as well, and she have some baby siblings too.", and then Bluebell asked him "What's her name?", and Aron said "Her name is Linda, and she have triplet baby siblings. Their names were Egbert, Shelly and Yoko.".

However, when Aron explained that his girlfriend, Linda, have triplet baby siblings, Bluebell gasped in shock while Stephan's jaw dropped when he realized that Linda have more baby siblings than he actually have, which it's three (Egbert, Shelly and Yoko) to Linda, and two (Andy and Zoey) to Stephan himself. However, then, Aron away from Stephan and Bluebell and then he sat down with a sad face as looked away from the two centaurs, and then he said "I've searched for Linda and for the triplets everywhere in this forest, but I still couldn't find them anywhere. Maybe I won't be able to see them ever again.", and then some tears started to form in the young Tigertaur's eyes as he started to think that he may never be able to find his girlfriend and her triplet baby siblings whom he loved and liked for the most.

When Stephan and Bluebell saw and realized that Aron was in heart pain because he's thinking that his beloved girlfriend and her triplet baby siblings may be gone forever, Stephan approached Aron and when got close enough to him, he sat down next to him and placed his hand on Aron's right shoulder and then he said to him "Don't say that, Aron. Your girlfriend and her triplet baby siblings were all still alive. I'm pretty sure of it.", and when Aron heard what Stephan just said, the young male Tigertaur turned to look at the centaur who then gave him a reassuring smile before he added "I promise you you will be able to find them. Don't ever give up your hopes. Trust me and have your faith in me. We can find them, Aron. We can find them together.", and this made Aron give him a smile of his own before he turned with his whole body and then he hugged Stephan for giving him hopes of Linda and the triplets all still alive and can still be found, and Bluebell smiled and watched them from a distance as she had tears of joy and happiness forming in her eyes to see her boyfriend making new friends with Aron the Tigertaur.

Then, when Stephan and Aron both got back on their feet, Stephan said "Now let's go and find your girlfriend and her triplet baby siblings. I'm sure they're all somewhere far away from where we are now, but if we do our best, I'm sure we can find them, and maybe we can find Andy and Zoey with them too.", and then Aron said "You're right. Now let's go.", and so Stephan, Bluebell and Aron all started to search for their loved ones together.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa all arrived and entered the Everfree Forest, while the mane seven searched for the missing centaur twins when they already arrived and entered the Everfree Forest before the human girl, her Pegasus sister and their big albino orangutan brother, but it looked like that neither of the two searching groups is close to find Andy and Zoey. Then, at some point while still searching for the missing baby centaur twins, Fluttershy accidentally wandered away from the rest of the mane seven and ultimately got lost, and so she had no choice but to search for everypony and every creature all alone by herself.

Back with Kenai and the twins, the three still continued on their first adventure in the Everfree Forest together, but it didn't lasted long when they saw something that totally caught their sight - they saw a near-teenage Tigertauress (female) who looked like she's the same age as Stephan and Bluebell, and for a Tigertauress, she looked beautiful just like Bluebell. The young Tigertauress had bright brown hair, beautiful lime green eyes, and what made her even more beautiful for the most was her lower body of a tigress, but it was not the one of a regular tigress, but was instead the beautiful lower body of a white tigress which made her beautiful the same way or similar compared to Bluebell herself.

The young Tigertauress was Linda, Aron's girlfriend which he loves so much, and when Kenai and the little centaur twins looked closer at her body, they saw three baby Tigertaurs which stood Linda's side touching, stroking, feeling and even pulling lightly at her tiger fur on her lower tiger body, and Andy and Zoey could both see very clearly by their upper baby human bodies that they're two males and one female. These three baby Tigertaurs were Linda's triplet baby siblings - Egbert, Shelly and Yoko.

Just then, however, Linda and her triplet baby siblings all turned to see Kenai and the twins all looking at them, and than the four Tigertaurs approached them with Linda in the lead and her triplet baby siblings are following her in tow. When the Tigertaurs got close enough and then stopped right in front of the brown panda and the little centaur twins, Linda then lowered and sat down in frint of them to look at them in the eyes, before she said "Oh! Hi there, little ones!", and then she asked them "Who are you?", and then Andy said to her in his baby language "Aiem Andi, and dis is mai sister Zowi!", and Linda barely understood what the little centaur just said since she barely understood babies' language, but when she made it up in her mind and understood what did he actually said, Linda then said back "It's nice to meet you, Andy and Zoey!", and then she turned to introduce herself and her triplet baby siblings to the little baby centaurs.

"I'm Linda, and these three were my triplet baby siblings - Egbert, Shelly and Yoko!", Linda said as she introduced herself and her baby siblings to the twin baby centaurs who appeared to be around the same age as Linda's triplet baby siblings, before the three baby Tigertaurs slowly approached Andy and Zoey and looked at them in the eyes, but then the five babies all just stood there looking at each other and blinking a few times, but after two minutes, the silence broke when Egbert came forward and asked Andy and Zoey to come along and play with him and with his triplet brother and sister, and the centaur twins accepted the offering because this is the chance they waited for to have some fun with other creatures whom are both just like them and were also around their very own age, and then the five babies started to play tag with each other, much to Linda's enjoyment as she watched her triplet baby siblings playing with their new friends, and then she said "Awww, just look at all of them! They're friends already!", but then Kenai said "These two are with me, but if you like to, you and your little siblings can come along too.".

"Thank you, but at the time, I'm still searching for my boyfriend. His name was Aron. However, I searched more than a half of the entire forest in an attempt to find him, and I still can't find him anywhere." Linda explained to Kenai and then the brown panda said to her "Then let's go search for him together! With me and with these little twins I have here, you and your triplets will find your boyfriend in almost no time!", and then Linda asked him "Are you sure?", and Kenai said "Of course I'm sure. Like all bear species, pandas like me also have good sense of smell which allows to find the food we're looking for!", and then Linda called for her triplet baby siblings and for Andy and Zoey to come over to her and to Kenai and she said to them that they're going to search for Aron together, and Andy and Zoey hoped that if they find him, they may find Stephan and Bluebell too, or maybe even Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa.

Meanwhile, Stephan, Bluebell and Aron were still searching for Linda, the twins and the triplets, but they still didn't found them yet, but after searching for them some more, they finally found Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa instead, and then the three joined them and on the way Stephan introduced his new friend, Aron, to his two best friends and Shujaa, and then Aron explained and told to them about himself being a centaur-like creature known as a Tigertaur, a centaur-like creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body, legs and tail of a tiger, or A.K.A - half-human/half-tiger, much to Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa's amazement.

Back at the mane seven, they realized and found out that Fluttershy suddenly disappeared, and so they started to search for her too while also searching for the rest of their friends, and at the same time, Fluttershy herself is searching for her friends too after she's separated from them and got lost in the forest, and she's still searching for them right now, but at some point, she felt like she'll never find her friends again, but then, however, she meets Andy and Zoey who are now with Linda, her triplet baby siblings and Kenai, and at first, Fluttershy was happy to see the baby centaur twins again, and she was also happy to see that they made new friends with Linda and with her triplet baby siblings, but her happiness soon turned sour when she saw Kenai again, because she knew and still remembered how loyal he is to Gilad and to his brothers (and to Black Heart) before and after Shujaa redeemed to the good side, and when the brown panda noticed the Pegasus pony's behavior she have towards him, Kenai then just stepped aback from her and from the rest of the group.

However, then Fluttershy asked him in a stern voice tone as well as with a stern look on her face as she started to approach the brown panda bear "Just what are you thinking you're doing with that young half-human/half-tiger and with these poor little ones? You better tell me or else I will use my infamous stare on you!", but then tried to speak to her as he tried to stand up for himself "Hey, chill out, Madam Pegasus!", but then Fluttershy asked him "What was that?", and then Kenai said "I'm not harming any of them if that's exactly what you wanna know, that's first.", and then he added "Second, I'm actually trying to help them find you and your friends.", and then he finished and said "And third, how dare you talk to me like if I'm a real monster just like my evil owners really are!", and this made Fluttershy growl in anger at his words before she then widened her eyes and started to stare into Kenai's eyes, thus showing him her infamous stare right in the eyes, and this caused him to become a bit afraid as he started to step aback from Fluttershy while still, however, keeping an eye contact with her.

Then, Fluttershy said to him "Well, everypony and every creature knows you're loyal to Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and even to Black Heart! And I suggest you should just go away and leave that half-girl/half-tigress and all these little ones alone!", and this made Kenai yell back "Fine! I'll leave you all alone! But just think about it and consider this - you'll need me when you're all in trouble!", but then Fluttershy just yelled back "No one here is going to listen to you, so please get yourself and your big brown and white fur out of our eyesight, and just GO AWAY!" she yelled in anger, and then Kenai angrily said back "Well then, that's it! Goodbye!", and then he turned around and started to run away deeper into the Everfree Forest until he completely disappeared out of sight, leaving Linda, the twins and the triplets alone with Fluttershy instead.

With Kenai gone, Fluttershy then took Linda, the triplets and the baby centaur twins with her to search for the rest of their friends. Meanwhile, as for the rest of the mane seven, they found, joined up and reunited with Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Shujaa and Bluebell, and so the whole group started to search for their missing friends together, and on the way, Stephan introduced his new friend, Aron the Tigertaur, who then explained and told the mane seven (minus Fluttershy) about himself, and he also told them all about his girlfriend, Linda, and her triplet baby siblings (Egbert, Shelly and Yoko), and also about how he loves and likes them so much that he's still searching for them right now, and the mane seven (minus Fluttershy) accepted to help Aron find Linda and the triplets.

Meanwhile, Linda, Fluttershy, Andy and Zoey and the Tigertaur triplets searched for the others, but after a long search, they all ended up finding their way out and leaving the Everfree Forest, but then they all heard some baby noises crying and these came from a bit far away, and so they all decided to go and investigate and see what's going and also to find out who's crying, and when they all reached and arived at the exact place where the baby cries came from, Linda, Fluttershy, Andy and Zoey and the Tigertaur triplets all saw an awful sight right in front of their eyes.

There were two baby Beartaurs, a male and a female, cowering in fear and terror and wailing in front of what was approaching and coming too close to them, which was in fact a big male African bush elephant that appeared to be around the same size as Lin Raju the Mammophant. Then, the big male African bush elephant wrapped his trunk around the baby Beartauress (female) and then he started to choke her violently before he started to pick her up, as the baby Beartauress started to cry in distress as the elephant's trunk started to choke around her neck more tighter within each second, like a snake about to kill and eat a poor and helpless mouse.

Even though they knew a Beartaur killed their mother before, Andy and Zoey still felt what the big male African elephant is doing to these poor little baby Beartaurs is wrong, and Egbert, Shelly and Yoko the same as the twins, since their and Linda's own mother was also killed by a Beartaur when she tried to save their lives, and then the five babies looked at each other for a moment, before they turned to look back forward with determined looks on their faces, and since Linda snd Fluttershy were both still unsure if to save the baby Beartaurs from the big male African elephant or not, this is when Andy, Zoey, Egbert, Shelly and Yoko all started to trot, sprint, run and charge towards the elephant to help and save the baby Beartaurs from him.

Then, Andy and Egbert made together the first move when they jumped up and grabbed with their horse and tiger forelegs on both of the elephant's tusks, thus getting his attention, and then the baby centaur and the baby Tigertaur gave a double slap with their baby human hands right to the elephant's face just below the eyes, thus causing the elephant to scream and trumpet and throw them off his face, and then he also let go of the baby Beartauress and he then dropped back down to the ground, and then Yoko made the next move by rearing up on his hind tiger legs and then grabbing tightly onto the side of the elephant's right foreleg with both of his baby human arms and hands, before he then started to scratch into the thick skin of the elephant with the claws on his tiger forelegs and paws, causing the elephant to scream and trumpet as he started to feel Yoko's claws nearly making their way to his flesh, and so he grabbed Yoko with his trunk, choked him briefly and then he threw him on the baby Beartaurs.

Just then, Andy and Egbert went up to Yoko and to the baby Beartaurs, who all then shook in fear as the elephant looked down at them with an angry face, before Zoey and Shelly made together their move, and then they started to run around the elephant, and once they reached his backside, the two female babies stopped running and then they started to kick and scratch at the elephant's butt, causing him to scream and trumpet once again, before he turned around to see them attacking him from the back, and so he turned with his front to them and then he slapped them across the faces with his trunk, before he kicked them both out of the way with both of his forelegs, causing them to land some distance away, before the elephant then started to walk up to Zoey, who didn't had time to react, and before she can get up and escape, the elephant grabbed her by the neck and then he started to choke her violently and lift her up to make her look at him in the eyes, before he gave her an evil smirk and said "I'm gonna finish you off first, little centauress!", and this made Zoey start to cry in distress as she tried but failed to get herself free from the elephant's tight and choking grip as he kept holding her by the neck with his trunk as he tried to kill her just in the same way a snake will kill and eat a mouse - by choking the little baby centauress to death.

Then, Linda ran and sprinted fast towards the elephant and then she grabbed at his right tusk and begged and said "Please, stop doing this to her! She's just a baby! Leave her alone!", but the elephant paid no attention to her words as he then kicked and knocked away from himself and shouted at her "Stay away from me, you fool!", and then he continued to choke Zoey. Just then, however, Fluttershy flew up and forward and then she looked at him right in the face and said to him "Just what do think you're doing to that poor and defense baby centauress?! How dare you picking on poor and defenseless babies?!", but the elephant paid no attention to her words as well, before he then shouted at her angrily "That's not your business, pony! Now get away from me and stay away me!", and then used his trunk to finally let go of Zoey, but then he threw her at Fluttershy and knocked the two down to the ground.

Just then, the heartless and abusive bull elephant raised up his right foreleg and then he said to Fluttershy and Zoey "Say goodbye, stupid girls!", and then he's about to strike and kill both e little centauress and the Pegasus with his foreleg, but just before he can stomp and trample them to death, a male voice suddenly yelled at him "Stop right there, elephant!", and this caused the elephant to stop and look around before he yelled back "Now who is it?!", and then Kenai showed up and said "It looks like somebody needs to teach you a lesson not to pick on girls and babies, you big dummy!", and then he added "Somebody really needs to stop you from doing what you're doing right now!", and when the centaurs, Tigertaurs and Pegasus mare saw Kenai, this is when he started to charge towards them, but not to attack them, because he was aiming for the elephant instead.

However, then the elephant said evilly "Oh, and I forgot to mention - I have an army of Liontaurs with me!", and just then, a pack of five centaur-like creatures with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of lions suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood by both of the elephant's sides and also in front of him, thus blocking Kenai's path to the others, and also preventing him from rescuing them. The five centaur-like creatures had the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of lions, and they're non others than another centaur species known to live in Equestria - the Liontaurs (A.K.A half-humans/half-lions).

Male Liontaurs have lion manes that were covering the skin of their upper human bodies completely, and the only parts of the upper bodies which are exposed outside the lion manes are the lion ears attached to both sides of the human head, and the human arms and hands which clearly can be seen as they're not covered in the lion manes, while the entire lower lion body have beautiful yellow golden fur, just like all regular lions, and their lion tails end up with a brown to black tuft of fur attached to it.

Female Liontaurs (A.K.A Liontauresses, or Liontauress for single), however, have beautiful and gorgeous upper human bodies that weren't covered in lion manes, but they still have beautifully long hair that was just like a regular woman's long hair, which makes the Liontauresses beautiful in comparison with Tigertauresses and regular centauresses, and they're always caring and protective of their own young compared to Tigertaurs and regular centaurs, so if you dare to come anywhere near or too close to Liontaur cubs, females (usually the mothers, and sometimes older sisters or aunts) will come and attack you to defend the cubs as they might believe that you may try to attack them, and rarely, even males (usually the fathers, and sometimes older brothers or uncles) will attack you as well to defend and protect their youngest cubs.

The five Liontaurs were four males and one female, and they're too many for Kenai to take on, and even the one and only Liontauress out of the group can easily defeat him do to her upper woman's body giving her more height than a regular lioness. Then, the elephant said to his Liontaurs "Take this brown panda down!", and the pack of five Liontaurs obeyed him and then they started to charge and attack Kenai, who then tried to do the best he can to fight them off or even take down and kill one of the pack to make the job for himself easier to take on the Liontaurs, but the Liontaurs managed to catch him and trap him in a circle, thus having the upper hand against him as they're all about to finish the brown panda off for good.

However, then Fluttershy flew up and came in front of the elephant's face and then she said to him "Just what are thinking you're doing, Mister!", and then she added "I admit I hated this brown panda for who his owners are, but now I see I was wrong! You have no rights to take on him with the help of some five ferocious creatures!", and when the Liontaurs heard what Fluttershy just said to their elephant boss, one of them, a male, turned back and yelled at her "Hey! You shut up and don't talk to our boss like that, you stupid Pegasus mare!", and then he started to charge and attack her instead of Kenai, and he decided to take her down, but then Fluttershy flew up and she caused the Liontaur to accidentally charge towards the elephant instead, causing him to end up getting accidentally impaled on the elephant's tusks, and when the elephant shook and threw him off, the male Liontaur fell to the ground on his side and slowly died, leaving four more Liontaurs to take down - the three other males and the one and only female.

Then, Fluttershy flew towards the Liontaurs to help Kenai, and once she landed down next to him, Fluttershy started to use her infamous stare to scare them and make herself look intimidating, despite she's much smaller than all of them in size. When the four remaining Liontaurs stepped aback and backed away from both Fluttershy and Kenai, the elephant stepped forward and then he said "Impossible! How come your stare works on my Liontaurs?!", and then Fluttershy asked him "Who are you anyway?", and then the big male African bush elephant said as he introduced himself "I'm Terrence! And as you and that brown panda here can see, I'm an African bush elephant! But I'm also the LAST member of my species who is still living in all of Equestria!".

Then, Terrence the elephant said and added "But I won't waste my strength on you two! Instead, I'm going to destroy all these poor and helpless babies right there to make all youngsters who live all across Equestria to respect male elders! Especially male elephants like me!", and then he laughed evilly as he turned and ran away from Fluttershy and Kenai as he started to charge towards Linda and all the babies, who all hugged each other in a tight group hug as Terrence the elephant started to come closer and closer with each second that passed.

Then, Kenai screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as Terrence was about to strike Linda and the babies, but before the big male African bush elephant got close enough, a blast of magic suddenly came out of nowhere and hit him on the left shoulder, causing him to scream and trumpet in pain as he then turned to see what just shot him in the shoulder, and then he roared "NOW WHO DID THIS?!", and then Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all the others finally appeared as they continued to run, trot, sprint and fly toward their friends to help them fight their newest enemies.

When Andy, Zoey, Egbert, Shelly and Yoko all saw Stephan and Aron trotting and sprinting towards them among the others, the five babies then started to trot and sprint towards them to reach to them, but then Terrence the elephant suddenly came in the way, and then he started to harass and attack the babies cruelly and heartlessly in the same ways all adult elephants will use and will do to kill their natural enemies, and then he tried to use his trunk, his tusks, his massive head and all of his four legs to prevent the five babies from getting reunited with the others, and when he managed to trap Zoey and Shelly below his giant head, Terrence started to press down at the both of them with a heavy and merciless weight and pressure of as much as a half a ton, causing them to scream and cry in terror as the big male heartless elephant was determined to destroy them, but then Stephan yelled at him "Leave my little sister alone!", and then Aron added as he joined in and said "Get your massive head away from Shelly!", and then the two started to charge and attack the bull African elephant, before they're joined by Bluebell, Linda, Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and the others, who then all started to attack the bull African elephant all together to save their beloved and respective babies from him.

Eventually, after a few minutes of fighting Terrence the bull African elephant all together, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and their friends all managed to get him off the babies and rescue them all in time, but then Terrence said to them all in anger "I'll leave you all alone for now, filthy creatures! But listen to my warning - if you dare to interfere with my elephant duties again - you will die! All of you!", and then he turned to his Liontaurs and called for them "Liontaurs! Retreat now!", and the Liontaurs obeyed him as they saw him starting to run away and leave Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all the others alone, but not before one of the three remaining male Liontaurs slapped Kenai three times across the face very hard with his lion forelegs and paws, thus causing the brown panda to fall to the ground and when he got his head accidentally hitting against the ground, Kenai started to lie down on his side, unconscious.


	54. Chapter 53:the princesses meet Beartaurs

When Terrence the elephant and his four remaining Liontaurs all started to run away and leave, they all went to the Everfree Forest where they all disappeared upon entering the forest, thus leaving Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all the others with Fluttershy and the unconscious Kenai. Then, Everypony and every creature all turned to see Fluttershy crying and shedding tears as she touched and hugged Kenai's unconscious body, and what she just did made everyone, including Shujaa, shocked and surprised.

Then, Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy "What's got into you, Fluttershy?", and then she added and said "Have you just forgotten that this brown panda is our enemy?", and then she said "He's Gilad's panda!", but then Fluttershy said as she still sobbed "I don't care about his anymore! He tried to save me, Linda and the babies! I don't want him to die!", and then everyone all gasped in shock when they heard everything Fluttershy said, and then Applejack stepped forward and said "Well, I think that doesn't matter if he's our enemy or not! He's just got knocked out cold and unconscious and he probably needs our help or else he might die!", and then Rarity asked her "Are you sure about this, darling?", and Applejack said "If Fluttershy just said this brown panda tried to save her, Linda and the babies, then I suppose we should help him recover before we decide what to do with him!", and then Shujaa said "Then let's take him to Ponyville so he can heal and recover in the hospital! I just hope Nurse Redheart and the other nurses will all accept him just like they all accepted Stephan and the twins!".

Then, everyone started to work together as they started to use magic, flight and strength to lift the unconscious Kenai and place him down gently on Bluebell's back, before she's joined by Linda who helped her by pushing at his butt to make sure he doesn't falls off the centauress' back, and then everyone started to go all their way back to Ponyville, with the two orphan baby Beartaurs and Kenai the brown panda as an extra addition. When Stephan, Bluebell and Aron all noticed the baby Beartaurs on the way back to Ponyville, they asked where did they both came from, and then Linda and Fluttershy explained that to them and to everyone else that they and the twins and the triplets actually saved their lives from Terrence the elephant when he tried to kill them both for pleasure to show he's one the strongest animals in all of Equestria.

Then, Stephan said "So that explains why he tried to kill my little siblings as well as your triplets! What a ferocious beast he is for an elephant!", and then Aron added "He should be ashamed of himself for abusing babies and for trying to destroy them just for evil!", and then he added "Yes even though Stephan told me when we searched for you that a Beartaur killed his and the twins' mother, as well as I also know that your and you triplets' mother was also killed by a Beartaur, that still doesn't gives this elephant the rights to kill helpless baby Beartaurs!", and then Stephan said in agreement "You're right! Someone must go and teach that monster for an elephant a lesson!".

However, then Bluebell said to calm down both Stephan and Aron "Hey, take it easy! After all, now everything's alright! I'm pretty sure we can find someone who can adopt these two poor and helpless baby Beartaurs!", but then Linda asked her "But what if we fail to find someone who will take care of them and raise them to become fine and healthy adults?", and then Bluebell said "Then it will be OUR responsibility to care for them instead! And even though they're Beartaurs, I'm fine and okay with raising them as my own!" and then Linda added and said "Then so am I! Let me help you with them!", and then she explained "We can raise them with Stephan's twin baby siblings and with my triplet baby siblings all together! I'm sure that in time they may even become inseparable friends for life!", and when Stephan and Aron heard what they said, the centaur and the Tigertaur then joined in and then Stephan said "That sounds quite interesting to raise orphan baby Beartaurs and see how they will get along with our own little siblings!" and then Aron added "I have to agree too! It does sounds like a good idea, because that way we may get to have our very first Beartaur allies!".

Then, Chloe called and said "We're coming close to Ponyville!", and then Aylene added "We're almost there! We're all getting very close!", and after walking forward a little bit more, everypony and every creature all finally arrived in Ponyville, but once they entered Ponyville, everypony started to scream and run away in fear and terror when they saw Aron, Linda, the triplets, the baby Beartaurs and the still unconscious Kenai, and even when the mane seven tried to persuade them not to run away from them, nopony listened to them and they all continued to scream and run away as everypony believed the Tigertaurs, the Beartaurs and the brown panda to be coming to cause harm or chaos.

When Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and their friends all reached and arrived at Ponyville Hospital, they entered inside but then they all saw the nurses and the doctors shaking in fear at the Tigertaurs' presence. However, then Nurse Redheart came forward and said "I'm so happy to meet you again!", and when she saw Aron, Linda and the triplets, she then asked Stephan "And who are those five?", and then Stephan explained "Nurse Redheart, I want you, the other nurses and all the doctors to meet my newest friends!", and then Aron came forward and said "My name's Aron, and it's a pleasure for a Tigertaur like me to meet you!", and then he slowly stretched out his lower tiger foreleg and paw for Nurse Redheart to shake, and then the mare giggled and said to him "Oh, you're so gentle just like Stephan!", and then she gave her hoof and shook with his tiger paw, and once they're done shaking each other's hoof and paw, Nurse Redheart turned away from Aron to face Linda.

Then, the mare asked the young Tigertauress "Who are you? What's your name?", and then she added "You look as beautiful as Bluebell!", and then Linda said "Well, I'm Linda, Aron's girlfriend, and I have triplet baby siblings. Their names were Egbert, Shelly and Yoko.", and then she called for her little siblings to come forward and show themselves, and when the three little baby Tigertaurs showed themselves to Nurse Redheart, she gasped in shock before she gave them a kind smile and said "Oh! They're so cute! Just like Andy and Zoey of Stephan's!", and then Linda said "Yes, they are.".

However, just then, the two orphan baby Beartaurs came forward and showed themselves to Nurse Redheart as well, and when the mare saw them too, she gasped and asked "Are those what I think they are?", and then Aron nodded before he said "That's right! These are Beartaurs, but don't worry! They won't hurt you! They're just little cubs!", and then Stephan added "And despite Beartaurs have killed both my mother and Linda's mother, these two little cubs really need help!", and then Nurse Redheart asked "Why?", but then when she looked at the female Beartaur cub, she saw some choking marks all around her neck, and then Nurse Redheart gasped in shock and then she asked "Who did this to her?", and then Fluttershy explained "A big male African bush elephant named Terrence grabbed her by the neck and he tried to choke her to death!", and when the mare heard what she said, she then gasped in shock again and then she said "How cruel and heartless that elephant is! Why was he even tormenting and abusing innocent babies like that!", and then Stephan said "And that's not all! This elephant have some Liontaurs whom are all his loyal minions who sometimes help him to get his jobs done in case someonewlike any of us tries to interfere with his so-called 'elephant duties'!", and then Aron added "Luckily, we managed to drive them all away, but before they left, one of the Liontaurs knocked that brown panda unconscious!", and then the mane seven showed the still unconscious Kenai to Nurse Redheart, who then gasped in shock before she asked "Why did you brought him here?", and then Shujaa said "It's true he was my friend before I turned good and betrayed Gilad and the others, but I bet that if you help him, he might show you some love at first, until at some point where he decides to slowly betray my former owners and turn to our side!".

Then, Fluttershy cried and begged "Please let him stay! He needs your help! Nurse Redheart, please!", and the nurse mare said back "I promise I will help him, but once he's fully recovered, we'll let him go!", and then Fluttershy said with a tear in her eye as she got relieved by the nurse mare's words "Thank you!", and then Nurse Redheart turned back and said to some of the other nurses to help her take and put both the baby Beartaurs and Kenai in a patient's room so they can heal and recover from their trauma, respectively.

However, at first, the nurses and the doctors all just stood there in shock, but then four nurses came forward and took the little Beartaurs and Kenai to a patient's room so they can all recover and heal, and this is when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all their friends finally sighed in relief, and then Twilight said to Nurse Redheart "We have to go now! Goodbye for now, and take good care of them! Especially of Kenai!", and then Nurse Redheart said to her "We promise we'll look for him until he's fully recovered and ready to go!", and then Chloe and Aylene said "Goodbye! We promise we come back to visit them whenever we can!", and then the nurse mare said to them "Goodbye!", and then Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all the others left the hospital, but then they faced a crowd of angry ponies followed by scared ponies before Celestia, Luna and some royal guards interfered and stepped between the crowd of angry and scared ponies and Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all their friends.

Then, Celestia asked "What's going on, all my dear subjects?", and then a Unicorn stallion said "Monsters came to our town!", and then an Earth pony mare cried "They came to destroy us!", but then Aron showed himself and said "No we don't! We won't hurt anyone in this town, and I can assure you all that's true!", but then a Pegasus stallion cried "Ahhh! It's one of them! One of the monsters! Seize him now!", but then Aron begged "Don't hurt me, please! I may be a Tigertaur, but I don't hurt ponies!", and then Luna asked him "Are you really saying and teeling us the truth?", and then Aron turned to her and nodded before he said "Yes, it's true! I'm really nice and I also have with me some friends whom are from my own kind as well!", and then Linda showed herself as she stopped by Aron's side and then she said "Hello there, ponies. Please don't be afraid of us Tigertaurs. We're not mindless beasts. We're very friendly and social and we'll dare to harm and attack only large and ferocious enemies who dare to mess up and harm the weak, the young, the old and the innocent as well.", and then Luna turned to Celestia and then she asked her "What should we do, sister?", and then Celestia said to all her subjects to stay where they are and not move, and when the entire crowd of ponies obeyed her and did what she told them to do, this is when Celestia and Luna slowly approached Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends, but mainly approached Aron and Linda, and once the two Alicorn princesses got close enough to the two Tigertaurs, Celestia and Luna stopped right in front of them.

Then, Celestia asked Aron and Linda "Who are you two?", and then Luna added "What are you two doing here?", and then Aron said "I'm Aron, and this is my girlfriend Linda!", and then Linda said "Hi, that's nice to meet you. Do not fear us, we won't bite you. We're not ferocious unless we see someone abusing, bullying or harming someone else.", and then Celestia asked them "There are more of you here, or it's just the two of you?", and then Aron said "Of course!", and then Linda turned to call for her triplet baby siblings to come forward and show themselves to Celestia and Luna, and just then, the three baby Tigertaurs came and showed themselves in front of everypony's eyes.

When Celestia and Luna saw Egbert, Shelly and Yoko, the two Alicorns then said together "Awww! They're so cute! Just like Andy and Zoey!", and then the three baby Tigertaurs looked up at them and giggled before they gave the Alicorn princesses a trio of happy smiles. Then, Celetia and Luna turned back and then Celestia said to everypony else "Everypony, listen up! Don't attack them! These Tigertaurs were very nice and friendly! They won't do you any harm!", and when everypony heard what Celestia said about the five Tigertaurs, they all calmed down and welcomed Aron, Linda and the triplets as new friends and allies, much to Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and all of their friends' reliefs.

Then, Shujaa said "Aron, Linda and the triplets weren't the only ones you both need to see, Celestia and Luna.", and then Stephan said "That's right, we've also got two Beartaurs as well as Kenai the brown panda!", and when Celestia and Luna heard what they said, the two Alicorns both gasped in shock before Luna asked "Beartaurs? Here?!", but then Bluebell said to them "It's okay, don't be alarmed, princesses. These two Beartaurs are just little cubs, and we actually dared to save their lives, even though their kind killed Stephan's mother as well as Linda's mother!", and then Celestia asked them "But what about Kenai?", and then she added "I thought he's on Gilad's side!", but then Shujaa said "Well, I guess since we saved him after he's been knocked out cold, maybe he'll warm up to us over time once he awakens from his unconsciousness.", and then Aylene said "Yes, let's give it a try! Since Chloe and I managed to save Shujaa's life a long time ago, he slowly turned against Gilad until that evil man realized his redemption to our good side and decided to come and show him that he's replaced forever with that female pure black giraffe he found and befriended before Shujaa's official declaration as a reformed albino orangutan!".

Then, Celestia and Luna turned to the entire crowd of ponies and then Celestia said to them "Everypony, go! My sister and I have something really important to do right now!", and when everypony listened and obeyed her words, the entire crowd of ponies slowly turned and walked away before they all split up from each other and went in different directions, thus leaving Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and their friends alone with Celestia, Luna and the royal guards. Then, Celestia also told the royal guards to go back to the royal castle and resume their duties back there, and once the royal guards obeyed her words and also left and went back to the royal castle, Celestia and Luna were the only ones who are now standing in front of Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all their friends.

Then, Celestia and Luna introduced themselves to the Tigertaurs, before they asked them, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the others to take them to see Kenai and the baby Beartaurs, and so Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and their friends led Celestia and Luna to the hospital with them so they can see Kenai and the baby Beartaurs as well. Upon entering the hospital, they're welcomed upon coming back by Nurse Redheart and also by a couple of other nurses as well, but when they also saw Celestia and Luna, the three nurses mares decided to take them to see Kenai and the baby Beartaurs, and soon everypony and every creature followed Nurse Redheart and the two other nurses until they all reached the patient room where Kenai and the baby Beartaurs are, and then Nurse Redheart opened the door for Celestia and Luna to go first, and soon everyone followed close behind them, and when Celestia and Luna saw Kenai and the baby Beartaurs, they gasped in shock to see that Kenai is lying on his bed unconscious, but then they turned their heads to see the two baby Beartaurs (who are Kenai's roommates) sitting down on their own bed, but when the two looked up and saw Celestia and Luna, they both screamed out loud in their faces before they hugged each other very tightly and shook and trembled in fear at the princesses' presence, thus shocking Celestia and Luna to see that the two baby Beartaurs were actually afraid of them.

However, then, Bluebell and Linda approached the two frightened baby Beartaurs and then Bluebell said to them "Please, don't be afraid. The princesses just wants to meet you. They'll mean you two no harm.", and then Linda added "The princesses are very nice and they won't and they never will harm innocent babies. You can totally trust them.", and when the two baby Beartaurs listened to what the centauress and Tigertauress both said about the princesses, they both looked up at them, before Celestia and Luna gave them kind smiles, and then they both lowered down onto their haunches to make themselves less intimidating to the frightened baby Beartaurs.

When the two baby Beartaurs started to calm down, they stopped shaking and trembling in fear, but they still kept looking at Celestia and Luna right in the eyes. However, instead of attacking them, Celestia slowly stretched and gave her hoof forward to touch the male Beartaur cub on the side of the face, while Luna slowly stretched and gave her own hoof forward to touch the female Beartaur cub on the of the face as well, and once Celestia and Luna's hooves made contact with the Beartaur cubs' cheeks, respectively, they both started to stroke both of the Beartaur cubs very gently on the sides of their faces each, thus making the little Beartaurs smile in return before they also giggled at how gently and kindly Celestia and Luna were stroking them, very much unlike how Terrence the elephant harmed and abused them as well as he tried to choke them one-by-one to death with his trunk.

Then, Celestia said "They're so cute as well!", and then Luna asked "Where did you found them?", and then Fluttershy said "We found these cute little once after we left the Everfree Forest to search for our friends, but unfortunately, they were not alone when we found them.", and then Celestia asked her "What do you mean by that, Fluttershy?", and then Fluttershy answered and explained "These poor little ones were abused by a big, bad, mean and cruel elephant, and he was a male whose name is Terrence.". When Celestia and Luna heard what Fluttershy said, the two princesses both gasped in shock to know the two little Beartaur cubs were abused by Terrence the elephant.

Then, Celestia asked in shock "How could that elephant do such a thing to innocent babies like these little ones?!", and then Luna asked "Was he a part of Queen Tukta's herd?", but then Linda said "No, he's not. He's an African bush elephant.", and then Bluebell said "He tried to kill these poor little Beartaur cubs by choking them to death with his trunk!", and when Celestia and Luna heard what the centauress said, they both gasped in shock once again before Celestia asked "How abusive! How could he even do this to them?!", and then Luna added "If we see him doing this again to some other babies, we'll cut off and remove away his tusks and then we'll send him to rot forever in Tartarus!", but then Stephan said "We wouldn't be doing that if we were you, princesses!", and then Celestia turned to him and asked him "What do you mean by that, Stephan?", and then the centaur answered and explained "That mad and hateful elephant has Liontaurs for minions!", and then Fluttershy said "I managed to kill one of them by luring it into getting impaled to death on Terrence's tusks, but he still have four other Liontaurs on his side, and one of them managed to knock Kenai out cold before they all left with their mean and cruel elephant boss!".

"So he's not alone, isn't he?" Celestia asked, and then Aron said "That's right! He had five Liontaurs, but now he have only four! But they're all still too many for us to take down!", and then Stephan added "Well, without Twilight and her friends, we might fail to take down Terrence, but with Twilight and her friends in, we're sure to give a fair beating to that elephant!", and then Bluebell said "But for now, it's better for us to leave the baby Beartaurs and Kenai alone so they can recover from their traumatic experience and attacking blows.", and when everyone accepted her words, they all decided to go and leave the hospital, but not before they all said goodbye to Nurse Redheart and to the other nurses, and then Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron, their friends and the princesses all left the hospital.


	55. Chapter 54:Kenai and Beartaurs' escape

When night came and everyone fell asleep, Ponyville and Canterlot were peaceful and very quiet, but in the hospital, however, something miraculous happened which everyone missed, Kenai the brown panda suddenly started to move until he finally opened his eyes and slowly raised up his head and neck and got up on his feet, but when found himself in Ponyville Hospital, he was shocked to realize that Fluttershy's friends and Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends (including Shujaa) all saved his life and brought him to the hospital, and when he turned his head to the right, Kenai saw that he wasn't alone in the patient's room - the two little Beartaur cubs whom Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron and all their friends have saved from Terrence the elephant and from his Liontaurs were also sleeping down on their own bed next to Kenai's, much to his shock to find out that he and the baby Beartaurs were all saved and were brought to the hospital to recover.

However, Kenai thought to himself _"Why did they decided to save me? Have they all forgotten I'm Gilad's brown panda bear? I belong to the bad guys! I can't be good, even though that foolish Shujaa managed to reform and redeem himself to these Chloe and Aylene's side, I can't let myself do the same thing he have done!"_ , and then he said to himself "I need to escape. Now.", and so he started to get down from his bed and walk around the patient's room to check for any way out of the hospital, and since he believed the door to his room is locked to prevent him from escaping the hospital, he thought he may never get out of the hospital, but that is until he turned his head to the left and saw a window which leads outside, and so Kenai thought of the perfect idea which will help him escape - get out of the hospital through the window.

Then, Kenai slowly walked towards the window and once he reached it, Kenai slowly started to open up the window and once it was wide open enough to allow Kenai to just jump through it and escape, Kenai was about to make his next move, but then he heard a couple of baby noises coming from right behind him, and when he turned back to see where the baby noises came from, he saw the two baby Beartaurs who are both fully awake looking directly at him, before the female slowly got down from her and her twin brother's bed and then she started to approach Kenai, who then whispered to himself "Oh, no. I should've known they'll wake up when I'll try to leave.", but then he decided to stand still and look back at them in the eyes.

When the baby Beartauress got close enough to Kenai, she then started to touch and then hug tightly around his left foreleg, thus showing him that she doesn't wants him to leave, before she's joined by her twin brother, who then got down from the bed and then he also approached Kenai, and when he got close enough, he then started to touch and then hug tightly around his right foreleg, thus showing him that he too doesn't wants him to leave, thus shocking Kenai before he said to them "Look, babies, I know you both want me to stay, but I'm not belong here with ponykind and other creatures alike.", and then he added and explained "I'm Gilad's brown panda bear, and my name is Kenai. I don't want to be found by him in here, because if he does finds me here, he'll get really mad and angry at me and will decide to banish me and replace me, just like he already did long ago with my best friend, Shujaa. But I don't want to be banished and replaced forever. To put it very simple - I don't want Gilad to lock me up in a cage for the rest of my life.".

Then, Kenai slowly turned away from the two baby Beartaurs and looked right at the window which he just opened and then he sighed and said "I guess that's it - disobey Gilad too many times and you're a goner.", but then the two baby Beartaurs walked up and got right in front of Kenai to look at him in the eyes, and this made Kenai a little bit annoyed before he asked them "What do you want from me now, babies?", and then the female Beartaur cub searched for something she can use to communicate with Kenai, and once she found a few pieces of paper and a black marker, she went over to pick them up and then she sat down and started to use the black marker to write letters to Kenai so he can understand what she and her twin brother were trying to say to him, and once she's done writing letter on the first piece of paper, she then took the piece of paper and then she showed Kenai what she wrote for him, and then the brown panda tried to pronounce the letters and words the baby Beartauress have wrote for him on the first piece of paper.

"Take us with you." Kenai pronounced the words on the first piece of paper, but when he finished, he then gasped in shock and then he said "What?!", before he quickly covered his own mouth to silence himself when he realized he just talked almost out loud, and when he let go his paws of his own mouth, he then turned to the two little baby Beartaurs and then he said to them "I can't take you two with me.", but then the male Beartaur cub took the marker and a second piece of paper and then he started to write letters and words on the second piece of paper to communicate with Kenai, and once he was done writing, the male Beartaur cub showed Kenai what did he wrote for him, and then Kenai tried to pronounce the letters and words the baby Beartaur have wrote for him on the second piece of paper.

"Please, give us a chance! We promise we won't cause you any troubles!" Kenai pronounced the words on the second piece of paper, but when he finished, he then said back to the little baby Beartaurs "I don't want to put you both in danger, babies! You can't come along with me!", and then he added and explained "If I'll take you both with me back to my owners, Gilad might put you both in a cage, or even worse - he might even kill you two if you'll make him angry!", and when the baby Beartaurs heard what he said, the male Beartaur cub then took the marker and a third piece of paper and then he started to write letters and words on the third piece of paper to communicate with Kenai, and once he was done writing, the male Beartaur cub showed Kenai what did he wrote for him, and then Kenai tried to pronounce the letters and words the baby Beartaur have wrote for him on the third piece of paper.

"What do you mean? What that Gilad you told us about will really do to us?" Kenai pronounced the words on the third piece of paper, but when he finished, he then said back to the little baby Beartaurs "My owner, Gilad, is well experienced in cutting off other creatures' heads, and he can actually do that because he have an axe! I'm pretty sure he won't hesitate to kill you two with his axe if you make him really mad!", and then he added "I don't want to get you both killed! My owner, Gilad, is extremely dangerous, especially to teenagers, juveniles and youngsters!", but then the baby Beartauress handed over and gave a fourth piece of paper to Kenai, and when he looked down at the piece of paper, he saw that the baby Beartauress actually wrote some words on it, and so Kenai tried to pronounce the letters and words the baby Beartauress have wrote for him on the fourth piece of paper.

"We promise you we won't make your owner angry. You can trust us. Now please take us with you." Kenai pronounced the words on the fourth piece of paper, but when he finished, he then sighed in defeat and said back to the little baby Beartaurs "Fine, babies. You're free to come along with me.", and when the baby Beartaurs heard what Kenai said to them, they both jumped and squealed happily in excitement, but then Kenai said them "Shhh! If we wanna leave this place, we need to stay quite, understand?", and when the baby Beartaurs understood what he said, they both moved their human hands close to their own mouths, pointed upright their index finger each and then they said back "Shhh.", to let Kenai know that they do understand him, and then the brown panda said to them "Fine, let's go.", and so he and the two baby Beartaurs all turned and looked at the open window, before they all started to approach it and see if they can make their move and escape from the hospital all together.

Then, Kenai looked out through the window and saw no ponies or other creatures in sight, and then he turned back to the baby Beartaurs and said to them "The coast is clear, let's go.", and then Kenai turned back to the open window and then he jumped through it and ended up landing safely just outside the hospital, and once he made his move, Kenai turned back and said to the baby Beartaurs to just jump through the window, but at first, the two Beartaur cubs refused to do so, but then Kenai said to them "I just managed to jump through the window and land safely outside. Now it's your turn to do the same. You can both do this, and I know you can.", and when the two little Beartaur cubs listened to what he said, the male baby Beartaur was the first to walk up towards the open window, and then he jumped through it and ended up landing safely outside the hospital next to Kenai, thus leaving the baby Beartauress to do her move and jump through the open window, but the baby Beartauress, however, still refused to jump through the window, and it's because she feared she might get hurt if she tries to do so.

However, Kenai said to the baby Beartauress "You can do this, just jump through the window and I will catch you. I promise you you won't get hurt.", and when she heard what Kenai said, the baby Beartauress got the encouragement she needed to jump through the window, and once she jumped through the open window, the baby Beartauress ended up landing safely on Kenai's back outside the hospital, and once she climbed down from his back, Kenai turned back to the window and then he started to close it down to make sure nobody finds out that he and the baby Beartaurs managed to escape through it, and once Kenai closed down and shut the window, he then turned back to the baby Beartaurs and then he said to them "Our escape mission is now complete. Now let's go and have some fun together.", and then the three started to run away together out of Ponyville, through the window and eventually entered the Everfree Forest.


	56. Chapter 55:Kenai introduces Beartaurs

It's still nighttime and everypony and every creature were all still asleep. Well, all except for three - Kenai the brown panda and the two baby Beartaurs who started to like him so much, and even though he already clearly told them about his owner (Gilad) being a dangerous killer when he gets really mad, the two little baby Beartaurs still wanted to come with Kenai as they knew he will be there to protect them in case Gilad shows them his true nature as both a murderer and a head-cutter, and the two baby Beartaurs indeed came along with him after they all managed to escape Ponyville Hospital by jumping through their patient's room's window, and now the three were already walking together in the Everfree Forest.

Kenai is the one who is leading the way in the Everfree Forest and the two baby Beartaurs kept following close behind him so they won't get separated from him and will get lost, but something began troubling Kenai before he started asking himself "What will I tell my owner, Gilad, when I bring these precious little ones to him? Will he accept them and adopt them? Or will he kill just them instead?", and as Kenai kept walking forward and struggling to think what should he do when he'll have to introduce the baby Beartaurs to Gilad and to the other villains from his group, including Black Heart, their evil Pegasus pony friend, he also didn't really saw where he's actually going until when he finally snapped out of his thinking and thoughts, he found himself dangerously close to one of Terrence's Liontaurs, which was in that case - it was the same male Liontaur who knocked him out cold once before, and when Kenai saw he's dangerously close to the centaur-like carnivorous beast, he stopped and stood still in hopes the male Liontaur won't see him, but since the male Liontaur was very smart and can see even animals which are playing dead or standing still, he could still see Kenai standing still close to him, and then he gave the brown panda an angry roar before he started to run towards him, and Kenai had no other choice but to turn around and start to run away for his life, and the male Liontaur gave a hot pursuit as he started to chase after him so he can get him, and this time - to finish him off for good.

Meanwhile, the baby Beartaurs got accidentally separated from Kenai, and they ended up finding themselves in the same place where Kenai took Andy and Zoey to before, where all the bamboo shoots Kenai needs grows. However, since the baby Beartaurs already knew they couldn't and shouldn't try to eat the bamboo like Andy tried and ended up spitting the bamboo shoot he chewed to see and know how it tastes like, and also because they're both smarter than normal horse-like centaurs around their own age, the baby Beartaurs decided to take for themselves two bamboo shoots, and then they started to craft weapons from them, and in that case - wooden spears so they can protect themselves and Kenai in case a large and ferocious monster will come and try to attack them, and also because unfortunately Andy didn't used his own bamboo shoot he took with him, as he also didn't knew he could actually craft a wooden spear from it, but he also lost his bamboo shoot during the fight with Terrence the elephant and his Liontaurs.

Then, after they finished crafting their wooden spears, the two baby Beartaurs left the bamboo shoots area to search for Kenai while carrying their new weapons with them so they can save Kenai and also protect him and/or themselves in case they find him in danger, but just then, they heard a male scream, before they saw Kenai suddenly running back and right towards them, but then they also saw the male Liontaur who is still chasing after him, and so they knew they need to use their new wooden spears to fight and attack their much larger enemy, and so they both waited to Kenai to just run by them, and once the brown panda ran by them, the baby Beartaurs then stuck one of their wooden spears in the ground with its sharp and pointed tip pointing upwards to make sure the ferocious male Liontaur gets impaled on his upper human body by the wooden spear, and then the baby Beartaurs turned around and started to run away and catch up with Kenai, and when the male Liontaur continued to chase after them, he saw the wooden spear in front of him and os he decided to jump above it to prevent himself from getting impaled, and when he got close enough, the male Liontaur jumped up above the spear, but in midway the spear stabbed and impaled the male Liontaur right in his lower lion underbelly, and then it broke loose from its place and also broke apart, and when the male Liontaur landed on the ground safely, he then screamed in pain as the sharp tip of the wooden spear remained stuck in his lion underbelly, but luckily for him, the tip of the spear cut and imapled just through his skin and didn't made it to the flesh, and once the male Liontaur managed to remove the tip of the spear from his own lower lion underbelly, he then cried in pain as he felt the injury is starting to sting and bleed, before he turned and looked in the direction where Kenai and the baby Beartaurs all went, and then he said angrily "They will pay for this! When I find these two baby Beartaurs and their brown panda friend I swear I will kill them all for this!".

An hour later, Kenai and the baby Beartaurs sat down near a lake and Kenai was so shocked and impressed and he was also so proud to see and know that the baby Beartaurs purposely saved his life from the male Liontaur, and in return he said back to them "What you two just did back there an hour ago managed to impress me up to this great point! I've never seen babies like you risking your own lives trying to save adults like me from dangers! I'm so proud of you two, and thank you for saving my life!", and what he said made the two little baby Beartaurs smile at him before they approached and hugged him, and then he locked them in a tight and loving embrace in his forelegs and paws, and once they broke off their hug from each other, the three resumed their journey in the Everfree Forest, but everything was over when they reached a very big, very tall and somewhat very scary house, and Kenai knew exactly who lives in that house, and so he went towards the entrance door and then he knocked on the door with his right foreleg and paw, and then he just sat down and waited for an answer, and just then, a male voice asked "Who's that?", and then Kenai answered "It's me Kenai!", and then the male voice said back "Coming for you!", and then Kenai and the baby Beartaurs all heard the sounds of some loud footsteps that got louder as the footsteps came closer and closer to the entrance door, and when the loud footsteps stopped, there was silence for a brief moment, but then the silence broke when the entrance door slowly opened to reveal Gilad standing right in front of Kenai and looking down at him, and once Gilad finished and left the entrance door wide open, he then said to Kenai "Welcome back home, Kenai!" and then he added and asked "I missed you, where have you been?", and Kenai explained "These Chloe, Aylene and their friends saved me when a Liontaur knocked me out cold and-", but then Gilad gasped in shock and cut him in mid-sentence and then asked in shock and anger "What?! Did that filthy girl and her pony friends just saved your life?!", and then Kenai said "Well, yes, I admit.".

"Did you managed to grab that girl and her pony sister by their throats?! Did they both begged for their lives?!" Gilad asked Kenai, and then the brown panda said to his owner "No, I was knocked unconscious by that male Liontaur before I could have done that.", and when Gilad heard what Kenai said, he growled in anger and said to him "You just started to become as useless as Shujaa already became long ago, and all my brothers, our Pegasus pony friend and I have all gotten here are just a panda bear, a giraffe, a rhinoceros and a Mammophant.", but then another male voice came from inside and then it spoke up and said "And a tiger, a lioness, a leopard and a hippopotamus!", and then Gilad said as he slowly aimed with his axe at Kenai "Kill both Chloe and Aylene for us, or you'll end up dying instead!", and then he added and he got his axe dangerously close to Kenai's throat "I warn you, Kenai! No more excuses!", and then Kenai said back as he felt the axe is too close to his neck and throat "Yes, Master!", and then Gilad moved his axe away from Kenai's throat and then he said evilly "Good panda bear! And now, come inside! The others were all waiting for you!", and then Kenai got back up on his feet and said "Oh, yes! Yes, of course!" and then he started to walk forward and enter his owners' house.

The baby Beartaurs watched everything Gilad did to Kenai from a distance behind the brown panda, and they both became shocked to see Gilad almost killing Kenai with his axe for failing to kill Chloe and Aylene, but soon afterwards they snapped out of their shocked states and decided to go into the villainous people and Pegasus pony's house after Kenai, but when they both entered and went inside the house, they're soon being spotted by Tony Black (Yigal's pure black Bengal tiger), but rather than attacking them, Tony Black informed Yigal first, and then Yigal informed Gilad, and when Gilad saw the baby Beartaurs inside his house, he was shocked to see them both at first, but then he became angered before he yelled in anger "KENAI! COME HERE NOW!", and Kenai knew that his owner is calling him because of the baby Beartaurs, and so he went to see Gilad standing while looking down at him with an angry face before the evil man asked "Kenai, who are these two babies?", and then Gilad pointed down at the baby Beartaurs who just entered the house, and then Gilad added with some anger in his voice tone "Where did they came from? Why they have the lower bodies, legs and tails of grizzly bear cubs? And last but not least - DID YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE WITHOUT MY AND MY BROTHERS' PERMISSIONS?!" Gilad yelled in anger and caused the two baby Beartaur to step aback from him, but then Kenai stepped forward and said to his owner "Master, I admit the truth - I did brought them here, and though I told them not to to come with me, they still didn't listened to me and begged me to take and bring them along, and eventually I gave up and allowed them to come along and join me.".

However, Gilad just kept looking at Kenai with an angry face, before the brown panda came up with the right idea that will make his owner accept the baby Beartaurs too, and so he said to Gilad "However, I must still thank these two little ones for what they did for me back there before. I have to admit - they saved my life from the same male Liontaur who knocked me out cold before.", and when Gilad heard what his brown panda said about what the baby Beartaurs did when they saved his life before, the evil man raised an eyebrow before he asked him "Wait a second, did these two babies just saved your life from a vicious monster?", and then Kenai said "Well, yes they did.", and then Gilad said "Why didn't you just said that before? Now they're welcome to live here with us for as long as they're useful!", and then he turned away from Kenai before bent down to the baby Beartaurs and then he said to them "In return for saving my brown panda bear, you're both welcome to live with me, with my brothers, with our friend, and with all of our animals!", and then he added and said to them "Now come, children! Everyone will be so happy when I'll tell them all about you and about what did you both did for my brown panda bear, and I'll also make them all surprised and astonished when I'll tell them about how did you managed to save my Kenai's life from a vicious monster!", and then he stretched and got back up to his full height before he turned and walked right towards a very tall and very large door that leads to a very tall and very large room where all the rest of the human, pony and animal villains were all waiting for Gilad and Kenai to come, and upon entering the room where all the other villains were all waiting for them to come, they're all happy and gald to see Kenai is back, but then they're also very shocked to see the double little gift he brought back with him - the two baby Beartaurs.

However, Gilad explained to his brothers and to their evil Pegasus friend that the two baby Beartaurs deserve to live with them for they have saved Kenai's life from the male Liontaur who knocked him out cold before, and then Kenai also told the others how did they actually used wooden spears which they crafted from bamboo shoots to prevent the male Liontaur from destroying him, and then the male Beartaur cub also showed the remaining wooden spear which he still have with him, thus shocking everyone, including Gilad who then decided to declare the baby Beartaurs the newest members of his villainous team, before all the human, pony and animal villains all cheered for Gilad for declaring the baby Beartaurs the newest members of their team, and Kenai just stood there too, but he felt a terrible feeling inside him as he knew something bad will occur sooner or later.

Then, with the baby Beartaurs were now part of the human, pony and animals' villainous team, Gilad then took the two Beartaur cubs with him to meet the animals (excluding Kenai) from a close look, but when they met Saut the hybrid white rhinoceros, he started to give them both a cold and dark glare as he's intolerant to babies and children from all species who look just like humans or have humanoid bodies, due to his mother species (Northern white rhinoceros) being completely extinct due to humans hunting these rhinos to extinction, with the last known male whose name is Sudan died in 2018, at the age of 45. Then, Saut snorted angrily at the baby Beartaurs and then he gave them an angry growl, thus scaring them as they both stepped aback from him, before they started to hug each other tightly and then shake and tremble in fear as the looked right at the male rhinoceros' angry face.

Then, Kenai came forward and stepped between the baby Beartaurs and Saut and then he said "Saut, please don't hurt them! They're only babies! A full grown male like you should never pick on innocent babies, even if you're aging and becoming an elder!", but this made Saut even more angrier and he wanted to charge at Kenai and at the baby Beartaurs, but then Ezra came to Saut's side and then he started to calm him down and then he said "It's okay, my dear rhinoceros. Don't be mad at a couple of babies. You don't even know them yet, and neither me and any of us but Kenai. I'm sure that over time you'll get to accept them as your new friends, Saut. I promise you everything will be fine.", and when Saut heard what his aging owner said, Saut finally calmed down before he turned around and started to slowly walk away until he reached close to one of the walls, and then he sat down very close near it before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Then, Gilad led the baby Beartaurs to the guests' room, which have four extra beds to keep things comfortable for the guests or even the newest team members, and so the baby Beartaurs went and got onto two of the four beds, and Kenai followed behind them before he climbed up onto a third bed and then he rested down, closed his eyes and was about to sleep, but then he also started feeling something is touching him on both sides of his body, and when he opened his eyes again, Kenai saw the baby Beartaurs hugging him on both sides of his body for comfort, and then he gave them a smile before he wrapped both of his forelegs and paws around their bodies, and then all three closed their eyes and they finally fell asleep all together.


	57. Chapter 56:Kenai's banishment

When morning came, everypony and every creature woke up and Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends all went to the hospital to see Kenai and the two baby Beartaurs again, but when Nurse Redheart noticed that Kenai and the baby Beartaurs have disappeared during the last night, she then alarmed all the other nurses and doctors, and when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron, Shujaa, Bluebell, Linda, the centaur twins (Andy and Zoey), the Tigertaur triplets (Egbert, Shelly and Yoko), the mane seven and even princesses Celestia and Luna all arrived at the hospital to see Kenai and the baby Beartaurs again, they're all shocked to hear from Nurse Redheart that Kenai and the baby Beartaurs have all disappeared during the last night, and so they all decided to go and search for them, and Celestia and Luna went back to the royal castle to retrieve and bring their royal guards along with them to help searching for Kenai and for the baby Beartaurs, while Shujaa went all the way to changeling kingdom to ask Thorax and Pharynx to come and bring their changelings along with them to help Celestia, Luna and the royal guards to search for Kenai and for the baby Beartaurs, but at first, the changelings and their two kings refused to help since Kenai is Gilad's panda bear, but when Shujaa explained that Kenai tried and even helped to save the lives of the two orphan baby Beartaurs from Terrence the abusive bull elephant and from his Liontaurs, Thorax, Pharynx and their changelings reluctantly agreed to come along and help searching for both Kenai and for the missing baby Beartaurs.

Meanwhile, in the villains' second (and current) house in the Everfree Forest, Kenai and the baby Beartaurs were all still sleeping until Gilad enters their room and wakes them up and then he said to them "Wake up, Kenai and the kids! It's a big day for us to go on a hunt today!", and this is when Kenai and the baby Beartaurs all stretched their bodies and their limbs before they got out of their bed, and then they started to follow Gilad to the living room where all the other villains were all waiting for them. When they entered the living room, Yigal, Ezra and Black Heart all said in unison "Good morning for you, Kenai and the kids! It's time for some breakfast!", and then Yigal went to the kitchen to prepare food for himself, for his brothers, for Black Heart and for all the animals, and a half an hour later, the breakfast was ready for everyone to eat. Yigal, Gilad, Ezra ate some schnitzels with ketchup on the side, Black Heart ate some French fries (A.K.A simple fries or chips) with some mayo on the side, Tony Black, Agatha and Russell ate some fresh goat meat as a special treat, Saut, Lin Raju, Einhorn and Claire ate tons of plants and flowers which were all given to them to eat, while Kenai ate his usual meal which consists some honey with some salmons as well, but he decided to give up his salmons to the baby Beartaurs so they can also eat breakfast as well, and so he ate only the honey instead while his two baby Beartaur companions enjoyed eating the salmons for him since he doesn't likes eating fish (because pandas love eating bamboo instead), but Kenai also preferred non-bamboo products to eat, except for all types of meat and fish to show why pandas were all different than all other bear species - because pandas only eat vegetation.

Then, when the villains all finished eating their breakfast meals, Gilad said as he got up on his feet "Let's get up on our feet and go on a special hunt today!", and everyone listened to him before they all got up on their feet as well, and so did Kenai and the baby Beartaurs before they all went outside all together and left the house to search for something to hunt. While searching for some animals or creatures to hunt down, Kenai asked Gilad "Would you like me to do the hunting job for you today?", but Gilad laughed at his words and said "Never! You can't even hunt prey animals!", and then he added "I'm sure Tony Black, Agatha and Russell will find us something to hunt down in almost no time!", and this made Kenai frown at Gilad's insult before the two baby Beartaurs got close enough to him and continued and walked by his right side to make him feel a bit happy, and after walking with the villains for about half an hour in the Everfree Forest, Kenai and the baby Beartaurs all stopped and halted as Yigal suddenly spotted a group of wild boars they can hunt down, before he turned and motioned to Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart with his right arm and hand to come forward and see the wild boars, and when the three other villainous leaders also came to his sides and saw the wild boars some distance away from them, Gilad said to the animals that they found some forest animals to hunt down, which are in this case - the wild boars.

Then, Gilad said "Tony Black, Agatha and Russell will be doing the hunting for us today! Their mission is to hunt down and kill at least three wild boars for all of us!", and when the three Big cats heard what he said, they turned to him and nodded in agreement, before Tony Black growled like if he was trying to say in Big cat language **"It will be a great honor for us killing three of these wild boars for all of you!"** , and then Ezra said "Now you three, let's go!", and so Tony Black, Agatha and Russell all lowered down and started to crawl very slowly with their bellies close to the ground as they started to approach the wild boars before they started to stalk them upon getting behind one of the nearest big bushes, and then the three Big cats waited for the right moment to make their moves and strike at the wild boars.

Then, as the boars continued eating the grass, this is when Tony Black, Agatha and Russell all turned to each other and nodded with their heads before they turned back to aim at their shared target, which was the nearest wild boar. Then, Tony Black jumped out of bush and sprinted towards the wild boar and then he managed to jump onto it and then he started to bite at its neck to kill it before he was soon joined by Agatha and Russell who then started to bite at both of the wild boar's hind legs to immobilize it, and with their teamwork of all the three together, Tony Black, Agatha and Russell all managed to kill the wild boar, thus leaving two more to go before they can stop and/or finish their hunt, but they soon got spotted by the rest of the group of wild boars, before they all turned around and started to run away, and this is when Tony Black, Agatha and Russell started to chase after the wild boars in attempt to hunt down and kill two others.

Then, Saut the rhinoceros suddenly came in front of the wild boars and managed to trap them between himself and his three Big cat friends, and then he used his horns and forelegs to kill a second wild boar, thus giving Tony Black, Agatha and Russell the chance to kill a third wild boar before they can stop and/or finish the hunt. However, Kenai saw this as the chance he waited for to prove himself worthy and so he started to run into one of the wild boars from the side and then he started to attack it, but the wild boar soon managed to jump on him and pin him down on his back, and then it tried to bite at Kenai who struggled to throw the wild boar off himself, before he cried "Someone help me, please!", but before the wild boar can kill him, a wooden spear suddenly came out of nowhere and it stabbed and impaled the wild boar right in the neck, thus causing it to fall off Kenai and to the ground and die, and when Kenai turned around, he saw the two baby Beartaurs looking at him before they started to run towards him to check on him and see if he's alright, and then Kenai slowly got back up on his feet before he's rewarded with a loving hug from the two baby Beartaurs who love him so much, and with three wild boars down, the hunt is now over.

Then, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart went up to Tony Black, Agatha, Russell, Saut and the baby Beartaurs and they cheered for them all for using their special techniques and hunting skills to kill three wild boars, but Kenai was sad because his owner Gilad is now showing no attention to him, and the evil owner is now giving all the attention to the baby Beartaurs instead. Then, Gilad turned to Kenai and then he said to him "You're a very stupid and foolish panda bear, Kenai! I'm deeply disappointed in you! You almost got yourself killed!", and Kenai tried to speak to him and then he said "But I-" but then Gilad cut him in mid-sentence and then he said "As a punishment, you're going to stay outside and you're forbidden to return home until midnight!", and then he motioned with his right arm and hand to the side and pointed with his index finger away and then he said to Kenai "Now go away and do not return home until we decide you can!", but then Kenai yelled back and cried "Fine then! If you berate me just because of a stupid wild boar, then maybe I should just go away and NEVER RETURN!" Kenai roared in anger and pain, but then Gilad slapped him twice across the face and said to him "You must always respect your owners! But now I see very clearly that you're nothing more than an ungrateful panda bear! Get out and away from my eyesight and get your butt out of here right now!", and then he yelled out loud "GOOOOOOOOO!", and since he yelled in anger right at Kenai's face, this caused the brown panda to quickly turn around and then he started to run away and leave all the others behind, and then tears of sadness and pain started to form and roll down his eyes and trail behind him as he continued to run away from his owners and from all the others in great pain that pained in his heart, before he completely disappeared into the Everfree Forest.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, and all their friends, and even Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, the royal guards and the changelings (and Shujaa) were all searching for Kenai and for the baby Beartaurs in the Everfree Forest, and while searching for them, Aron said "I hope that brown panda is alright.", and then he added "He's got to be around here somewhere and we're gonna him sooner or later.", and then Linda said to him "Don't forget the baby Beartaurs, Aron.", and then she added "We must find them too.", and then Aron said to her "Oh, yes, of course.", and everyone continued to search for Kenai and for the baby Beartaurs in the Everfree Forest.

Back in the villains' house, the Baby Beartaurs were both worried about Kenai because he's not around to be with them, but they can't go outside to search for him because Gilad forbids and prevents them from searching for him, as well as Saut will also threaten to harm them if they go outside to look for him, and then the baby Beartauress said in baby language "I hop hi'z olrait.", and then the male Beartaur cub added and said "Mi tuu.", as the two baby Beartaurs both looked outside through one of the windows and then they both sighed as they grew more worried with each passing minute.

Meanwhile, Kenai was now sitting down in front of a lake he found, and he's now frowning and looking down at his own reflecting in the water, before he suddenly snapped in anger and slapped at his own reflection in the water with his right paw and then he cried "I hate myself!", and then he added "I'm nothing more than useless!", and then tears of sadness and pain started to form and roll down his eyes and fall right to the lake's water. However, what he didn't know is that the male Liontaur from before (that is one of Terrence's Liontaurs) is slowly approaching right behind him and he's about to strike him while he's looking down into the lake, and then the male Liontaur evilly thought to himself as he kept approaching Kenai very slowly from behind _"He's not even looking at me! He doesn't even know what's gonna get him! I'll just kill him like killing an injured baby animal!"_ , and when the male Liontaur got close enough to Kenai, he reared up onto his hind lion legs and then he's about to maul down and strike at the saddened brown panda who is not even aware that he's going to get killed from right behind his back.

However, a female voice then shouted at the male Liontaur from a distance "LEAVE KENAI ALONE!", and this is when Kenai and the Liontaur both snapped from their states and then the Liontaur said "Oh, not her again!", as he recognized that it was actually Fluttershy who is shouting at him, and when he turned to look forward, he saw Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their friends, the Alicorn princesses, the changeling kings, and royal guards and changelings all coming towards him, and then Kenai turned back to see the Liontaur towering over him, and then he gasped in stepped aback in terror as he walked backwards into the water before he turned and ran away in and through the water as fast as he could until he joined up with everypony and every creature, who then faced the male Liontaur who tried to kill him from behind before they came to interfere with his evil plans.

Then, Fluttershy flew over to the Liontaur and once she got right in front of his face, she then yelled at him "Just what you're thinking you're doing to Kenai, you evil monster!", and then she added "First you knocked him out cold, and now you're trying to kill him?! You're a heartless beast!", but then the Liontaur angrily slapped her across the face and knocked her away with his left human arm and hand and then he yelled at her "Shut up, stupid mare!", and then he turned to maul down Fluttershy, but before he's about to do so, he said evilly "I'll finish you off instead!", and then he reared up onto his hind lion legs once, and he's about to maul down at Fluttershy, but Kenai who saw this about to come suddenly felt his anger rising and then he snapped and roared in anger "LEAVE FLUTTERSHY ALONE!", and then he started to run through the water again until he reached the Liontaur, and then he started to jump on the Liontaur and he started to attack him to get him away from Fluttershy, much to everyone's shock and amazement as they've never seen Kenai so angry at a ferocious monster like the male Liontaur he's now attacking in front of their eyes.

Then, when Kenai managed to knock the male Liontaur down onto his side, this is the chance Kenai has been waiting for, and then he did something he have ever done before - he jumped onto the Liontaur once again and this time he bit through his lion mane, directly biting onto his neck, and once Kenai let go of the Liontaur's neck, the ferocious creature is now dead, before Kenai then started to roar and cry victoriously as tears escaped his eyes, and everyone just stood there in shock and amazement and Pinkie's jaws dropped as she too saw what Kenai did to save Fluttershy's life.

Then, when Kenai stopped roaring and crying victoriously, he then turned and walked away from the dead male Liontaur and towards Fluttershy as inside his mind he started to slowly calm down a bit, though he still looked a bit angry as well, and when he reached Fluttershy, he placed a foreleg and paw on her back and cried "Fluttershy! Are you okay?! Please say something! Speak to me!", and then he started to cry again as he waited for response from her, and just then Fluttershy started to move and when she turned to see Kenai crying, she got herself away from his foreleg and paw at first, but then she turned back to and started to approach him, and once she got close enough to him, she then started to place a hoof on the side of his face and gently stroked his cheek before she said "I'm okay, Kenai. No need to cry. I'm not dead. I'm fine.", and when Kenai opened his eyes to see her kindly smiling at him, he then jumped on her and hugged her and cried "Oh, what a relief! I thought that beast killed you! I'm so sorry!", and then Fluttershy continued to stroke Kenai until he finally calmed down and pulled away from her to give her some room and space as he nearly choked her when he accidentally hugged her too tightly she could barely breath, and once Kenai let go of Fluttershy, she then said to him back "Thank you for saving my life, Kenai.", and then everyone finally snapped out of their shocked and amazed states before they came forward and joined up with Kenai and Fluttershy.

Then, when everyone joined up with Kenai Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash then asked Kenai "Alright, Kenai, where are the baby Beartaurs?", and Kenai said to her "They're now part of my evil owners' team.", and when everyone heard what he just said, they all gasped in shock before Kenai added "That's right, Gilad took them in for them being able to kill that stupid wild boar which I failed to hunt down and casted me out in the process.", but then Rainbow Dash said to him "I don't believe you, you lair!", but then Kenai turned and swiped at her with his right foreleg and paw, though she managed to dodge him in time, and then he yelled as tears started to form in eyes again "I'm not lying, you stupid mare with no heart! You're cruel and mean to me even more than that Black Heart! I hate you!", but then Fluttershy said to him "Please, Kenai, calm down, it's okay.", but then he turned to her and said "No! It's not okay! You don't even believe me because you all think I'm still loyal to that beast Gilad who punished me for my failure!", but then Shujaa said "But I believe you, Kenai! Can't you trust me?", but then Kenai said "No! If that rainbow-maned pony of yours said I'm nothing but a liar, then so be it!", but then Fluttershy begged him as he's about to take off and run away "Please don't go, Kenai! I don't want you to leave! I love you and need you!", and when everyone heard what Fluttershy just said, they all gasped in shock and even Kenai looked at her in shock, but then he said "Thank you for saying that to me, but I'm afraid I cannot trust you either, Fluttershy!", and then he added "Gilad and the rest of the team don't want me anymore, and I'm no longer belong with them, and if that rainbow-maned pony friend of yours said I'm a liar, so that means that I'm not belong with all of you either, so I guess I don't belong and not welcome anywhere anymore!", and then he finally burst into tears again and started to run away and deeper into the Everfree Forest, and even when Fluttershy called for him to come back, Kenai just ignored her as he continued to run away and leave everyone behind, and as Kenai continued to run away, he then thought to himself _"No one believes me no more! That stupid rainbow-maned pony was right! I'm not welcome anywhere anymore! I don't belong anywhere anymore! There's no hope for me to live no more! It's all over for me now! Goodbye, cruel world!"_.


	58. Chapter 57:Kenai and Beartaurs' new home

Fluttershy looked in the direction where Kenai ran away to, and then she turned back and yelled at Rainbow Dash "How could you, Rainbow?!", but Rainbow said to her "Fluttershy, we cannot trust Kenai! He belongs to Gilad and you know it!", but then Shujaa interfered and said "So what?! I was once too belonged to Gilad for so many years begore I betrayed him and became a good orangutan!", and then Rarity said "He have a point, darling! If Shujaa was able to become good before, then Kenai may be able to do the same thing he already did!", and then Applejack said "I really believe his words, and I'm really feeling sorry for him. I didn't even know that he's now no longer part of Gilad's evil family and team.", and then Starlight added "I too think he deserves a second chance and get to start anew as a good panda bear.", and then Twilight said "But before we'll go after him, we'll first go to Gilad's house to retrieve the baby Beartaurs from him and from his brothers, and then we'll go search for Kenai and persuade him to join our side!", and when everypony and every creature heard what the Princess of friendship said, Celestia then said "Then let's go and save the baby Beartaurs now! We'll search for Kenai later!", and so everypony and every creature all started to go on their way to Gilad and his brothers' house to save the two baby Beartaurs from the bad humans and from their animals (Minus Kenai, of course).

Meanwhile, Kenai continued to run away until he suddenly decided to slow down and just continue to simply walk, and when he turned around and saw no one is following him, he then continued to walk at a normal walking speed until he found a large cave where he can hide, and so he walked towards the large cave, and once he entered and walked inside, he started to search for some spot inside the cave where he can finally rest down after running away twice - once from Gilad, and another from Fluttershy, and once Kenai found the spot in the cave which he liked to choose for, he then sat down and then rested down on his left side and said "I can finally calm down now. I can be finally left alone. No one will ever find me here.", and then he gave himself a chuckle before he closed his eyes and fell asleep inside the cave.

Back in Gilad's house, the baby Beartaurs were both planning to escape and search for Kenai, and after planning everything that needs to happen for their escape plan to come out successful, the baby Beartauress made her move alone as she walked towards the window which leads outside from the room she and her brother were both trapped in, and then she slowly opened the window, and once it was wide open, she then tried to encourage herself to jump through it, and once the baby Beartauress jumped through the window and landed outside safely, she then saw Lin Raju, Saut, Claire and Einhorn all sitting down outside, but luckily for the baby Beartauress, none of them were looking at her, and it's because they're all looking away together because they're all waiting for Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else to come and attack, and the baby Beartauress started to sneak away without getting detected by any of the four large animals, and once she got quite far away from the house, she then started to ran away and search for Kenai, but the male Beartaur cub stayed in because their plan for only the baby Beartauress to escape so she can search for Kenai, while the male Beartaur cub stays in the locked room alone and wait until Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else will come to rescue him, and then they'll all go to search for his sister and for Kenai.

Meanwhile, back in the cave, Kenai was still sleeping, but he's having a bad dream. Kenai found himself running away in the Everfree Forest until he ended up and stopped at the edge of a cliff above a bottomless chasm, and when he turned back, he saw Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron, and everyone else running up and catching up with him, but they all looked at him with angry eyes and faces, which caused Kenai to start to shake and tremble in fear like a leaf as he's been caught and trapped on the edge of the cliff with nowhere else to go to, and then Chloe yelled at him "I hate you, Kenai!", and then Aylene added "You're nothing but a monster!", and then Stephan yelled "You're an inexcusable beast with no heart to share!", and then Aron added "You're a helpless jerk!", and then Bluebell cried "I can't believe we tried to save you!", and then Linda added "We should've left you to die!", and when Kenai heard all of these bad, hateful and painful words they all spat out at him, he then started to sob and whimper in pain, and then the mane seven were next to speak badly to Kenai and hurt his feelings some more.

Then, Twilight yelled "No one needs you in this world!", and then Applejack added "You're a rotten varmint!", and then Rarity said "You look as ugly and as disgusting as your former owner!", and then Rainbow Dash yelled "You're the worst of all jerks I've ever known!", and then Pinkie Pie added "No one should make friends with a big, bad, mean meanie panda bear like you!", and then Starlight yelled "You should just go away and never return!", and then Fluttershy said "I don't and never will love a filthy beast like you, Kenai!", and when Kenai heard all these bad, hateful and painful words they all spat out at him, he then started to cry in sadness and pain, and then it was the Alicorn Princesses, the changeling kings and Shujaa's turn to hurt Kenai's feelings some more.

Then, Celestia yelled "You're the same as evil as your former owner!", and then Luna added "You don't belong in this world!", and then Thorax yelled "Do us all a favor and just die!", and then Pharynx added "Yeah, nobody else would even care about you!", and then Shujaa said last "Unlike me, because I successfully managed to reform, You can't even reform, therefore you're nothing but a huge mistake to all of Equestria!", and when Kenai heard what they all said, and especially what Shujaa said, Kenai yelled in distress "Please, make it stop! NOW!" Kenai raised his voice as everyone started to step forward and force him to fall off the edge of the cliff and down the bottomless chasm, and it's like everyone were like a huge pride of Tanzanian lions mixed and mingled together with a huge clan of Spotted hyenas about to finish together Kenai who is like a poor, helpless and defenseless leopard cub.

Then, Kenai stepped aback but ended up losing his footing as he accidentally stepped beyond the edge of the cliff and ended up finding himself almost falling down as he desperately tried to hang and grip tightly onto the edge of the cliff with his front paws, and then Fluttershy stepped forward and looked down at him, and then Kenai cried for her "Fluttershy! Please, help me!", but then she reared up onto her hind legs and hooves and then she smashed down and dug her front hooves violently into Kenai's forepaws, causing him to cry in pain, though he still gripped tightly onto the edge of the cliff, and then Fluttershy moved with her face towards Kenai's face until she's only a single inch away from his face, and then she said in a low, disturbing and evil tone "Goodbye forever, Kenai.", thus making him look at her with a shocked and horrified face, before she released Kenai's grip from the edge of the cliff with her both of her forehooves, causing him to fall down into the dark and bottomless chasm below, and then he screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as he disappeared into the darkness of the bottomless chasm.

This is when Kenai snapped out of his nightmare to find himself alive and well in the same cave where he last stopped, but then tears started to form and roll down his eyes and he started to cry again and then he said to himself "I'm useless to everyone and everything in this world! I'm such a waste! I'm needless to this world! I don't deserve to live anymore!", but then he suddenly heard a baby girl's voice calling for him, and when he turned to the opening of the cave, he saw the baby Beartauress coming inside to search for him, and so he started to run towards her, and when she saw him too, the baby Beartauress also started to run towards Kenai, and once the two got very close to each other, the baby Beartauress then jumped onto Kenai, causing him to get knocked back but not causing him to get hurt, and then she started to hug tightly at his chest, causing to cry tears of joy this time as he let out a joyful crying upon being found by at least one of the baby Beartaurs who loved and liked him for the most.

However, when Kenai asked the baby Beartauress where is her brother, she then tried to explain in baby language that her brother is waiting back at Gilad's house to be rescued, and when Kenai got all the information he needed, he then decided to leave the cave with the baby Beartauress and return all the way back to Gilad's house to save the male Beartaur cub from there. Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else were also on their way to Gilad's house, and when they all finally arrived there, they started to attack and fight Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals, and when they won against the villains and entered their house, they found only the male baby Beartaur trapped and locked in one of the villains' rooms, and so Twilight used her magic to unlock and open the door, and the male baby Beartaur is finally rescued.

However, just then, they all heard the baby Beartauress coming when they heard her baby girl voice coming from outside, and when everyone (plus the male baby Beartaur) went outside, they saw Kenai running towards them all with the baby Beartauress riding on his back, and once the two got reunited with everyone else, the baby Beartauress jumped off Kenai's back and landed safely on the ground before approaching and hugging her brother, who in response hugged her back as they both knew that their plan turned out to be a huge success.

However, then Rainbow Dash came forward and asked him "Why are you still here?", and then she added "Why aren't you attacking us like you always used to?", and then Kenai said "Because I have a change of heart!", and when he said that, everyone gasped in shock to hear what he just said about himself, before Rainbow Dash asked him "What are you saying?", and then she added "No one even wants you around!", but then Fluttershy said to her "Rainbow, stop it!", and then she turned to Kenai and then she asked him "You really want to join our good side?", and Kenai said "I don't have much of a choice, and I'm saying this to everyone else here too!".

However, just then, Tony Black suddenly jumped on Rainbow Dash and pinned her to the ground with his front paws, and Rainbow struggled to kick him off herself, but she's unable to do so because he managed to trap her hooves under his paws, and then the evil pure black Bengal tiger raised a foreleg and a forepaw up and then he's about to strike at Rainbow, but then Kenai jumped on Tony Black and knocked him off Rainbow Dash, and then the tiger and the panda bear faced each other as Tony Black was about to make the next move on Kenai, and this when Tony Black evilly said in Big cat language **"Just like shujaa, you too, Kenai, are now a traitor!"** , and then he jumped up and managed to land on Kenai and roll him upside down onto his back, and then Tony Black jumped onto him and added **"For betraying your owner Gilad, Kenai, you're going to face your doom!"** , and then he raised a foreleg and a forepaw up and he's about to strike at Kenai, who is unable to fight back because Tony Black trapped and restrained him to prevent him from fighting back.

However, before Tony Black can strike and kill Kenai, Rainbow Dash came from aside and then she punched Tony Black across the face with her foreleg and hoof, and then she turned tail and then she bucked the black tiger in the chest, thus throwing him off Kenai, before the rainbow-maned Pegasus mare yelled at Tony Black "Leave him alone, you big bully!", but when he got back up on his feet, he then roared in anger at her and at Kenai (who also got back on his feet), but then Shujaa ran towards Tony Black and then he punched him square in the face and knocked him out cold, and then Shujaa turned back to everyone else and said "Let's get out of here noe!", but then Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all came out of nowhere and blocked everyone's path, and then Gilad said to Kenai "Where do you think you're going, traitor?", and then Yigal added "Well then, welcome to the side of betrayal, Kenai!", and then Black Heart said evilly "You think you got allies with these filthy ponies and non-ponies who shunned me, Kenai?", and then she added "Well, let me tell you something to refresh your memory - No one loves you anymore! And now that we villains don't love you and don't even want you anymore either, you have NOTHING!", but then Celestia said to her "No! I will never let you speak to him like that!", and then Thorax added "Neither I will! Now leave him alone or I'll blast you with my magic, you excuse for a mother!", but then Yigal interfered and asked "Why use all this violence? Can't we all just come in peace?", and then he showed everyone a fake smile.

However, no one was really buying Yigal's fake smile, for they all knew he's lying, and then Shujaa yelled "Not in about a 10,000 years!", and then Rainbow Dash added "Kenai just risked himself to save my life from your vicious black tiger, and I'm so grateful of his will to save me! I'm not letting you do him any harm, even if he was once your panda!", but then Gilad snapped and yelled back "When my brothers, our pony friend and I destroy the Tree of Harmony and conquer this world, I will have an orangutan's skin and a panda bear's skin hanging on my wall!", and when they heard what he said, Shujaa and Kenai both gasped in shock and Kenai stepped aback in fear, before Yigal added evilly "And we don't even care whose!".

However, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, the mane seven, the royal guards and the changelings came forward and then Luna yelled "Kenai is not going anywhere with you anymore!", and then Pharynx added "And he's not coming back to live with you monsters for owners either!", and then the royal guarda and changelings charged together against the three evil human males and their evil Pegasus friend, and they soon managed to chase all four of them away, and then everyone started to run and fly and leave the area, and after traveling all together for over an hour, everyone finally found their way out of the Everfree Forest.

However, after everyone left the Everfree Forest, Kenai then asked "What should I do now? Where should I go?", and then Starlight said "That's very simple - come with us!", and then Twilight added "Choose with who do you want to live with, Kenai!", and then Kenai started to think about which pony out of the mane seven is the best for him to choose to live with, and after two minutes of struggling to choose, he finally answered that he wants to live with Fluttershy, for she have loved him so much after he tried to attack Terrence and his Liontaurs to save her, Linda, the triplets and the baby Beartaurs.

When Fluttershy heard what Kenai said, tears of joy started to form in her eyes before she jumped and landed on the brown panda, and then she started to hug him around the neck as she started to cry joyfully into his chest fur, much to everypony and every creature's happiness and joy as they all watched Fluttershy forming her new friendship bond with Kenai, and then he hugged her back and started to gently stroke at her mane with a forepaw, and then they're joined by the two baby Beartaurs, who then jumped onto both Kenai and Fluttershy and hugged them both tightly like two little children hugging their parents, before Kenai and Fluttershy noticed and hugged them too, and the four ended up turning their hug into a family hug, much to everyone's happiness and joy when they all saw the new family bond between Kenai, Fluttershy and the two baby Beartaurs.

Then, when they broke their family hug and let go of each other, Kenai suggested about naming the still unnamed baby Beartaurs before going back home together, and everyone tried to suggest and think about the perfect names the two baby Beartaurs needs to have. Then, the baby Beartaurs came up with an idea how to get their names they want, and so they both ran into a dirty spot where they started to write letters in the dirt, and once they both finished, the baby Beartaurs called for everyone else to come and see what they wrote for them in the dirt, and so everyone approached and came forward until they all reached the dirty spot where the baby Beartaurs went to, and once they all stopped, each of the two baby Beartaurs pointed down with a human arm, hand and index finger right at each of the two words which the two baby Beartaurs both wrote in the dirt.

"Kayden?", Kenai asked when he pronounced one of the names the baby Beartaurs wrote in the dirt, and the male baby Beartaur nodded before giggling, and then Fluttershy asked "Tallulah?" when she pronounced the other name the baby Beartaurs wrote in the dirt, and then the baby Beartauress nodded before she too giggled happily and gave a cute baby smile, and then Shujaa announced in front of everyone after he too looked at the names in the dirt and pronounced them "Mares, gentlecolts, changelings and Centaurs! I'd like to introduce you all to Kenai and Fluttershy's two adopted children! Meet Kayden and Tallulah! The two kind baby Beartaurs known to all of Equestria!", and when everyone heard what the albino orangutan said as he announced the names of Kayden and Tallulah and as Kenai and Fluttershy adopted children, they all started to clap their hands and hooves and they all cheered for both Kenai and Fluttershy, who are now announced as adoptive parents of Kayden and Tallulah, the two baby Beartaurs who love them so much.

Kenai and Fluttershy cried tears of joy together when they realized they're now the adoptive parents of Kayden and Tallulah, and then this is when their adopted children hugged each of them and cried tears of joy as well, and once the announcement was done, everyone knew it's time to part ways and go every one to their own home, and so everyone started to part ways, and Kenai and Fluttershy went all the way back to Fluttershy's cottage together, with Kayden and Tallulah as their adoptive children following them close behind, and when they all arrived there, Fluttershy's cottage became Kenai, Kayden and Tallulah's new home.


	59. Chapter 58:Kenai meets Sayla

One month have passed since Kenai the brown panda betrayed Gilad and his brothers and the other villains and joined the good side and came to live with Fluttershy, and it was also one months since Kayden and Tallulah the baby Beartaurs have been named and adopted by Fluttershy and Kenai, and it was also 50 months (4 years and 2 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 38 years (3 years and 2 months) since Aylene became her beloved sister, and right now, everything seems to be quite fine with everyone, especially with Kenai, Fluttershy, Kayden and Tallulah, who now live all together in Fluttershy's cottage as one big happy family.

however, one day, Shining Armor and Cadance came to visit Chloe and Aylene in Canterlot with their daughter Flurry Heart, who has now grown up to become a young Alicorn filly, and when they arrived in Canterlot, Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart all went to the royal castle to meet Chloe and Aylene and see how they're both doing after not seeing them in a long time, and when the three royal ponies arrived at the royal castle, they all entered and went inside to see Chloe and Aylene, and when they arrived at the throne room, they're greeted and welcomed by Celestia, Luna and Shujaa, and just then Chloe and Aylene came behind and surprised Shining, Cadance and Flurry, thus shocking them all at first, before Flurry then started to laugh at Chloe and Aylene's surprising move before she spoke up very clearly just any filly who is her own age and said "Hello, Cousins Chloe and Aylene! That's so nice to meet you both again after not seeing either if you in a while!", and then Chloe said back "And I see that you can now talk and speak very clearly and not in a baby language no more!", and then Aylene added "I'm too very happy you can now talk clearly and properly just like us, Flurry!", and then the three gave each other a cousins' hug, and Celestia, Luna, Shining, Cadance and Shujaa all watched them before Celestia spoke up and said "That's so nice to see such a strong bond between all three of them!", and then Luna said "I have to agree with you!", before Cadance said "It's just warming and melting my heart just looking at this strong bond between my little daughter and Chloe and Aylene together!", and then tears of happiness and joy formed in her eyes as she kept looking at Chloe, Aylene and Flurry Heart all hugging each other and locking each other in a tight cousins' embrace.

Just then, Twilight and her friends also came to greet Shining, Cadance and Flurry, and right behind the seven mares it was Kenai, who is now a good panda bear after he decided to betray Gilad for ounishing him too harshly over his failure in hunting a wild boar, but when the three royal ponies saw Kenai, they all gasped in shock, before Shining Armor said to Cadance "Cadance, get yourself and Flurry behind my back! Now!", and Cadance quickly approached Flurry and took her to stay behind Shining Armor, as he then lit up his horn in a magenta aura and he's about to use his magic to strike at Kenai, because Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart weren't there to see Kenai's redemption announcement, therefore they don't know that he's now good and not evil anymore like he used to be before he betrayed Gilad and redeemed himself to the good side.

However, Kenai then said "Hey, take it easy, your majesty!", and when he said that, Shining Armor gasped in shock for a brief moment to hear what Kenai just said, but then he snapped in anger and yelled at him "Alright, you big brown panda bear! What are you thinking you're doing here?!", and then Kenai said "Calm down. I'm not evil anymore. I've changed. I promise I won't hurt you or your family.", and when Shining Armor heard what the brown panda bear just said, he then gasped in shock once again before saying to him "Why should I believe you're not evil no more?! Your owners were our enemies and they even had the nerve to hurt and then banish their Shujaa and later replace him with a black giraffe!", but then Kenai said "Please, believe me, I'm not even lying to you, your majesty!", but then Shining said "What a dirty excuse coming out from your mouth, you big brown panda bear with no heart!", and this made Kenai growl back at him with his anger rising and rage starting to boil and burn in his eyes as he looked back at Shining Armor and readied himself to fight him if necessary.

However, Shujaa then came in the way and got and placed himself between Kenai and Shining Armor before yelling "Enough! Stop it now! Both of you! There's no reason for you two to fight each other!", but then Shining Armor yelled at him "You stay out of this, Shujaa! This brown panda bear is our enemy and he must go!", but then Twilight Sparkle also came forward and placed herself next to Shujaa and between Kenai and Shining Armor as well, and then the Alicorn cried "Kenai is not anymore the monster you think he still is right now! Kenai have changed!", and then she said to her older Unicorn brother "Listen, brother! Shujaa is right about Kenai! He means no harm no more!", but then Cadance asked her with a worried face "But what if he tries to harm our little Flurry?", but then Kenai said "I won't! In fact, babies and children actually really do love and like me for who I recently became, and I even proved them I'm good when I saved one of them from that abusive bull African elephant Terrence and from his ferocious Liontaurs who tried to kill them one by one just for nothing but pleasure!", and then he added "There's no reason for you to fear me no more! My days as a villainous beast were all over! I'm not evil anymore!".

Then, Shining Armor asked him "What are you saying is true?", and Kenai said "Yes, exactly!" and then he added "Please, don't blast at me with your magic! I mean you, your wife and your daughter no harm! I really promise!", but at first, Shining Armor just stood there with his horn lit-up in his magenta magic aura for about two minutes, but after these two minutes have passed, Shining Armor finally turned off his magenta magic aura in his horn as he calmed himself down, but he still had a serious look on his face as he kept looking at Kenai in the eyes, and then he said "Well, fine. If you say that you're now good, Kenai, then I let you stay.", but then he quickly added " But I warn you - if you do one wrong step, one wrong move, or do something bad to me or to my family, and I promise you you will be chained up in Tartarus.", and this made Kenai to just frown at his words, but then he took a deep breath before he said "Fine, I understand you, your majesty. I won't do anything wrong, I promise.", and then he bowed his head down in front of Shining Armor and everyone else before turning and walking away from the royal castle's throne room and leaving everyone behind, and once he got out and left the royal castle, Kenai then started to bolt and run away with tears froming and rolling down his eyes and trailing behind him.

Then, Rainbow Dash flew towards Shining Armor until she stopped in front of his face and then she said to him "You should be ashamed of yourself! Your words were too harsh on Kenai! Why don't you believe him?! I didn't liked him and didn't believed him too, but that is until he saved my life from Yigal's black tiger!", but then Shining Armor said to her "That Kenai should be ashamed of himself for everything bad he and his owners did to us before!", and then he added "And I were you, Rainbow Dash, I would be taking that brown panda bear and chaining him up for all of his crimes, and then I would be sending him to live in Tartarus for the rest of his life!", and then Cadance added "Shining Armor has a point - what if Kenai decides to hurt our precious Flurry, or worse - giving her to that abusive bull African elephant Terrence he spoke of before he left?", but then Rainbow Dash said to her "Not you too, Cadance!", and then Twilight said "Kenai is no longer that monster he was before!", and then Fluttershy added "And I love him so much for who he is now!", but when they heard what she said, Shining Armor and Cadance both gasped in shock before Shining Armor then asked "What did you just said, Fluttershy?", and the Pegasus mare cried "I said I love him for who he is right now! You have no right to insult him, Shining Armor! Even if you're captain of the royal guards!", but then shining Armor yelled "Enough! For as long as Cadance, Flurry and I we're staying here for our visit, I don't want to see or to hear from that brown panda bear!", and then he asked angrily "Do you all understand?!", and Fluttershy swallowed nervously before she said "Yes, Shining Armor.", and then he said "Now that's good! We should also make sure that brown panda bear doesn't returns here to cause any more trouble!".

Meanwhile, Kenai continued to run away until he reached the meadow near the Everfree Forest, and then he slowed down but kept walking at a normal speed until he reached a shadowed spot under a tall tree and once he got under the tall tree, Kenai finally stopped walking before he sat down on his butt, but then he also fell flat onto his front and lied down under the tree and then another tear threatened to escape his eye as he thought about the harsh things Shining Armor said to him a while ago, and then Kenai said as he let the tear escape his eye "I don't deserve to live in this cruel world anymore!", and then he covered his head and face with both of his forelegs and front paws to hide the next tears that were about to escape his eyes.

For about three hours Kenai lied down under the tree, and during the first hour, he cried in sadness and pain for being falsely confirmed as an enemy by Shining Armor, but after the first hour, Kenai eventually fell asleep with tears still threatening to escape his eyes, and so slept during the second and third hours that slowly passed, but Kenai's aloneness eventually broke when he suddenly felt a hairy and/or furry humanoid hand touching right at the top of his head, and at first, Kenai thought it was Shujaa who is touching him, but when he moved his paws away from his own face and then turned and looked up with his eyes, he saw a large dark brown ape standing in front of him and the ape was gently stroking him on the top of his head without even harming him.

The large dark brown ape was an adult female gorilla, but she's none other than Chloe and Aylene's second animal enemy who is not a part of Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart's evil animal team - it was Sayla, the evil female gorilla who was once part of Angalifu's troop, but is now a ferocious beast to everyone but Lysander and Akeno, who are both her best friends and great partners for life. However, Kenai didn't know who Sayla is yet, as at first he believed she may want to help him deal with the kind of situation in which he's trapped right now.

Then, Sayla gave Kenai a smile before she then moved her arm and hand away from the top of Kenai's head and then she moved her other arm and hand as well, and then she used both of her arms and hands to grab at both of Kenai's forelegs and paws and then she pulled him to make him get back on his feet, and once Kenai responded to her and got up on his feet, he then asked Sayla "Excuse me, Mrs, but who are you?", and then Sayla answered and said "I'm Sayla! And as you can clearly see, I'm a gorilla! Well, a female, not a male or as you can probably say - a silverback!", and then she asked Kenai "And who are you, kid?", and Kenai said "Well, My name is Kenai, but I'm not a kid at all! I'm a fully grown brown panda bear!", and then Sayla said to him "Calm down, I'm just kidding with you, Kenai! I didn't really meant by that that you're really a kid! I was just joking with you, that's all!", and then she said and asked "But I still must ask you something - what's wrong with you?", and when Kenai heard what she said, he then said and explained "Well, to tell you the truth, which I bet you're not gonna like this, but until very recently I was one of Gilad's animals, until he betrayed me and banished me out of his, his brothers and their Pegasus pony friend's team!".

However, rather than lashing out at him, Sayla said to Kenai "Hmmm, that's very interesting to know that you're once belong to these humans and to their Equestrian Pegasus pony friend.", but then she added and asked "Though I still must ask you how did you ended up here like this?", and then Kenai sighed and explained "Chloe, Aylene and most of their friends, allies and their family accepted me and took me in after I proved to them all that I'm not evil no more, but then that stupid Shining Armor came and threatened to chain me up in Tartarus if I do anything that will look wrong in his eyes!", and then Sayla asked him "Did you fought and gave him what he deserves?", but then Kenai said "I wanted to, but I decided not to fight him so I won't be in bigger troubles!", and then he added "I don't want to see him, or his wife and daughter or even to hear from them ever again!", before he turned away with his head and let out a few tears, before Sayla came to him and wiped the tears away from his eyes with her hand before she said "I understand your pain, Kenai. Let me make in up for you.".

When Kenai heard what she just said he then asked her "How in the world are you going to do that?", and then she said "Watch me.", before she made her forehead start to glow red as she used her magic inside brain and mind to make five bits appear out of thin air and then she used her magic to levitate and give them to Kenai and she placed them in his front paws and said "These five bits are for you!", and then Kenai asked "For what?" and then Sayla said "For going on a train, silly panda bear!", but then Kenai asked her "Why are you helping me?", and then Sayla said "That's what friends are for!", even though she was a villainess herself.

Then, Sayla said "I know about the perfect place you need to go to where you can feel a lot more better, and to get away from that so dreadful Shining Armor who will probably want to have your head mounted above the entrance of his Crystal Palace!", and then Kenai asked her "What kind of place you chose for me to go to?", and then Sayla said "To Mount Aris!", and then Kenai asked her "Isn't that place too far away from here?", and Sayla said "Well, it is far away from here, I know, but-", but then Kenai cut her in mid-sentence and asked her "And isn't it the place were Hippogriffs live?", and then Sayla said "Exactly, Kenai! I'm sure at least one or two of them would like to be your new friends after you tell about the pain you've recently been through thanks to that filthy excuse whose name is Shining Armor!" the female gorilla said while looking away from Kenai with a scowling face, but then she turned back to Kenai with a fake smile and said to him "Now let's go to the train station to buy you one ticket so you can go on the train to Mount Aris!", and then Kenai asked you "Right now?", and Sayla said "Yes, kid!" and then she added "Now let's go!", and then she took the five bits from Kenai's paws and then she started to run away, but Kenai didn't knew if he should trust her or not, so at first, he stayed behind until Sayla suddenly called for him to come along, and this is when Kenai finally made it up in his mind and he chose and decided to go with her to the train station to go on the train to Mount Aris.

Meanwhile, back in the royal castle, everyone were arguing with Shining Armor and Cadance about Kenai's not being evil anymore, but Shining Armor and Cadance both still believes that Kenai is still evil like his former human owner Gilad, but that is until Celestia and Luna interfered and suggested that Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Aron, Shujaa, the girlfriends (Bluebell and Linda), the babies (Andy, Zoey, Egbert, Shelly, Yoko, Tallulah and Kayden, who were all present with everyone else as well) and the mane seven will all go search for Kenai and try to reconcile with him, but then Celestia also said and added "And as for you, Shining Armor, you, Cadance and Flurry Heart were going to join every creature and I expect YOU to apologize to Kenai for your intolerant actions towards him!", but then Shining Armor said "But he's Gilad's panda bear!", but then Luna cried "Not anymore!", and then Celestia said to him "Now go! All of you! Luna and I we'll wait for all of you here when you all come back with Kenai!", and then Shujaa cried "You heard Princess Celestia, let's go, everyone!", and so everyone started to run away together and leave the royal castle and start searching for Kenai, and Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart also (reluctantly) followed them all close behind.


	60. Chapter 59:Kenai on Mount Aris

Kenai continued to follow Sayla until the two finally reached the train station, and then Sayla said "We made it, kid!", and then she added "Now go on the train, I'll be the one who will pay for the ticket for you!", and then Kenai approached the train, but then he waited for Sayla to pay for the ticket he needs to go on the train, and when Sayla gave the five bits to the ticket pony at the train station, the ticket pony then gave her one ticket, and so she then ran to the train to give Kenai the ticket he needs to go on the train, but even though he now have the ticket he needs to get on the train, the train driver pony said to him "I'm sorry, but you can't go on the train, brown panda bear! Now go away and don't return here or else I call the security forces!", and this made Kenai frown and turn and walk away from the train station, because the train driver pony insulted him and turned him away for nonsensical reasons.

However, Sayla grabbed the train driver pony by the neck and then she yelled at him "Let him on the train, you idiotic stallion! He must go on the train to go to Mount Aris!", but then the driver pony tried to speak and then he barely said "But he's-", but then Sayla cut him in mid-sentence and then she added "Now you listen to me, you fool! I'm the one who paid for this kid's ticket, and I say he GOES on the train because I paid for him! Now let him in or else you'll see how tough I am for a female! Do you understand me?!", and the train driver pony eventually nodded in agreement but also in defeat, before Sayla said "Good! Now let him go on the train! Right now!", before she let go of the stalion's neck, and then he slowly recovered before he stretched his head, neck and left foreleg and hoof out of the train and called for Kenai to come back and go on the train, and when Kenai heard what the train driver pony said, he then reluctantly turned around and walked back towards the train, and then Sayla got off the train and said to him "I persuaded the train driver pony to allow you get on the train for you! Now you can go to Mount Aris and find there a new home where you can live, and maybe even make a new family and new friends like you've ever dreamed of!".

When Kenai heard what Sayla said to him, tears of joy started to form and roll down his eyes, before he then pulled the female gorilla into a tight and loving hug, but then Sayla broke the hug away from him and said "Now, now, kid! There's no reason for you to hug me like this! I was just trying to help you get away from that horrible Shining Armor so you can live a much proper life somewhere else, somewhere else that is none other than very far away from him and from his family! Now go on the train! The great honor is all yours! Goodbye, kid! And good luck!", and then Kenai sniffled before he said to her "Thanks, Sayla! I love you! Thank you for helping me!", and then he walked away from her and got on the train, and then the doors of the train closed and then the train started to slowly move and drive away from the train station, thus leaving Sayla behind before she then called for Kenai for a goodbye as she raised an arm and hand up into the air and waved for him for a goodbye, and since Kenai took a seat very close to the window, he could hear her calling for him for a goodbye, and so Kenai responded by getting his head, neck and left foreleg and paw out of one of the train's windows and then he called for her for a goodbye as he too waved for her for a goodbye as well, as the train started to move faster as it already left the train station with Kenai and the other passengers, and its last stop is at Mount Aris.

Then, after Kenai left on the train to Mount Aris, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else, including Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart all arrived at the train station and spotted Sayla about to walk away, but then everyone managed to surround and confront her before Fluttershy asked her with her anger rising in her eyes as she looked at the female gorilla right in the eyes "What are you doing here, Sayla?", and Sayla said with a calm face but still had an evil smile on her face "Well, I was just helping a new ally of mine to find someplace where he can life far away from all of you, and also to get away from that despicable stallion whose name is Shining Armor!", and when he heard what she said, Shining Armor ran towards Sayla and then he turned tail and bucked her in the chest with both of his hind legs and hooves, causing her to scream and yell in pain, before he stood tall against her and said angrily "How dare you talking about me like that, you monster ape!", but then Sayla said "Why shouldn't I? All you want is for the poor kid to be chained up in Tartarus for the rest of his life, don't you?", and then Cadance stepped forward and asked the female gorilla "What are even talking about?", and then she added "Chloe is the only young human here in Equestria! We don't have other young humans besides just her!", but then Sayla said with an evil smile "I was talking about a brown panda bear whom I call kid! He told me that he wants to get away from all of you and stay away from all of you for as long as that Shining Armor here is staying with all of you!".

However, just then, Rainbow Dash flew towards Sayla and then she punched and slapped the female gorilla across the face with a forehoof before she yelled at her "How dare you calling Kenai a kid, you jerk! And also for a lady!", but then Sayla grabbed her by the neck and yelled at her "You punch me in the face one more time, you rainbow-maned Pegasus, and I make sure you'll regret it!", but then Shujaa came from Sayla's left side and then he bit her on the shoulder and caused her to scream and let go of Rainbow Dash, before he then asked the gorilla angrily "Where's Kenai now?!", and Sayla said evilly "He's just going to Mount Aris so he can get away from that Shining Armor, as well as from all of you!", and then she added "I paid for his ticket so he can go on the train that goes there! I'm sure he's gonna be so happy to have new friends with the Hippogriffs, and without all of you to threaten him to be chained up in Tartarus for the rest of his life!".

However, then, Cadance said to Sayla "We won't do this to him! And we'll even make sure we won't be doing to Kenai any harm!", and then Sayla said to her "Fine! I'll leave you all for now, but remember my warnings - one day, I will return with my friends to destroy Chloe, Aylene and their centaur friend, Stephan! And when that happens, there's nothing you'll be able to do to stop us!", and then she laughed evilly and started to run away, but everyone didn't bothered following her and/or capturing her, because what they all need to do right now is to reach to Mount Aris, find Kenai and persuade him to come back home with them, and so Twilight suggested that if they use magic, they can teleport themselves and each other to Mount Aris to catch up with Kenai, and when everypony and every creature agreed with what she suggested, Flurry Heart decided to use her magic as she said "This is for Kenai!", and she's soon being followed by Twilight, Starlight, and then Cadance also lit up her horn, though Shining Armor refused to join and help, but only at first, because when he realized how wrong he was when he threatened Kenai before, he decided to give in and so he lit up his horn as well, and when the five ponies concentrated with their magic all together, they managed to teleport themselves and everyone else with them to Mount Aris.

Meanwhile, Kenai was sitting down while still on the way towards Mount Aris inside the train, but during his time on the train, all the pony passengers who were all on the train saw him sitting down and looking outside through one of the train's windows, before a Unicorn mare asked "What's this brown panda bear's problem?", and then an Earth pony stallion added "Was something troubling him or it's just what I think?", and then a Pegasus stallion said "I think so. I don't see any of his human owners with him at all. He's probably all by himself.", but then Kenai turned to the ponies that were on the train with him and he saw some of them were very close to him and looking at him with shocked and widened eyes, before he then let out an angry bear growl at the ponies who came too close to him, and then he gave them all an angry glare that was also mingled with sadness and pain, before he simply said "Leave me alone.", before he turned to look through the train's window again, much to the ponies' shock to see that despite Kenai did growled at them angrily and gave them all an angry glare as well, he did not really attacked anyone at all, and there was a reason why Kenai didn't attacked any of the ponies that were on the train with him - Kenai is depressed about being threatened to be sent to Tartarus by Shining Armor, and to be chained and imprisoned there in a cage for the rest of his life.

After going on the train for quite a while, Kenai finally arrived at the train's last stop - Mount Aris, the homeland of the Hippogriffs, and once the train finally came to stop at the last train station, Kenai and the pony passengers got out of the train and walked away from the train station in different directions, and when Kenai walked away from the train station and found himself close to Mount Aris, Kenai finally snapped out of his depression as he looked up and then gasped in shock and amazement at the beautiful look of Mount Aris, before he decided to go up there and see who's living there.

Then, Kenai started to walk and climb up to the top of Mount Aris, and once he reached there, he saw a beautiful sight which made his eyes widened in shock when he saw all the Hippogriffs living on the top of Mount Aris, and then Kenai said to himself "I can't believe what I'm seeing! I must be dreaming!", and then he slapped himself across the face with his paw, only to cry in pain as he received a red cheek in return, thus telling him and showing him that what he's seeing in front of his eyes is real, before he started to slowly walk around and explore his surroundings, and also because he almost never have seen Hippogriffs before (except for Silverstream).

However, as Kenai continued to explore Mount Aris, he got some attention from some of the Hippogriffs, who then looked at him in shock when they saw his brown and white fur, which was extremely rare in pandas (since pandas were usually black and white instead), but Kenai didn't seemed to mind until two Hippogriffs approached him and then they started to ask him some questions so he can tell about himself. Then the first Hippogriff, who was an adult male, asked Kenai "Hi, who are you?", and then Kenai answered "I'm Kenai, and as you can see, I'm a panda bear!", but then the other Hippogriff, who was an adult female, asked him "Are you sure?", and then she added "You don't look like a normal panda.", and then Kenai explained "That's because I'm not a normal panda! I'm a brown panda, and this is due to the rare mutation in my fur I was born with which makes me brown and white instead of black and white!", and then the male Hippogriff asked him "Well, Kenai, I must ask you something - where are you from?".

However, when Kenai heard what the male Hippogriff said, he then frowned and looked down at the ground before turning away from the two Hippogriffs. The two Hippogriffs then turned and looked at each other for a moment before the male Hippogriff decided to approach Kenai, and then he gently placed his eagle talons on Kenai's back before he started to stroke, and then he asked him "What's wrong, Kenai?", but then Kenai said "Oh, nothing at all, Sir.", but the male Hippogriff wasn't buying his words before he said back "That doesn't sounds like nothing.", and then he added "Tell me what's wrong, Kenai.", and then he said "I promise I will understand you.", and then Kenai took a deep breath before turning to face the male Hippogriff and then he said to him "Please, promise me you and your wife won't freak out, or run away or fly away when I tell you both about myself and about where I from, okay?", and then the male Hippogriff said "I promise.", though he was still unsure where Kenai was going with this, and even the female Hippogriff sensed something's wrong as she approached both Kenai and her husband, and then Kenai sighed before he simply said "I'm Gilad's panda bear.", and when Kenai said that, both of the Hippogriffs gasped in shock and stepped aback from him, but then Kenai quickly added "I was once his panda bear for many years, but now - not anymore.".

When the two Hippogriffs heard what he said, the female Hippogriff then asked him "Huh? What do you mean?", and then she added "What did you do that made him leave you alone to be all by yourself?", and then Kenai sighed and explained "Gilad banished over such a stupidly random failure.", and then the female Hippogriff asked him "Like what?", and then Kenai explained "He banished me when I failed to hunt down and kill a wild boar, and I almost got myself killed by that beast on the spot, but I was luckily saved when the wild boar is speared in the back by my two little Beartaur children, Tallulah and Kayden.", but then Kenai added as tears formed in his eyes "And after the wild boar hunt was done and was all over, Gilad berated me for almost getting myself killed, and so he banished me from his family and animal team forever.", and then Kenai said as the tears started to roll down his eyes "Now I'm here in your beautiful homeland because I have nowhere else to go to anymore.", and then he finally broke down and started to cry once again.

However, then, the female Hippogriff stroked lightly at the top of Kenai's head with her eagle talons before she said "Hey, no need to cry, Kenai. It's not your fault.", and then the male Hippogriff added "Gilad is the one to blame for your pain, and somepony or some other creature needs to make sure he's paying for dumping you behind like he already did!", but then Kenai cried "It is my fault! And now I'm here because I'm being chased by Shining Armor from far behind! He wants to imprison me in Tartarus forever!", and then the male Hippogriff asked him "Wait, are you saying that the Princess of Friendship's brother is after you because he thinks you're still evil?", and Kenai said "Well, yes." and then he added "I ran away from the royal castle in Canterlot all the way here to get away from him as far as I can.", but then the male voice of Kenai's most worst unimaginable pony said "There you are!", and when Kenai recognized Shining Armor's voice, he then turned away from the two Hippogriffs and saw everyone running towards him with Shining Armor at the very front, and this is when Kenai said "Well, now I see I'm wrong!", before he turned around and started to run away and he said goodbye to the two Hippogriffs as he continued running away at a full speed, but everyone else kept chasing after him and they hoped to catch up with him so they can get him and Shining Armor to ally with one another.

However, Kenai managed to run as fast as he can to escape everyone and eventually managed to lose them, but he kept running fast to make sure it will be extremely difficult for everyone to find him, but once he got far enough to make sure he's completely out of everyone's eyesights, Kenai finally slowed down and ended up reaching the beach where he finally came to a stop and then he lied down and started to relax on the sand and on the beach, but he wasn't alone. Two Hippogriffs, an adult female her little son, were also somewhere nearby, with the little male Hippogriff playing on the beach, while his mother was just sitting and resting down in the sun's heat, but when the young male Hippogriff suddenly turned and noticed Kenai relaxing on the beach nearby, he then ran to his mother and cried "Mommy, look over there! There's a bear lying down on the beach not too far away from us!", and when the Hippogriff mother heard what her son said, she then turned to see and notice Kenai lying down and relaxing nearby, and then the young Hippogriff cried to his mother "Let's go and see that bear from a closer look! This is gonna be so exciting to see a bear that looks like this from a closer look!", and the mother Hippogriff said to her son "Okay, but we need to approach it very slowly so not to accidentally scare it and make it attack us.", and then the two Hippogriffs started to slowly approach Kenai, who is still relaxing nearby and enjoying lying down on the beach, but he didn't noticed the Hippogriff mother and her son slowly approaching him.

However, when the Hippogriff mother and her son got close enough to Kenai, he then started to move and then he stretched each of his four legs in a different direction, before he opened his eyes and slowly got up on his feet, and when he turned to his left and saw the two Hippogriff look at him very close, he let out a gasp before stepping aback from them, but then the young male Hippogriff said "Wow! That bear is huge, and look at its fur colors! Maybe he's from a very rare bear species! Oh, I'm so excited!", but then Kenai asked with a confused look on his face "Why are both looking at me like that?", and then the young male Hippogriff cried "Wow! He can talk too! This means he knows how to talk like we can!", but then Kenai asked "Excuse me for asking, but who are you two?", and then he added "And what are you both doing here so close to me?", and then the Hippogriff mother said "Well, my name is Crystal Feather, and this is my son, Clownbeak.", and then Kenai said "Your son has a funny name, I have to admit.", but then Crystal Feather said to him "Oh, it's okay. Everygriff on Mount Aris says my son's name is funny, and he truly appreciates their comments.", and then Kenai said "Well, I guess it's not surprising, isn't it? Oh, well.".

Then, Crystal Feather asked "Anyway, what's your name? Or should I just call you Mr. Bear?", but then Kenai said "My name is Kenai, and I'm a panda bear who is born with a rare mutation in my fur that caused me to become brown and white instead of a normal black and white panda.", and then Clownbeak said "You look so cool, and you're the very first bear I've ever seen in my life!", and what the young Hippogriff said made Kenai blush as he gave a kind smile at Clownbeak for his nice comment, before he said "Thank you, Clownbeak.", and then he added "If you want to, you can come and play with me. I admit I need someone's company after all. I don't really like to be all alone by myself.", and when the two Hippogriffs heard what he said, Clownbeak then asked his mother if it's okay to play with Kenai, and Crystal Feather said "Of course you can, Clownbeak. If Kenai says he needs some company, then you can go and play with him as much as you want to.", and this made Clownbeak smile at his mother and then he said "Thank you, mommy! I promise we won't wander too far away from you! And if we do, Kenai will try to protect me in case we'll get in some kind of danger, right?", and this made Kenai say "Well, of course, and also because you're not the first youngster I'm looking after. Surely you can come and play with me and keep me company until I'll have to go search for a new home in your beautiful homeland so I can live here with your kind.".

Then, Kenai and Clownbeak started to play together on the beach, while Crystal Feather watched them from a distance and then she said to herself "I wonder where Kenai came from. What's his story about his own past? Is he actually really friendly? Or it's just a facade? I hope I find the answers I need.". However, just then, three totally unexpected enemies soon appeared - Chrysalis, Sombra and Howard (Stephan and the twins' father), and judging by the looks on their evil eyes, they're all definitely up to no good. When Kenai and the Hippogriffs suddenly turned and spotted them, this is when the three villains charged towards them, and before Kenai and the Hippogriffs can react, Sombra captured Crystal Feather, Chrysalis captured Clownbeak, and Howard captured Kenai, and then the villains held them all hostages and waited for everyone to come searching for Kenai, and eventually, everyone came to the beach and found Kenai and the Hippogriffs being captured and harassed by Sombra, Chrysalis and Howard.

When Stephan saw what his father and the two other villains were doing to Kenai and to the Hipogriffs, the young male centaur asked in shock "Dad?!", and when Howard turned and faced his son, the demonic adult male centaur said to him and to everyone else "You and the twins come back home with me, or that brown panda bear dies!", but then Kenai cried "Don't listen to him! This is just what he wants you to do!", but then Howard yelled at him "Quite, panda bear!", but then Shining Armor stepped forward and said "I'm taking back everything bad I said to Kenai! He's not evil like I thought he was and still is! Let him go!", and when Kenai heard what Shining Armor said, tears started to form in his eyes once again, but then Howard said "Give me back my children, and I will let that panda bear go!", but then Fluttershy said "It's not gonna happen, Mr!", and then Rainbow Dash yelled at Howard "You heard what Fluttershy said! Now let Kenai go or we'll all make sure you'll regret messing up with us!".

However, then, King Sombra said "We also got these Hippogriffs captured by us, and we'd like them to hear what Kenai is going to say and tell about himself!", and this made Kenai start to cry before he said with tears in his eyes "I'm Gilad's panda bear!", but then he quickly added "But he berated me and banished me from his evil family and animal team forever!", and when the Hippogriff heard what he said, they both gasped in shock to know that Kenai was evil in the past, but was eventually berated and banished forever by his owner, but then Kenai continued and said "I want to be good like my albino orangutan friend, Shujaa, and I want to exact revenge on Gilad for not only banishing me from his and his family animal team, but also for banishing Shujaa before me!", and then he explained "In other words - I want to show him what happens when he underestimates and banishes his own animals away from the team!", and when everyone heard Kenai's speech, they all gasped in shock to know that Kenai wants to teach his former owner, Gilad, a lesson for underestimating and banishing him and Shujaa before.

However, Kenai's speech didn't impressed Howard, and Chrysalis and Sombra also appeared to be unimpressed by it, and then Howard said mockingly "Oh, what a speech you just gave, brown panda bear!", but then he added evilly "But now you die!", but then Kenai bit down on Howard's human wrist and hand and caused him to scream in pain and throw him away and make him hit the sandy terrain on the beach in front of everypony and every creature, who then started to approach and gather around him, and luckily for them all, Kenai was still alive. Then, Kenai slowly got back up on his feet, and then he turned back to Howard and yelled at him "Let Clownbeak and his mother go!", but then Howard said "I don't think so!" and then he added "Only if you give me back my children, we will let these two dumb and filthy Hippogriffs go!", and then he, Chrysalis and Sombra all laughed evilly all together.

However, a loud trumpeting roar was then suddenly heard, and at first, Kenai and Shujaa thought it was Lin Raju coming to the rescue, but instead of him, Terrence the African bush elephant and his three remaining Liontaurs appeared and they managed to scare away Howard, Sombra and Chrysalis, and this caused and prompted them to dump and leave Crystal Feather and Clownbeak alone with him and with everyone else, before Terrence turned and focused his attention on Kenai, and then the evil elephant said "Well, well, well! Isn't that the brown panda bear again! I'm so pleased right now I'd like to crush him to death!", and then he laughed evilly as he approached everypony and every creature with his Liontaurs in tow, but then Clownbeak cried "Hey, leave Kenai alone, you big dummy!", and then he flew up and then he grabbed and pulled at Terrence's right ear with his eagle talons, thus causing the evil elephant to scream in pain and try to flap his right ear back and forth to shake the young Hippogriff off so he can get him for trying to mess up with him.

After struggling for a bit, Terrence managed to throw Clownbeak off his right ear, and then he managed to turn and wrap his trunk around the young Hippogriff and he started to choke him, and this made Crystal Feather say to the heartless bull elephant "Let my son go, you horrible pachyderm!", but Terrence ignored her and then he said to Clownbeak as he tightened his choking grip around the young Hippogriff's body and neck "Say goodbye, little Hippogriff!", but then Kenai suddenly ran towards Terrence, got past his Liontaurs, and then he jumped up and started to bite on Terrence's left ear, thus causing him to scream, trumpet and roar in pain before he tried to shake Kenai off his left ear, but Kenai didn't let go no matter what, and that is until when he finally let go, Terrence let out a painful trumpeting roar and then he let go of Clownbeak and allowed him to run back to his mother, and when everypony and every creature saw Kenai as he landed safely on the sandy terrain of the beach, they all saw Kenai is holding a chunk of flesh in his mouth before he then spat it out, and when they all turned back to Terrence, they saw large notch in his left ear, and then Terrence cried as he then looked at Kenai with angry eyes "You will lay for what you have done to my left ear, you overgrown fur ball!", but just then, Shining Armor stepped forward and put himself between Terrence and Kenai, and then he blasted with his magic at Terrence, causing the evil elephant to back away, before he called for his Liontaurs to retreat, and so the three Liontaurs obeyed their elephant boss and then they started to follow him as he turned and started to run away, and Terrence and his Liontaurs all ran away together until they all disappeared from sight and left everypony, every creature and the two Hippogriffs alone.

With all the villains and enemies gone from sight, Shining Armor then turned to Kenai and then he said to him "I'm sorry for talking badly to you like I did before. Please, forgive me, Kenai.", and then Kenai pulled him into a tight hug and then he said without crying again "You're forgiven, your majesty.", and then he added "I thank your apology you owed me.", before Shujaa interrupted their moment and said "Now let's go home! Celestia and Luna would both like to hear about that new friendship bond between Prince Shining Armor and my friend Kenai!", and when everyone heard what he said, they all decided to go back to Canterlot, but not before Kenai said goodbye to his two new Hippogriff friends, Crystal Feather and her son Clownbeak, and once Kenai was done bidding farewell to his newest friends, Twilight, Starlight, Flurry, Shining Armor and Cadance all used their magic together to teleport themselves and everyone else with them from Mount Aris and back to Canterlot.


	61. Chapter 60:investigation and declaration

One month have passed since Kenai formed an alliance with Shining Armor, and it was now 51 months (4 years and 3 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as 39 months (3 years and 3 months) since Aylene became her beloved sister, and they're happy to be with other and with their centaur friend, Stephan, whom they both love with all their hearts after he showed his kind and defending side to them when he first saved them and healed them and later fought Akeno to save them from the okapi's wrath.

One day, Stephan and the twins came to Canterlot meet Chloe and Aylene again, but much to everypony's shock, the three have injuries and bruises on their bodies, which it's what their own father (Howard) did to them again. When Chloe and Aylene saw Stephan and the twins coming for them, the two rushed down to meet them, but when they saw the injuries and bruises on the three centaurs' bodies, Chloe and Aylene both gasped in shock, before Chloe then asked "What happened to you, Stephan?", and then Aylene added "You and the twins look horrible! Who did that to you three?", and then Stephan said "My father did that to us, again!", and then Chloe said "You and the twins all need to see a hospital to get these injuries and bruises healed!", and then Aylene added "I'm going to tell Mother Celestia and Aunt Luna that you're here in Canterlot, but I will also tell them that you and the twins were injured and that you need to get to the hospital and also need some help!", and then Aylene went back into the royal castle to inform Celestia and Luna about Stephan and the twins need their help and need to get to the hospital right away, while Chloe stayed with Stephan and the twins and she tried to do her best to keep them calmed down until Aylene returns with Celestia and Luna so they can help the three injured centaurs by teleporting them and sending them all to Ponyville Hospital, with the help of some magic.

When Aylene came back to Chloe, Stephan and the twins with Celestia and Luna, Chloe explained "Stephan and the twins were injured!", and then Celestia asked "Who did that to them?", and then Aylene added "Stephan told us his own father did that to them!", and when Luna heard what her Pegasus niece said, Luna got red in the face out of anger rising in her eyes and then she yelled "This is outrageous! How could a father like him abuse his own children like that?!", and then Chloe said "There's no time to explain now! We need to get Stephan and the twins to the hospital right away!", and then Celestia said "Right!", and then she and Luna lit up their horns and they started to use their magic and then they successfully managed to teleport and send Stephan and the twins all the way to Ponyville Hospital in almost no time.

With Stephan and the twins being teleported to Ponyville Hospital to treat and help their injuries and bruises heal, Celestia then asked Chloe and Aylene "Why would Stephan's father do him and the twins such a horrible thing?", and then Aylene answered "As a matter of fact, it's not the first time he's doing that to Stephan and the twins!", and then Chloe said "Stephan's dad, or in other words - Howard, always treats Stephan and the twins like that!", and when Celestia and Luna heard what Chloe and Aylene said about Howard being abusive to his own children for quite a long time, Luna then said "Then we should send some royal gyards to keep an eye on him!", and then Celestia added "But first, you must tell us where does Stephan lives!", and then Chloe answered "I've never been in his home before, and neither Aylene, but I think he's living in the Badlands!", and then Aylene added "I think so too! If Stephan is a centaur and he have such a bad father, then their home must be in the Badlands rather than in the Everfree Forest!", and then Celestia said "We'll send Shujaa with some of the royal guards to the badlands to investigate and check on Howard's home!", and then she called Shujaa and some royal guards to come, and when they responded and came to Celestia, Luna, Chloe and Aylene, Shujaa then asked "What do you want us to do, princesses?", and then Celestia said "Go to the Badlands, find Stephan's father's home and investigate it and check on it to find some evidence about that centaur abusing his own children!", and then Shujaa said "Okay, your highnesses!" before he turned back to the other royal guards and said to them "Let's go! To the Badlands!", and so the albino orangutan and the stallions all left the royal castle and headed together to the Badlands, which was indeed the right place where Howard's home is located.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville Hospital, Nurse Redheart and the other nurses were taking care of Stephan and the twins by treating their injuries and bruises by preventing any of them from getting infected, and then the nurses put plasters and bandages on all the injuries and bruises to prevent blood from flowing out of any of them, and once the whole process was done, Stephan and the twins started to feel better as they're now resting down in their soft and warm bed safely inside one of the patient's rooms.

Meanwhile, after they all traveled for about two hours, Shujaa and the guards all arrived at the Badlands and then they started to search for Howard's home, and they had no trouble finding it because they ended up in front of a medium-sized house, which was indeed Howard's house, and so the albino orangutan and the stallions approached the house and then Shujaa knocked on the door and waited for an answer from inside, but no one responded, and so Shujaa and the guards simply just pushed and opened the door to find out it wasn't locked, and then they started to go inside and start to investigate, check, search for some clues and find some evidence which will tell them all if Howard was indeed abusing his own children all along.

Eventually, after searching the entire house for clues and/or evidence, one of the royal guards then called for Shujaa and for the other guards to come and see what he just found, and when they all came to the right spot where the royal guard waited for them, he then showed them all a wooden club which had some blood stains on it, and this was indeed just the right evidence that they all need to solve the mystery if Howard is abusing Stephan and the twins or not, and the club with the blood stains on it was a proof which tells Howard indeed beats up and abuses his own children, because this is the wooden club Howard used to beat up his own children with, and then Shujaa and the royal guards all left Howard's house, and they took the wooden club along to show it to Celestia and Luna so Howard can be apprehended and put in the dungeons for his crime.

However, when Shujaa and the royal guards were about to go all the way back to the royal castle, Howard suddenly came out of nowhere and stopped them and said "Going somewhere?", and Shujaa and the guards where all shocked to see him looking at them with an evil smile before he said "Just what were you all thinking you're all doing in my house?!", and then Shujaa said to him "You shall be apprehended for abusing your own children!", but then Howard said "You're wrong! YOU ALL shall be imprisoned for breaking into my house!", but then one of the royal guards pointed out and said "But the door to your house was unlocked so we're all able to just go inside without having to wait for you to come and open the door for us from inside!", but then Howard said "It doesn't matter! Get out of here or else I'm calling a Beartaur to chase you all out!", and is is when anoer royal guard said "Run!", and so Shujaa and all the royal guards turned to run away, and Howard watched them all leaving before saying "That'll teach them all a lesson!", before he then added "Thinking they all have any rights to break into my house while I'm not around it, huh?!", and then he said to himself "When I will have my hands on my children, they will learn to respect me and help me avenge Lord Tirek for me!".

Meanwhile, back in the royal castle, Chloe, Aylene, Celestia and Luna all still waited for Shujaa and for the royal guards to return back with evidence which will tell them if Howard was indeed abusing Stephan and the twins, and when Shujaa and the royal guards all finally returned, Shujaa handed Howard's wooden club to Celestia and Luna, who are then shocked when they saw the blood stains on it, and then Celestia said "Howard must be found and captured!", thus declaring that Howard indeed abuses Stephan and the twins by using his wooden club to beat them up when they do good things against his orders and permissions.

Then, Celestia turned to Chloe and Aylene and then she told them to go the Ponyville Hospital and tell Stephan that they now know about his father being abusive to him and to the twins all along, but she also wanted them to tell him that she will make sure his father will never be able to take him and the twins back with him ever again, and the human girl and the Pegasus pony listened to their mother and went out of the royal castle and went together all the way to Ponyville to tell Stephan that they now know of his father's abusive nature, and once they arrived in Ponyville, the two went towards the hospital and there they asked Nurse Redheart to take them to see Stephan and the twins, and once Chloe and Aylene finally met up with them, Chloe and Aylene finally told Stephan that they now know of his father's abusive nature by having one of the royal guards finding and bringing Howard's club that had blood stains from his (Stephan) and the twins' blood on it, which told them all that Howard is an absolute child abuser, but then the two sisters added that Celestia will make sure that once he and the twins were all fully healed, they won't be going back home, because she will make sure that Howard will never get close to him or to the twins ever again, much to Stephan's shock which was then replaced by relief to know that Celestia would do this needful favor for him and for the twins so they can finally see the end of their days of being abused by their own father, though deep inside his heart and mind, Stephan knew that his nightmare will not stop until his father will be imprisoned in Tartarus for good.

Later, it was the middle of the night when Howard came out of house in the Badlands and looked up to the sky, and then he said "Just you wait, my ungrateful near-teenage son! You and the baby twins will never get away from me! When you're all alone with these filthy human girl (Chloe) and Pegasus (Aylene), this is where I will strike and kill them right in front of your eyes! Lord Tirek will be so proud of what I will do to them that he probably would like to become your teacher! Or better yet - your godfather! I promise you, my children, that I will never leave you alone with your so-called friends! Once I will have them all out of my way, nothing, NOTHING CAN STOP ME!" Howard roared evilly to the skies of the night, before he then laughed out loud evilly, thus showing and proving that one day, Howard will exact his revenge on Chloe and Aylene to get Stephan and the twins back to himself.


	62. Chapter 61:Kenai meets Queen Novo

It was been a month since Celestia declared that Stephan and the twins won't return back to their abusive father anymore, and it was 52 months (4 years and 4 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 40 months (3 years and 4 months) since Aylene became her beloved sister, and now they're happy to be with Stephan, and they're also very happy to know that he and the twins are going to stay with them, and once he and the twins all healed completely from their injuries and bruises given to them when their own father (Howard) last beaten them, the three centaurs decided to live in Ponyville near the Castle of Friendship to better ensure their evil father won't be able to get them back to himself without getting attacked and/or chased away by anypony. For now, Stephan and the twins are safe from harm, from abuse, and from their evil father.

One day, came a letter from Mount Aris came to the royal castle, and Shujaa picked it up and started reading it first, and once he finished reading it, he went back inside the royal castle to tell Celestia and Luna about the surprising news and also to show them what's written in the letter, and when Shujaa entered the throne room and showed and gave the letter to the Alicorn Princesses, they started to read it as well, and once they finished reading the letter, Celestia then said "It's from Mount Aris!", and then Luna asked her "Sister, what's wrong?", and then Celestia said "Queen Novo, the queen of the Hippogriffs wants to meet Kenai!", but then Shujaa asked "Why would she want to meet him?", and then Chloe and Aylene came behind him and moved past him and stopped in front of the princesses, and then Chloe said "I think we came clarify that for you!", and then Aylene added "Hippogriffs on Mount Aris heard about Kenai's redemption, especially after what he did when he bravely risked his own life to save Clownbeak, a young Hippogriff who befriended him, from the abusive elephant Terrence!", and then Chloe added "Kenai managed to save that Clownbeak by jumping up and biting Terrence, and when he let go, we saw that Kenai managed to bite and tear off a part of Terrence's left ear, which proved that Kenai would dare to protect innocent babies and children from that beast's evil trunk!".

When the princesses and Shujaa all heard what Chloe and Aylene both just said, all three of them gasped in shock before Celestia asked "Is that evil layer of fats (Terrence) still trying to abuse babies and children?", and Chloe answered and explained "Yes, Terrence surely still does these cruel and heartless things!", and then Aylene added "I'm afraid so too! Terrence was always willing to destroy young and innocent lives, but this time, Kenai taught him the lesson he needed by biting and tearing off a part of that mad and crazy elephant's left ear, and for a good measure!", but then Luna said as she growled in a bit of anger "Next time that elephant does such heartless acts to innocent babies and children like this, I'm going to revome away his tusks!", but then Shujaa said "But first, you all need to tranquilize him and put him down to sleep, and while he's too unconscious to keep his eyes open or too weak to fight back, you can remove at least one of his tusks, but I must warn you, princesses, that it's not an easy task to remove an elephant's tusks! Even if you will use your magic together, an elephant's tusk is very heavy, thick and strong, and it will take you more power than you'd actually expect to remove an elephant's tusks without even killing the elephant itself!", and then Chloe said "That's right! Shujaa has a point!".

Then, Aylene said "But let's talk about that huge gray beast later! Right now, we have to go to Fluttershy's cottage to tell her and Kenai to come with us to Mount Aris again, because all the Hippogriffs wants to meet him and hear from his mouth how and why did he decided to turn good like Shujaa in the first place!", but then Chloe said "Let's not forget the others too, and also take Stephan and the twins with us as well!", and then Shujaa said "I'll come with all of you too, because I too would want to hear how my brown oanda bear friend ended up turning good like I did long ago!", and then Celestia said "And you all shall go to Mount Aris!", and then Luna added "And have a wonderfully great celebration that you've never experienced before!", but then she quickly added "Well, since the great celebration to announce Shujaa's redemption to Equestria!", and then Shujaa cried "Let's go to Fluttershy's cottage and ask her and Kenai to come along!", and then Chloe said "Yes, and let's not forget Stephan and the others as well!", and so the three then went out of the royal castle to gather their friends and allies when they will come back with all of them, and so Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa went separate ways - Chloe went to Ponyville to bring Stephan and the twins, Aylene went to Fluttershy's cottage to bring her and Kenai (and Kayden and Tallulah), while Shujaa went to the Castle of friendship to bring Twilight and the others.

Then, after more than an hour since they left the royal castle, Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa finally returned with everyone else, but also with Aron, Linda and the triplets, who joined them all on their way back to the royal castle. With everyone entering the throne room together, Celestia and Luna then lit up their horns and used their magic together to teleport everyone and themselves to Mount Aris, to meet all the Hippogriffs whom are all waiting for them to come, but especially for Kenai so they can meet him again and see his face again in a whole new light, unlike in all these many years before, and soon enough, Kenai, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Shujaa and their friends will also come to meet face-to-face with the queen of the Hippogriffs - Queen Novo.

When everypony and every creature arrived at Mount Aris, the Hippogriffs all looked at them, and then one of them asked "Where's Kenai? The brown panda bear who once served for Gilad for so many years but is now on your side?", and then Clownbeak came out from behind the crowd of Hippogriffs and then he cried as he pointed with an eagle talon "I see him! He's with that yellow Pegasus mare! There in the back!", and this is when Kenai came forward and showed himself to all the Hippogriffs before he suddenly sighed and said "I'm sorry for all the troubles I caused you all in all these years before.", and just then, Silverstream's father, whose name is Sky Beak, approached Kenai and said to him "It's okay, Kenai. Now you're forgiven by all of us Hippogriffs after we all heard about your brave act you've done when you saved one of our kind from that big, mad and crazy elephant who likes to harass and torment innocent youngsters.", and then Kenai said to him "His name was Terrence, and by watching his abusive acts, I can say he's always willing to destroy little girls more than little boys, and I even saw he will attack and harass baby girls on sight. Despite being herbivorous like I am, Terrence is way more ferocious than I am.", and then Crystal Feather suddenly came out from behind the crowd of Hippogriffs and approached Kenai as well, and then she said to him "Thank you for saving my son before, Kenai. You're a good friend indeed.", before Shujaa interrupted and said "I would've done the same thing Kenai did, and it's because I too turned against Gilad and redeemed myself to the good side long ago!".

Then, Twilight came forward and said to Sky Beak "Hi, Sky Beak! It's so nice to meet you again! We came here to show you Kenai after we learned from Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa that Queen Novo and all of you here want to meet him!", and then Sky Beak said to her "Princess Twilight Sparkle, it is an honor to met you again and to listen to what you have to say about Kenai whom you brought here with you to show him to all of us Hippogriffs on Mount Aris!", and then a female voice called for the Hippogriffs to move aside, and when they did, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and all the others saw a beautiful female Hippogriff approaching towards them, with a younger female in tow, as well as some male Hippogriffs, whom are their guards.

When these Hippogriffs approached close enough, they all stopped in front of the crowd of Hippogriffs which already met Kenai, and when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and all the others saw the two majestic female Hippogriffs and their guards, Celestia, Luna and the mane seven (minus Starlight) knew who those two are - Queen Novo and her daughter, Princess Skystar. When Queen Novo saw Celestia and Luna, the three were all happy to meet each other again, since they haven't seen each other since they're very young, even before Luna was banished to the moon (when she turned into Nightmare Moon), and then Celestia said "Queen Novo!", and the majestic Hippogriff Queen said "Princess Celestia!", and then the two and Luna said to each other it was so nice for them to see each other again after so many moons (years), and then Queen Novo asked Celestia "Where is the brown panda bear I've heard about that was once evil for so many years before but is now good like all of us?", and then Celestia said "He's right behind us, Novo. I know you too are so excited to meet him after you heard about his redemption.", and then she moved away and then motioned to the Hippogriff queen with a forehoof at Kenai, and so Queen Novo saw the brown panda bear with the other Hippogriffs, before she started to approach towards him with her daughter, Princess Skystar, in tow.

When Kenai turned and saw Queen Novo and Princess Skystar approaching and coming towards him, the brown panda then tried to keep himself calm and not show any signs of fear, and once the two majestic Hippogriffs stopped in front of him, Queen Novo then said and asked "So you must be Kenai the brown panda who was once belonged to these evil humans but recently betrayed them and redeemed himself to the good side?", and Kenai took a deep breath before he said and asked "Yes, that's right, and who are you?", and then Queen Novo said "I'm Queen Novo, the queen of the Hippogriffs. It is an honor to meet you after what two of my subjects told me about you, and also about what recently happened to you.", but just then, Princess Skystar came towards Kenai and then she said "Oh my gosh! You're a panda! I've never seen a panda before! Anyway, we came up to the surface to meet you because you cannot go and meet us underwater in Seaquestria!", and when Kenai heard what the Hippogriff princess just said, he just stood still in confusion and blinked once before he asked "What's Seaquestria?", and then Queen Novo answered and explained "Seaquestria is the home for Seaponies, the other form of us Hippogriffs, to which we can transform. When we go back to Mount Aris, for an instance, we transform back to Hippogriffs to adapt to life on land, and we can turn back into Seaponies to adapt to life in the water if we want to come back to live in Seaquestria.".

When Kenai heard what the Hippogriff Queen said, he then said to her "That sounds pretty cool, and quite interesting to know.", and then Queen Novo said "Thank you.", before Princess Skystar said "We all prepared everything we needed for you to have fun here on Mount Aris!", and then she moved away to let Kenai see all the prepared stuff and fun games with some of the Hippogriffs trying them first to show Kenai that everything's okay to touch, to use or to have fun with, before she then added "Come check it out!", thus shocking Kenai when he saw all the attractions the Hippogriffs prepared for him and for everyone else so they can have fun, with the Hippogriffs here to join as well.

Then, Pinkie Pie popped out of nowhere and yelled happily "Let's have some lots of fun together!", and then everypony and every creature started to have fun with the Hippogriffs on Mount Aris. Later, after all the fun is over, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their friends and all the Hippogriffs gathered around to hear from Kenai's mouth about his life story, from his early life to his recent redemption, and Kenai told them how did he came to be Gilad's panda bear pet and obedient servant for years, before and after Shujaa first redeemed and reformed, but when he reached the part where he was recently banished by Gilad over his failed attempts to hunt and kill a wild boar when he, Gilad and his brothers, the other animals (and Tallulah and Kayden) went outside to hunt wild boars, the Hippogriffs all gasped in shock to know how cruel was Gilad to him like he was with Shujaa, before the two animals eventually betrayed him, and with tears of pain forming again in his eyes, Kenai said "The reason I first came here was to get away from Shining Armor when he didn't believed I've changed.", but then he quickly added "But if I haven't went all the way here to Mount Aris, you Hippogriffs would not be seeing me at all.", and then he finished and said "And in the end, Shining Armor apologized to me for threatening me for no reason, and I of course forgave him because he came with everyone else to save me, Crystal Feather and Clownbeak from that evil Terrence, before I bravely torn a part of that elephant's left ear to teach him a lesson not to harass, abuse or torment young and innocent lives anymore, but Terrence won't listen to reason, even not from a great or a powerful ruler, like Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and of course Queen Novo herself as well. I just hope that one day, that elephant will get what he truly deserves, and that's all I have to say.".

When Kenai finished talking about both himself and also about his newest archenemy (Terrence), Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their friends and all the Hippogriffs, including Queen Novo and Princess Skystar, clapped their hands, hooves and claws, respectively, much to Kenai's joy and happinesss to know that everyone do understand him, just like they all already understand his best friend who reformed before him (Shujaa). However, just then, the voice of the worst unimaginable human male whom Kenai and Shujaa both now hate for the most sounded off.

"YOU TOO, KENAI - ARE TRAITOR! AND I HAVE NO MORE USE IN YOU!" Gilad's angry voice yelled from right behind everypony and every creature, as well as from behind all the Hippogriffs, who then turned and saw what Kenai already saw first - they all saw Gilad and his two brothers, Black Heart and their animals, but they also saw an adult cream-colored zebra stallion (male) standing by Gilad's left side (in addition to Claire, Gilad's pure black female giraffe, who stood by Gilad's right side), and then Gilad yelled at Kenai and said "NOW I DON'T NEED YOU FILTHY AND UNGRATEFUL PANDA BEAR NO MORE! NOW THAT I FINALLY HAVE A NEW ANIMAL WHICH HELPS ME REPLACE YOU FOREVER!", and then Gilad let the cream-colored (albino) zebra stallion take a step forward to show his handsome looks and his colors which are cream and white instead of black and white, and then the albino zebra let out a loud and evil bray at Kenai, before Gilad yelled "I WANT YOU ALL TO MEET THE NEW ANIMAL WHO IS NOW THE REPLACEMENT FOR THAT PATHETIC KENAI! MEET SCAMPER, MY NEW AND RARE GOLDEN ZEBRA!", and when everyone, as well as all the Hipogriffs heard what Gilad said about having Scamper the golden zebra as Kenai's replacement, they all gasped in shock before Scamper let out another loud and evil bray at Kenai, who just stood there with his lower jaw dropped in shock to know that now he's been replaced too.

Then, Gilad yelled "WE'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE WITH SHUJAA THE TRAITOR, ALL YOUR NEW FRIENDS AND ALL THESE FILTHY HIPPOGRIFFS, FOR NOW! BUT REMEMBER MY WORDS, KENAI - FROM NOW ON, YOU'RE TOO NO LONGER PART OF OUR ANIMAL TEAM! WITH CLAIRE AND SCAMPER BY MY SIDES, I DON'T NEED YOU AND SHUJAA ANYMORE! GOODBYE FOR NOW, KENAI AND SHUJAA! YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN TWO TRAITORS TO ME AND TO MY FAMILY!", and then Gilad turned to his brothers, Pegasus pony friend and the other animals (which aren't Claire and Scamper) and then he called for them all "LET'S GO!", and the villains listened and started to follow Gilad and leave Kenai and Shujaa with Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their friends and all the Hippogriffs, and once the villains were all gone, Kenai turned and looked down into his own forepaws with a saddened face, because now he can no longer return to Gilad either, and now that the evil human male have Scamper the golden zebra stallion by his side, now both Kenai and Shujaa were traitors to his evil side forever.

However, just then, Queen Novo approached him and when she stopped by his side, she then gently placed her eagle talons on his right shoulder and then she started to stroke at his shoulder and down to his back, before she said to him in a soft voice "It's okay, Kenai. There's no reason for you to be so sad about this. Now you have me and all of my subjects as your friends as well, and you don't need that monster Gilad and his brothers no more.", and when Kenai turned to look at her, he then hugged her around the neck with both of his forelegs and said "Thank you, Queen Novo. Thank you for telling me I'm welcome, like my friend, Shujaa, already is.", and when Celestia saw the touching moment between Queen Novo and Kenai, tears of joy started to form in the Alicorn princess' eyes, before her younger sister, Luna, came to her side and tried to comfort her so she can continue watching without crying.

With all the Hippogriffs already know Kenai has reformed and were now his friends, Kenai knew it's time for him to say goodbye to all the Hippogriffs, and then he said to all the Hippogriffs "Thank you all for becoming my new friends! Goodbye, Hippogriffs! I promise I will always come here when I have the time to do so, and from time to time! Thanks for everything good you've done for me! Goodbye for now!", and then all the Hippogriffs said to Kenai goodbye as well, and some of them even raised and waved their eagle talons for him for a goodbye as they watched Celestia and Luna using their magic together to teleport themselves and everyone else (Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the others) with them back to royal castle's throne room, and once Celestia and Luna used their magic to teleport everyone alone with them, they're all gone from the Hippogriffs' eyesights, but then Queen Novo said to her subjects that she hopes that one day, Kenai will return to Mount Aris to meet them again, before she, Princess Skystar and their guards turned and walked away from all the other Hippogriffs and went to the beach, and then they all transformed back into Seaponies and went underwater back to Seaquestria.

Back at the royal castle's throne room, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Shujaa, Kenai, the princesses and all the others are now back from Mount Aris, but then they also started to leave the royal castle and go separate ways, and only Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, the twins, Shujaa and the princesses stayed in the royal castle, and then Celestia said to Shujaa "It seems you're no longer the only one here who has managed to redeem himself to our side, Shujaa.", and when the albino orangutan understood what she said, he then said back "Yes, I know. Kenai is going to have a happy life too, just like me.", and then Luna said "It really turned out good for Kenai in the end.", and when nighttime came, everyone (except for Luna, of course) finally fell asleep.


	63. Chapter 62:the brothers' past (part 1)

A full month have passed since Kenai met all the Hippogrifs on Mount Aris, as well as he met Queen Novo and her daughter, Princess Skystar, and this is also 53 months (4 years and 5 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 41 months (3 years and 5 months) since Aylene became her beloved sister, and now they're happy to be with their centaur best friend, Stephan, while Shujaa and Kenai have good homes in the royal castle and Fluttershy's cottage, respectively.

One night, Chloe and Aylene were asleep in their bed, but what they're dreaming now will finally tell them the secret of Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, and even Black Heart's pasts, which was something they've never seen in their dreams before.

In their dream, Chloe and Aylene found themselves and each other in the same white void from before, and just then, two male voices called for them by calling their names, and when Chloe and Aylene turned, they saw the spirits of Jack Williams and Wild Berry coming towards them to greet them again, and so Chloe and Aylene rushed to meet their long-deceased human grandfather and Pegasus pony father, respectively, and when they reached and got close enough to each other, Chloe and Aylene were both rewarded with tight, warm and loving embraces from their the spirits of their long-deceased good biological family members.

Then, Jack Williams said to his granddaughter "It is an honor for me to met you again, Chloe.", and then Wild Berry said to his daughter (Aylene) "Now we want to show you something we found thanks to our spirit magical abilities. Something that will explain to you and to your human sister, Chloe, how Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, and my traitorous wife, your birth mother, Black Heart, all came to be in the first place.". Then, Jack and Wild Berry used their spirit magic abilities to take Chloe and Aylene with them to see Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart's pasts.

Then, Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry found themselves in a familiar environment back on planet earth, and it turned out to be Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their mother's home. Then, they teleported inside to see Catherine Peterson Yosefsberg with three children - two of whom are young children, and the third was just a little baby boy whom Catherine held and carried in her arms, and it was years before she became an unhealthy drunk herself, and just then, a adult man entered the house and it was none other than Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's long deceased father (whose death is to occur a few years later), and then Chloe asked "So, the older young child is Ezra, right?", and then Jack said to her "You're correct, Chloe.", and then Aylene asked "And the younger child next to him is Gilad, isn't he?", and then Wild Berry said to her "That's right, darling.", and when Chloe and Aylene looked at the male baby's face from a close enough look, then the human girl and Pegasus pony gasped in shock before they turned to Jack and Wild Berry and then Chloe asked "Grandfather, Wild Berry? Is that baby boy who we think it is?", and then Wildberry answered "That's right, Chloe. The baby you and Aylene both looked at is none other than-", and then Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's father said "Yigal." as he looked right at the baby boy that was held and carried in Catherine's arms, thus shocking both Chloe and Aylene to know that now they're both looking at Yigal, Gilad and Ezra when they're all just little kids and a baby boy.

Then, Jack said "I want you to watch some more of this in a later period of time.", and then Wild Berry added "That's right, we'll get to the next part of your enemies' early lives right now.", and then Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene to a later time period that was three years later, and there Chloe and Aylene saw a sad moment in their enemies' early lives - they could see Yigal, who is now 3, Gilad, who is now 6, and Ezra, who is now 9 (respectively), all crying and hugging their mother as a coffin is being lowered into the ground to be buried, and Chloe then asked "What's that supposed to be?", and then Aylene asked "Who's the human these other humans are burying in that graveyard?", and then Jack answered "What are we seeing here right now is the burial of Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's father, who died when they're all very young.", and then Aylene said with remorse in her heart "I feel sorry for them, even if they're our enemies, because I too know how it's like to lose a father.", and then Wild Berry said to his daughter "It's okay, Aylene. Even if I'm already dead, I still want you to know that Jack and I will always be with your human sister Chloe and with you too, in your hearts.", and this made Aylene say "Thank you, daddy.", and then Jack said "Let's go and see what happens next, in the next later time period.", and then Wild Berry nodded to him and said "Right.", and then the two used their spirit magical abilities to take Chloe and Aylene along with them to the next time period they're all going to see next.

When Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry all arrived at the next time period, the four were back in Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's home, and they could see the three brothers who are now 11, 8 and 5 years old, respectively, but they also saw their mother, Catherine, sitting on aat couch with an unusually inflated belly and stomach, and when Chloe and Aylene saw Catherine's body like this, Aylene then asked "Is there something wrong with Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's mom? Or it's just my imagination?", and then Wild Berry said "You're not imagining at all, darling. Catherine is pregnant with yet another child.", and when she and Chloe heard what the Pegasus stallion spirit said, the two gasped together in shock before they asked in unison "What?! A fourth child?! Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's mom is pregnant with a fourth child?!", and then they both added "That's impossible!", but then Jack said "Oh no, girls. It's not impossible, this is all true, and Yigal, Gilad and Ezra were all going to have a new little sibling to watch over and look after.", and then he added "To see what's going to happen next, we need to go forward to the next time period.", and then he and Wild Berry both used their spirit magic abilities again to take Chloe and Aylene along with them to the next time period to see what's going to happen next.

When they arrived at the next time period, Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry were all once again in Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's house, and the three were still 5, 8 and 11, respectively, and they're now under the care of two of their mother's friends, but then the door opened to reveal Catherine walking into her house and coming into a full view in front of her three male children, and when Chloe and Aylene looked at her arms and chest, they saw a newborn baby girl wrapped in towels, which then got and attracted Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's attentions, and even Chloe and Aylene were both in shock to see Catherine's fourth child, and especially to know that the baby is actually a girl and not a boy like her three older brothers, thus also revealing that Yiagl was never been the youngest among his siblings at all, and proving he was only the youngest _male_ among his siblings.

Then, Catherine said to her three older (and male) children "Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, I want you all to say hello to your new little sister. Say hello to your new little sister, Irit.", and just then, the little baby girl (Irit) started to move her arms and legs and slightly open her eyes as Catherine slowly lowered her down and gave her to Ezra so he can hold her first, and after a few minutes, he gave her to Gilad so he can hold her next, and after a few more minutes, Gilad save Irit to Yigal so he can hold her too, as he was the last of the three brothers who is going to be watching over and looking after her, and after a few minutes, Yigal raised his arms to give her back to his mother (Catherine), who then lowered down again and scooped Irit up in her arms and placed her close to her chest, and this made Chloe and Aylene to smile and then Chloe said "Awww, even if these were our enemies, we can't help but say that they and especially their little baby sister were all so cute!", and then tears of joy formed and rolled down their eyes.

However, this is when Jack and Wild Berry took their human granddaughter and Pegasus pony daughter along with them to the next time period, which is not going to be happy at all in there, and when they all finally arrived there, they saw Catherine looking drunk with a bottle of whiskey in her right hand, and this was during the first years in which Catherine started to become an unhealthy drunk, and then she suddenly snapped and then she went to Irit's crib and then she pulled out of her crib and then she started to angrily yell at her without warning, but Yigal, Gilad and Ezra watched what their mother is doing to their little sister, and what came out of Catherine's mouth were hateful words which shocked the three brothers and also scared their baby sister.

Then, the now drunk Catherine yelled at her own daughter "I'm very disappointed to be a mother to a girl like you! I wanted you to be born a boy just like all of your brothers, but I got you born as a stupid baby girl instead! You don't deserve to be mine if you're a girl, Irit! I shall destroy you for not being a boy!", but then Ezra snapped out of his shocked state and then he quickly went up to his mother and quickly snatched Irit away from her, and then he cried "Stop it, mom! Don't hurt our little sister! She deserves to live, even if she's a girl! I truly like her as my little sister, and so Yigal and Gilad does! You can't yell at her that you'll destroy her for not being a boy like us! Even girls like her deserve to live!", and everything Chloe and Aylene saw and heard was enough to make them both gasp in shock again, especially when they both saw how caring and protective Ezra was to his little baby sister, Irit.

However, what Ezra said only made his drunk mother angry and then she yelled at him "How dare you standing in my way, you stupid young man! I'm going to beat you up for defending that rubbish lump of filth whom you dare to call your little sister, you jerk!", and then she started to charge in a zombie-like way (because she was drunk) towards Ezra, but he thought fast enough and knew exactly what to do, and so he started to run to his two younger brothers and gave Irit to them so they can protect her while he goes outside and calls for help, and so he then started to run outside with Catherine following behind like a zombie trying to catch up with his victim, and this is when Ezra started to cry for help as his mother started to get closer and closer on him until she managed to jump on him and pin him down to the ground, but before she can start beating her own eldest son, Catherine is caught and apprehended by a couple of policemen who managed to arrest her and save Ezra just in time, and upon being brought back home, Ezra is reunited with his siblings, and Catherine's two friends allowed themselves to take a good care of the four children while their mother is to be put in jail and sentenced to an entire year for threatening her only daughter and for trying to beat up her eldest son.

Then, Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene with them to the next time period which took place at the time Catherine finally returned home after being in jail for an entire year. Catherine's two friends finally left after caring for her children for her for the last year, but Catherine has a cruel and heartless plan in her mind to get back to the life before she gave birth to Irit - she wants to get rid of her only daughter by taking her outside and dumping her somewhere that is too far away for her other children to go and find her, and when night fell in Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's house, Chloe and Ayalene saw Catherine snatching Irit and taking her out from her crib, and then she took the baby girl outside with her, and then she started to walk and wander until she managed to get very far away from her home, and then she started to search for someplace where she can dump Irit and go home without her, and after a long search for the perfect place, she found a box that was actually full of abandoned helpless baby kittens and then an evil idea got into the drunk mother's mind - she will dump Irit to die along with the helpless kittens, and so Catherine carefully placed her only daughter in the box with the kittens, and then she closed it and started to walk away and leave the area with an evil smile creeping on her face.

When Chloe and Aylene saw what Catherine just did to her only daughter, Chloe then cried "What a monster that woman is!", and then Aylene added "How could she abandon a poor innocent baby girl like Irit, as well as with all of those poor little baby kittens who need a new home!", and then Jack said "because of her being an unhealthy drunk, Catherine was truly a heartless beast.", and then Wild Berry added "And she should be ashamed of herself as well for dumping and leaving her own daughter to die!", and then Jack said "Now let's get to the next time period to see how Ezra and his two younger brothers were all going to react to Irit's disappearance, as well as to the big bad story full of lies that Catherine is going to tell them all about their sister.", and then he and Wild Berry used their spirit magical abilities once again to take Chloe and Aylene with them to the next time period, which yet again takes place at Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's home.

When Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry all reached the next time period, they saw Catherine has returned back home, but when her three male children asked her where did Irit go, because they're all already aware of Irit's 'sudden' disappearance, and then Catherine said while pretending to be sad in front of her children to fool them "There's no easy way to tell this to you three, but unfortunately, Irit have died in the middle of the night, and I had no choice but go to mourn her before I took her to the graveyard to bury her dead body. I'm sorry, but it just suddenly happened under my nose and I couldn't do anything about it.", and when Yigal, Gilad and Ezra all heard what their mother just said to them about their younger sister being dead, the three brothers all started to cry and shed tears and mourn over her before their mother pulled them all into a tight embrace, but she didn't shed tears because she lied to them and fooled them all.

This also made Chloe and Aylene cry to know that the same drunk woman who kidnapped and twisted Jeff (Chloe's father) also dared to dump her own daughter to die for being a girl, but then they went with Jack and Wild Berry back to the environment where the box with Irit and kittens is still located, and then suddenly, a miracle happened - a young and beautiful woman walked by in the area, but when she heard the baby girl and the kittns crying and meowing together inside the box, she turned to look down and when she saw the box, she approached and then opened it and found Irit and the baby kittens inside it all together, and at first she gasped in shock to see Irit in the box with the kittens, but then she quickly picked the box up and she decided to take both Irit and the kittens along with her to her home, and it turned out that the young woman was wealthy because of how her house looked like, which was in fact a huge and beautiful estate that was just the right place where Irit deserves to be raised (along with all the baby kittens), and when Chloe and Aylene watched how the young woman treated Irit properly like a real mother should, and also cared for the baby kittens as well, this made the two inseparable sisters to shed tears of joy when they realized that Irit is actually going to be living a happy life and grow up to be a wealthy woman like the one who took her in and adipted her as her own daughter (and along with the baby kittens (all of which will be pets to both Irit and her adoptive and wealthy mother)).

Then, Jack and Wild berry used their spirit magical abilities again to take Chloe and Aylene along with them to the next time period to see what happened to Yigal, Gilad and Ezra after their mother was sentenced once again, and for 20 years in jail and imprisonment (for kidnapping and twisting Jeff (Chloe's father)). This could and will uncover how Yigal, Gilad and Ezra received their animals (before Shujaa and Kenai's eventual redemptions), and possibly - how they arrived in Equestria in the first place.

When they arrived at the next time period, Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry were all in an environment that looked quite familiar to Chloe - it was the same zoo where she got dumped and fed by her brother and her parents to the tigers in their enclosure when she was just 7 years-old, and when she saw Yigal, Gilad and Ezra quietly breaking into the zoo in the middle night without being spotted and/or apprehended, Chloe looked at what they're doing in shock as they eventually broke into the zoo without startling any of the animals, and then they started to sneak in the zoo and they made it towards the tiger enclosure, and then they started to quietly climb their way down to the enclosure and once standing on the bottom, the three started to search in the enclosure for some tigers, and this is when they stumbled upon a shocking and horrifying sight (which Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry also saw as well).

They all saw an adult male Bengal tiger trying to drown a poor defenseless pure black tiger cub to death, but then Yigal snapped out of his shocked state, turned to pick up a large stick, and then he started to run towards the male tiger and then he started to attack and beat him up to make him let go of the pure black tiger cub, and after fighting the adult male tiger for about a few minutes, Yigal gave the tiger a final blow by swiping at the tiger with the large stick one last time, and he managed to break the tiger's neck, thus accidentally killing him.

However, once he killed the ferocious adult male tiger, Yigal then turned to see the pure black tiger cub slowly coming towards him, and so Yigal decided to throw his stick away before slowly lowering down to make himself less intimidating to the pure black tiger cub. Then, Yigal moved his arms and hands towards the pure black tiger cub, and then he started to gently stroke it on the back and the top of the head, and by doing so, Yigal actually managed to gain the pure black tiger cub's trust, but unfortunately, Yigal and his brothers doesn't have any milk which they need to use to feed the pure black tiger cub whose life Yigal just saved, but then Yigal came up with an idea - he and his brothers will leave the zoo, but they will also take the pure black tiger cub with them so they can raise it as their first loyal animal companion, and when Gilad and Ezra agreed with their younger brother's decision to care for the pure black tiger cub, this is when they started to climb out of the tiger enclosure, with the pure black tiger cub is being carried safely in Yigal's arms, and after sneaking out of the zoo all together, Yigal decided to choose a name for the pure black tiger cub whom he saved.

Eventually, Yigal came up with the name 'Tony', but then Gilad and Ezra added the word 'Black' to the cub's name (referring to the tiger cub's pure black fur which also made his stripes invisible), and when Chloe and Aylene saw the pure black tiger cub and heard him being named by Yigal and his brothers with the same name as the pure black adult male Bengal tiger (Tony Black) who was one of their worst enemies, the two sisters gasped in shock to know that this was none other than Tony Black himself when he was just a little tiger cub, and then they heard Yigal saying to his new pure black tiger cub whom he saved "Come with us, Tony Black. We saved your life, and now you're our first loyal animal companion. Come along.", and the young Tony Black responded by rearing up onto his hinder legs and hugging at Yigal's leg with both of his forelegs, thus prompting him to lower down and pick up his new tiger companion in his arms, and then Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and the young Tony Black left the environment all together.


	64. Chapter 63:the brothers' past (part 2)

With Tony Black is now on Yigal, Gilad and Ezra's side and was now their first loyal animal companion, Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene with them to another environment which was yet in a different zoo, and it was the middle of the night when Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their pure Black Tiger companion (Tony Black) all managed to break into that second zoo as well, and then they all started to sneak into the zoo until they ended up near the lion enclosure, and so they all decided to climb down and see what's in there, and once reaching the bottom of the lion enclosure, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their pure black tiger companion (Tony Black) all started to search for some lions, but they ended up stumbling upon a shocking and horrifying sight that was almost identical to the same thing that happened to Tony Black when the three brothers first met him, saved his life and took him along and under their care.

They all saw (with Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry also watching everything that's happening in front of their eyes) an adult male lion surrounding and terrorizing a poor defenseless white lion cub, and they all also saw that the lion is preparing to kill the helpless cub, but Yigal couldn't just stand there and watch, and so he then snapped out of his shocked state and then he turned to pick up yet another large stick and then he charged towards the male lion, with the now juvenile Tony Black (who is now old enough to go around without milk (and already weaned off of milk)) in tow, and then they both started to attack the male lion and make him leave the white cub alone, and then Tony Black jumped on the lion's back and started to bite at the back of his neck, while Yigal used his stick to swipe at the lion's legs to get him to eventually fall down in defeat, and after a few minutes of fighting with the adult male lion, Tony Black finally managed to break the back of the lion's neck, and Yigal managed to swipe at the lion's chest and torso with his stick, thus breaking some of his ribs (and killing him).

Once the male lion is dead, Yigal and the juvenile Tony Black were approached by the white lion cub, and so Yigal lowered down and started to gently stroke at its back and on the top of its head, thus gaining its trust, before the juvenile Tony Black playfully started to lick the white lion cub, and he also wanted the cub to be like his sibling, which Yigal also expected and accepted as he then picked up the white lion cub in his arms, before he, his brothers and Tony Black all started to climb out of the lion enclosure and escape the zoo with the rare lion cub.

When they managed to escape the second zoo, Yigal decided to make the rare white lion cub his and his brothers' second loyal animal companion as well as Tony Black's little sibling, which the juvenile black tiger quickly accepted, before the three brothers started to search for a name they need to choose for the rare lion cub whose life they just rescued. Then, after a few minutes of thinking about the perfect name for the rare lion cub, the juvenile Tony Black found out that the cub is a female, and when the brothers realized the same as well, Yigal finally decided to call the lion cub 'Agatha', but when he did so, Chloe and Aylene gasped in shock to know that the rare white lion cub is none other than Agatha herself, but unfortunately for Yigal and for his brothers, they didn't have any milk to feed their new and second animal companion, but it is revealed that they managed to feed her and Tony Black with the help of a kinda sneaky plan, which they will later reuse to feed the other (and upcoming) animal companions they will save and take under their care - quietly breaking and sneaking into different barns and stealing milk from lots of cows to feed their own animals, and sometimes - steal and kill some chickens and even pigs to feed their carnivorous animal companions (Tony Black and Agatha), and this is exactly how Tony Black, Agatha and the other animals all survived under the three brothers' care and grew up to become their loyal companions.

Then, Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene with them to the next time period which was a year after Agatha joined the three brothers, and they all saw Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their two Big cat companions sailing (privately) all together to the islands of Borneo, and there they will meet Shujaa the albino orangutan for the first time, and there they will take him under their care as their third animal companion. When the three brothers and their Big cat companions all arrived on one of the islands of Borneo, this is when their next adventure began.

On one of the islands of Borneo, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their Big cats wandered in the jungles, but that is until they all stumbled upon a group of poachers hunting down, shooting and even killing orangutans, and after an adult female orangutan is being shot to death by the poachers, it turned out that she had a pure albino baby which was still alive in her arms, and the albino baby orangutan was none other than Shujaa himself. Then, the poachers tried to put the albino baby orangutan in a bag, but then Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their Big cat companions (with Agatha is now old enough and she already weaned off of milk because she's now a juvenile) all came out of nowhere and they managed to attack, fend off and chase the poachers away, and that is before they took the albino baby orangutan under their care and later named him 'Shujaa', and that's exactly when Yigal, Gilad and Ezra gained and received their third animal companion, before they left Borneo's along with him.

Then, Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene with them to the next time period where they will all see how the three brothers gained and received Kenai as their fourth animal companion, and when they all arrived at the next time period, the environment was yet again a beautiful sea with Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their three animal companions sailing (privately) all together towards China, and when the six finally arrived there, this is when their next adventure began, and there they will meet, rescue and take Kenai under their care as their fourth animal companion.

In China, Yigal, Gilad and Ezra walked in the bamboo forest and encountered a group of pandas, and one of their cubs was actually brown and white instead of normal black and white, and that rare brown panda bear cub was none other than Kenai himself. However, in the middle of the night, when the brothers and their animals returned to the same area where they met the pandas, they found out that the rare brown panda bear cub has been dumped by its own mother (because panda bears usually care for only one cub at a time), but before the cub could starve and die, the brothers stepped in and took the weak brown panda bear cub with them and nursed it back to health, and then they named him 'Kenai' and decided to make him their fourth animal companion before they all left China and sailed away while taking Kenai along with them.

Then, Chloe said "So what you showed us both so far told us about a big part of our enemies' early lives and past, isn't it?", and then Aylene added "And that's exactly how did they all got Tony Black, Agatha, Shujaa and Kenai as their animal companions, right?", and then Jack said "You're both right, girls.", but then Wild Berry added "But it's not yet the end of their story. We have to go to the next time period to show you both how they gained and received Saut and Lin Raju as their two last animal companions before they finally arrived in Equestria.", and then Chloe said "You're right, and now you can continue to do your job and show Aylene and I the rest we both still need to know.".

Then, Jack and Wild Berry used their spirit magical abilities once again to take Chloe and Aylene with them to the next time period, which will tell about how did Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals met Lin Raju and took him along with them as the brothers' fifth animal companion, and the next environment is yet again in the sea showing Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their four animal companions they've met and took along with them so far, and this time, they're all sailing towards their next stop - in Japan. Then, upon arriving in Japan, the three brothers and their animal companions all went to a Japanese zoo in the middle of the night, and there is where their next adventure began, and this is where they will meet Lin Raju the Mammophant and will take him along with them.

Then, after they all successfully managed to break into the Japanese zoo, the three brothers and their four animal companions all started to sneak very quietly so not to startle any of the animals, and that is until they arrived at the elephant enclosure, and upon breaking and getting inside it, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals all saw a shocking and horrifying sight - they all saw a baby elephant with wool like a Woolly mammoth on its body (Mammophant) being attacked and harassed by an adult female elephant, which they assumed it was possibly its mother, but when the brothers and their animals all snapped out of their shocked states, they charged and started to attack and fight the adult female elephant all together to save the baby Mammophant whom she attacked and harassed for his part mammoth-like appearance.

However, after a long fight with the adult female elephant, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals finally managed to knock the female elephant out cold, before they took the terrified Mammophant calf with them as they all escaped the elephant enclosure, and then they all managed to escape and run away from the Japanese zoo, and upon having lots of bottles full of animal milk to suckle and feed baby animals, this is how the brothers gained the baby Mammophant's trust, and they later named him 'Lin Raju' before he became the brothers' fifth animal companion.

Then, Jack and Wild Berry used their spirit magical abilities to take Chloe and Aylene along with them back to North America, where Chloe and Aylene will see how Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals all managed to break into a fourth, went into the rhino enclosure and stumbled upon Saut (who is the brother's sixth and last animal companion whom they rescued and then named). Upon arriving back in North America, the three brothers went along with their animals into a fourth zoo which they broke into in the middle of the night, and then they started to sneak inside very quietly until they all accidentally broke into and arrived at the rhino enclosure. Once in the rhino enclosure, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals all stumbled upon a male white rhinoceros calf which appeared to be less than a year old locked inside a cage away from all the other rhinos in the enclosure.

Then, the brothers slowly approached the cage where the baby white rhino is locked in, and then the brothers told Lin Raju to help them break and remove the bars so they can help the white rhinoceros calf escape the cage, and when the three brothersand their Mammophant companion worked all together, they eventually managed to set the baby white rhinoceros free, but rather than going back to the rest of his herd, the calf decided to come with the three brothers and with their animals, since he's unwilling to live back with his own herd, and Ezra allowed him to come along if he wants to, and this is when the white rhinoceros calf joined their team and became the brothers' sixth and last animal companion, and he's later being named 'Saut' after the brothers gained his trust and managed to escape from the zoo with him, and that's exactly how Yigal, Gilad and Ezra got and receive all their six animal companions (out of whom, only Shujaa and Kenai have redeemed).

Then, Chloe said "It's good to know that Yigal, Gilad and Ezra all had such kind hearts to their animals when they first met and rescued them all at different times and time periods, but now I also realized there's something you two still didn't told us or showed us about them." and then she asked "How did they all arrived in Equestria in the first place?", and then Jack said "Oh yes! This is the part we're all going to se next! Let's go and see how did your enemies arrived in Equestria in the first place!", and then he and Wild Berry both used their spirit magical abilities to take Chloe and Aylene along with them to the next time period.

When they all arrived at the next time period, Chloe, Aylene, Jack and Wild Berry all saw Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and all their animals being chased down by the police forces until they all got cornered and trapped at the edge of a cliff, where the police forces managed to catch up to them, but before Yigal, Gilad and Ezra can be arrested for their crimes they've done around the world, a huge vortex suddenly appeared and formed right below them, and it started to suck the three brothers and their six animal companions down into it, and then they started to fall down into the darkness of the vortex, and once they all disappeared, the vortex disappeared as well, and this made the police forces to foolishly believe that Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and the animals have all died, but they're all dead wrong.

When Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene to an environment in Equestria, which the two inseparable sisters recognized as the midst of the Everfree Forest, they saw the vortex that swallowed Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals appeared out of nowhere and upside-down, and then it vomited the three brothers and all their animals in Equestria, before it disappeared again (and into oblivion). Then, Yigal, Gilads, Ezra and their animals all woke up and got up on their feet to find themselves and each other all still alive, but this is actually how they all exactly arrived in Equestria in the first place, and this shocked Chloe and Aylene to know that now they finally know the truth about their enemies' arrival in Equestria.

Then, Jack and Wild Berry took Chloe and Aylene to another environment in Equestria, which they all quickly recognized as the royal castle, and when they got inside, they saw Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, their animals, and a familiar (and yet younger) Pegasus mare that looked just like Black Heart confronting Celestia, Luna and their royal guards, and this showed Chloe and Aylene that the Pegasus mare was none other than Black Heart (Aylene's birth mother), at the time before she married or even met Wild Berry, but despite they fought together side by side, Celestia and Luna outfought Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and the animals, and they all ended up being thrown out of the royal castle by the princesses' powerful magic, thus prompting them all to retreat for their lives, and go separate ways from each other (Black Heart parted ways with the other villains).

Then, Wild Berry showed Chloe and Aylene an image of Black Heart that shows her when she was just a little filly with her father (Wolf Eye) standing by her side, but when the two sisters saw how scary and terrifying Wolf Eye looked like for a Pegasus pony, they both stepped aback in fear at the image which also showed Wolf Eye's scary and terrifying appearance in front of their eyes.

Wolf Eye appeared to be a large gray Pegasus stallion with mangy dark brown or black forehead, mane, back and tail, but his mane and tail were more like these of a wolf and less like these of a normal pony, and he also had a paler gray underbelly, a pair of large, black eagle-like wings, but he also had scary looking red eyes with yellow sclerae and with a single black pupil in each of them. For addition, Wolf Eye also had tiny but sharp, wolf-like canine teeth that can be seen when he opened his mouth, and he even had tiny but sharp wolf-like claws on his hooves which also made him to look like a pony-like version of one of disney's most scariest wolves which people's eyes have ever seen - the wolf from disney's Make Mine Music.

After seeing Wolf Eye's true looks and scary body appearance, Wild Berry made the image disappear and then he asked Chloe and Aylene if they're both okay, but then Aylene said "My grandfather looks like a cross between a wolf and a regular Pegasus pony!", and then Chloe added "I too have to admit it, he's indeed looking like a hybrid between a wolf and a Pegasus pony! His looks and body appearance were just scary like if it was insane!", and then Wild Berry said "From him and from his pure Pegasus pony wife, Black Heart was born a pure pony but with wolf-like abilities and traits, and I'm very lucky you didn't received from her anything when you're born from her and and from me, Aylene.", and then Jack said to her "Yes, Aylene, you must be very thankful that you're born a 100% normal Pegasus pony, and without any wolf-like abilities and/or even traits.", and this made tears of joy form in Aylene's eyes before she said to both the spirit of her father and to the one of Jack his best human friend "Thank you!".

However, just then, Jack said "It was been an honor for the both of us to show you two the past of your enemies, but now I think it's time for us to go.", and then Wild Berry added "Yes, I think we've done enough for this time, and I think it's time for us to say goodbye to you two.", and then Chloe said "Thank you both for showing us everything we needed to know about our enemies' past.", and then Aylene added "We could've never saw all of this without the help of you two.", and then Jack said "Goodbye, Chloe." and then Wild Berry added "Goodbye, Aylene.", and then their spirits started to disappear in front of their eyes, and once Jack and Wild Berry both completely disappeared into thin air, Chloe and Aylene then opened their eyes to find themselves still in their bed, but when they slowly went out of bed and then went towards one of their bedroom's windows, they saw it was now sunrise, and as they saw the sky brightening and the sun slowly rising in front of their eyes, Chloe and Aylene then smiled as they looked together at the beautiful sunrise from their window, and then tears of happiness and joy formed and rolled down their eyes before Chloe said "Now we know everything we needed to know.", and then Aylene added "Yes, now we know everything, and thanks to my father and your grandfather's spirits, we both know about our enemies' past, and now we know why they're all here before us all along.".


	65. Chapter 64:Stephan runs away

A full month have passed since Chloe and Aylene met the spirits of Jack (Chloe's grandfather) and Wild Berry (Aylene's father) in their shared dream, as well as since they learned thanks to them about the past and early lives of Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, how did they got their animal companions, and even how they actually arrived in Equestria in the first place, and as for Chloe herself, it was now 54 months (4 years and 6 months) since she herself first arrived in Equestria, and as for Aylene, it was now 42 years (3 years and 6 months) since she became Chloe's beloved Pegasus pony sister, and now they're both very glad to know the real truth they didn't knew until just a month ago about their worst enemies' past.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went outside the royal castle to meet their best centaur friend, Stephan, who is now living in Ponyville with his twin baby siblings (Andy and Zoey), and it seems he's doing quite fine, but the only thing that's still terrorizing his mind was none other than his abusive father, Howard, who will stop at nothing until he finds him and the twins and takes them back home with him, but then he suddenly snapped out from his terrible thoughts when two familiar voices of his two best friends called for him, and when Stephan went to the door to opened it, he saw Chloe and Aylene looking at him with happy smiles, and seeing them again made Stephan happy again, especially because they will never let his father take him away and/or abuse him or the twins ever again.

Then, Chloe asked Stephan "Do you wanna come with us and play?", and Stephan said "Yeah, sure.", and so he came out of his new house in Ponyville and went to the meadow to play and have fun with his two best friends, but an hour later, he sat down under the tree with a face which showed a bit of depression since he felt deep inside himself that his days of being abused by his father weren't over until his father is either imprisoned or even dead, and when Chloe and Aylene noticed the sudden change in their centaur friend, Aylene trotted up to him and once she stopped in front of the bit depressed centaur, she then asked him "What's wrong, Stephan?", and then she added "What's troubling your mind today?", and Stephan said with a hint of sadness mixed with a bit of depression in his voice "Maybe I was wrong when I saved you and Chloe from Yigal, Gilad and Ezra when I first met you two long ago.", but then Chloe ran up to him, and when she reached him, she then asked and said "What are you saying?", and then Stephan sighed and said "Maybe I'm no such thing as a good centaur after all.".

However, Chloe placed her hand on his shoulder and then she said "Oh no, that not true, Stephan. You're not a bad centaur, and you will never be as cruel and/or as heartless as your father. You had a good mother whom you don't want to crush because she was been a kind centaur, or may I say centauress too.", and then Aylene added "Chloe's right, Stephan. We both already know you as a good centaur, and you even proved that to us when you first saved us twice on that same day long ago, and that's because you received from mother before she died a big, kind, caring and loving heart. We all already know you're a good centaur. All of us.".

However, the voice of Howard suddenly said evilly deep inside Stephan's head _"No, no, no, no, no! Don't listen to that sort of nonsense these two so-called friends of yours are just saying! You're never and you never will be a good centaur, Stephan! Because your my eldest son whom I always need for the most, these human girl and Pegasus pony weren't and will never be your true friends! These two so-called friends of yours were just using you to make you destroy yourself against your will! But under my lessons, as well as Lord Tirek's, once you meet him when we go to Tartarus, you will learn to attack, harass, and maybe even kill everything you see in front of your eyes! By the way, son, if you think Celestia was trying to make sure you're safe away from me, then guess what - you're dead wrong! She might be kind for you now, but when you're least expect, she will banish you to Tartarus as she knows there are no such things as good centaurs! You can't trust anyone, and as a matter of fact, everyone knows that deep inside, you're evil just like me! Dump these Chloe and Aylene behind you and come back home to me, and I will promise you that you will have much more better friends that were from your OWN KIND, much unlike all of these filthy ponies and their pathetic non-pony allies whom you think were your friends, but no! They're not! The only creatures in this world who would truly like you and would want to be your friends were evil centaurs like me!"_.

Then, Stephan heard his father's evil voice laughing evilly deep inside his mind, and this caused Stephan to turn away from Chloe and Aylene and clutch at his own head with his human arms and hands, as he then started to whimper and sob as he didn't know if he should stay friend with Chloe and Aylene or betray them and join his father's evil side. Then, Chloe approached Stephan and then she asked "Stephan, what's wrong?", as she tried to place her hand and touch him on the shoulder, but then Stephan cried "Leave me alone! You're not my friends! I should've known better than to save your lives! Centaurs were evil creatures, and so am I!", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what he said, the two gasped in shock before Aylene then asked "What are you talking about?", and then Stephan cried "Centaurs were evil creatures who steal magic from other creatures and could potentially kill them if necessary!", but then Chloe said "You aren't evil, Stephan! We're your friends and we won't let you go back to that abusive monster who is none than your own father!", but then Stephan cried "You're both lying to me! You're trying to keep me away from my father so YOU can have the right, pleasure and honor to destroy me!", but then Aylene cried "We don't want to destroy you! We're your friends, and you belong with us!", but then Stephan cried "No! I'm nothing more than a vicious monster who can and maybe even will bring harm to anyone I see with my eyes!", but then Chloe said "You're not a vicious monster, Stephan! And we both really like and love you for the most because we're your friends!", but then Stephan stood back up on his hooves and then he turned tail and tried to buck at Chloe and Aylene, but the two quickly managed to get out of the way, and then Stephan yelled at them "Now you both see what a REAL centaur always does! Now stay away from me or I'll buck at you both again! Goodbye, Chloe and Aylene, you're no longer my friends I thought you were!", but then Chloe and Aylene went up to him and placed a hand and a hoof on both of his human shoulders and then Chloe cried "Please, don't go, Stephan!", and then Aylene added and begged "We all want you to stay!", but then Stephan smacked their hand and hoof away from his shoulders and then he said "Nobody really likes me or cares about me, and so are you two! My father was right all along! Goodbye, Chloe and Aylene!", and then he turned and started to gallop away from Chloe and Aylene with tears of sadness and pain forming and rolling down his eyes and trailing behind him, and after a few minutes of galloping away, Stephan disappeared from Chloe and Aylene's eyesights, but he kept galloping away forward, towards the horizon.

Then, Chloe said "We gotta go back and tell everybody what just happened!", and then Aylene added "You're right, Stephan suddenly snapped at us and ran away!", and then Chloe said "Let's go and tell mother Celestia, aunt Luna, Twilight and her friends, and Shujaa and Kenai!", and then Aylene added "Let's go!", and then the two ran and galloped back towards Ponyville to tell their friends about Stephan's sudden outburst and runaway.

About two hours later, Twilight and her friends, Kenai, Bluebell, Aron, Linda, the triplets (Egbert, Shelly and Yoko), the baby Beartaurs (Kayden and Tallulah), and the twins (Andy and Zoey) all gathered in the royal castle all together, and they're all shocked, as well as Celestia, Luna and Shujaa to know that Stephan actually snapped and ran away from his new home, and so they all decided to go all together and search for him, find him, persuade him that he's indeed a good centaur and take him with them back home.

Meanwhile, Stephan have managed to gallop so far way to the horizon that he eventually collapsed down to the ground as he found out he got lost, and so he lied down on the ground, hungry and thristy, but then he suddenly heard the noise of some water, and when he slowly moved his head to the right, he saw he actually collapsed near a big lake, and so Stephan started to desperately crawl with all strength left in him towards the big lake with clear and clean water, and after a few minutes of crawling and struggling, Stephan finally managed to get to the lake and then he started to drink from it to restore his strength he spent when he galloped away from Chloe and Aylene, as well as from his home back in Ponyville.

When he was done drinking from the lake, Stephan raised his upper human body up, but still sat down on his horse haunches, because he was so tired after galloping really fast like he just already did for the first time in his entire life. Stephan kept sitting down in front of the lake and looked down at his own reflection in the water, but then he snapped and splashed at his own reflection by kicking with his right horse foreleg and hoof, and then he cried "Centaurs like me are evil! I hate myself!", but then a female voice said to him "Don't say that about yourself, darling.", and when Stephan heard the female voice talking to him, he stood back up on his hooves and looked everywhere to see and find who's talking to him at the moment, but then when he looked up, he saw an adult centauress with red hair and tail, beautiful blue eyes and lower body and legs of a gray mare, and when Stephan saw how she looked like, he quickly recognized who is the centauress before he asked in shock "Mother?!", and then he added "Is that you?! How are you here?!", and then Stephan's mother said "I came here to see you and tell you that you're not evil like that excuse whom you call your own father, Stephan.".

Stephan looked at shock to see his own mother landing in front of him and then he went towards her to hug her, but when he tried to hug her, he felt he's actually phasing through her body, and he soon realized she's only a ghost, and therefore she couldn't be touched. Then, Stephan said to his mother "Mother, I'm so sorry, but I don't deserve to be a good centaur like you no more. Father was right. Maybe I should just give up my own life and join you. I failed him and I also failed you too. Maybe Equestria would better off without me.", and then tears of sadness started to form in his eyes as he was about to start to cry, but then he felt his mother's hand wiping away the tears forming in his eyes before he felt her stroking lightly at his cheek and then she said "Shhh, don't say that, darling. You're not evil and I know you will never be like that.", but then Stephan asked as he sniffled a bit "Why can't I touch you, mother? Are you a ghost?", and then Stephan's mother said "Listen to me, my dear Stephan, I'm not dead.", but then Stephan asked her "Really? Then how are you even here? Why is that?", and then he added "I saw that monster Beartaur killing you in front of my eyes by crushing your neck, so why are you even here?", and then the mother centauress said "I may not be in my body anymore, but I still live.", and then she touched with a finger at Stephan's chest and said and added "Here, in your heart.", and then Stephan said to her "Oh, so does that means that you live deep inside me, right?", and then his mother said to him "Yes, darling.", but then she added "And I hope you'll be able to make new friends. I also know about your two best friends whom you left behind you.", and then she asked "Would one be a Pegasus pony and the other would be a human being, wouldn't they?", and when Stephan heard what she said, Stephan said "Yes, these are none other than Chloe and Aylene, but because they're not centaurs like me, I decided to dump them behind me and leave their side before I grow up to become a ferocious adult centaur one day.".

However, Stephan's mother then said "What you've done was wrong. You should've not left them behind you. They are the ones you need for the most, because they are you friends. Your true friends.", and this made Stephan to sniffle again before he said "Yes, mother, you're right, maybe I should go and find them and apologize and say to them I'm sorry I ran away from them like I did.", and then the mother centauress said "Now that's how my real eldest boy should talk.", and then she added "Goodbye, Stephan. I wish you good luck in finding your true friends.", and then she suddenly started to disappear in front of Stephan's eyes, but then he cried "No, wait! Mother, don't go! Please come back! Don't leave me!", but there's nothing he could've done to stop her as she completely disappeared into thin air, and after seeing his mother disappearing and leaving him alone again, Stephan turned back to the lake before lowering down onto his horse haunches and then he started to cry in sadness and pain, because now he's all alone once again.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and everyone else still searched for him, but they still couldn't find him anywhere, but then Celestia said "We must not give up hopes, every creature! We must find Stephan, and I know that eventually we will! Let's continue searching! We won't atop until we find him!", and then everyone said in unison "Yes, Princess Celestia!" and they continued to search everywhere for Stephan in hopes that eventually they will find him.

After a few hours, nighttime came, but Stephan still stayed close to the lake, but after a few minutes later, he decided to get up on his hooves and leave to search for his friends, find them and apologize for Chloe and Aylene for snapping at them and for running away from them. Meanwhile, everyone returned back to their homes from their search and fell asleep for the night so they can go and search for Stephan again tomorrow in the next morning. Back with Stephan, the teenage male centaur was still searching for his way back home and he was also searching for his friends, but even after searching everywhere, he still couldn't find his way back home, and so he had no choice but to search for someplace where he can sleep for the night, and after a while of searching for someplace good to sleep, Stephan found a big cave and so he decided to go inside it and sleep there. For now, Stephan have someplace where he can sleep for the night, but in the big cave he found, however, he'll find out that he wouldn't be alone for long.


	66. Chapter 65:Stephan and the Zebrataurs

Deep inside the big cave he found, Stephan slept alone, but what he doesn't know is that he accidentally intruded into someone else's home, which means that he's not the only one inside the cave he found, and soon or later, he's going to find out that he accidentally made a huge mistake. However, Stephan still don't know that inside the big cave, he's not alone.

Then, a shadow of what appeared to be another centaur appeared and then it started to approach the sleeping Stephan, but to make matters worse - there was more than just one centaur-like shadow, and in fact, there are actually nine of them, which means that Stephan won't be able to defend or protect himself from all of them at once (when he'll wake up and turn and see them all coming right towards him).

Then, one of the centaur-like shadows suddenly whispered " _Who's that white centaur_?", and then another asked _"_ _What_ _was he doing here in our cave?",_ and then a third asked " _Is he dangerous?_ ", but then a fourth whispered and said " _Whoever that white centaur is, I'm gonna go for him_ _!"_ , and so one of the centaur-like shadows slowly approached the still sleeping Stephan and when it stopped right in front of him, the centaur-like shadow who approached him then lowered down and then it used two fingers from one of its human hands to pluck one hair from Stephan's head, thus provoking him, and causing him to cry and say "Ouch!", before he then rubbed at his own head with one of his own human hands, but once he was stopped doing so, he then opened his eyes and turned to look up and see the centaur-like shadow standing in front of him, but also towering over him.

However, then, Stephan stood up on his hooves to reach up to the same height as the centaur-like shadow, and then he asked "Um, excuse me, but who are you?", but then the centaur-like shadow asked him back in a rather rude, male voice tone "Who are you?", and then Stephan said "Well, I'm Stephan. Sorry to intrude, Sir.", and then he added "I didn't know it was your cave. I'm sorry.", but then the centaur-like shadow said to him "You, white centaur, go away and don't come back, do you hear me?", but then Stephan asked "White centaur? Who?", and then the shadowed centaur yelled at him "You! That's who!", and then he added "Now go away before I will have to kick you out of here by force, white centaur!", and then Stephan "Okay, I'm going!", and then he added "Just take it easy, Sir. I'm leaving your cave right now. It's fine.", and then he turned to leave the cave, but before he's about to leave, he turned back to see the shadowed centaur looking at him with scowling eyes, while the shadowed centaur's friends all looked at him with shocked and surprised eyes instead, and then Stephan simply said to all of them "Goodbye, and goodnight." before he finally turned to go and so he finally left the cave and started to walk away and search for a new place where he can stay and sleep for the night.

Later, after searching for an empty place where he can sleep for almost an hour, Stephan finally found another, yet much smaller cave that is barely big enough for himself to go and fit inside, and so Stephan went inside the much smaller cave he just found and finally fell asleep, and without anyone else inside the smaller cave besides him, Stephan cannot be disturbed, as he now finally got a good place where he can finally sleep without being kicked out of place by anyone else. This time, Stephan can finally sleep peacefully.

When next morning came, Stephan woke up, got up on his hooves and left the cave to search for some food to eat, but after searching for an available source of food he can eat everywhere, Stephan suddenly stumbled upon a group of nine weird and different-looking centaurs which he did not expected to see for the first time in his entire life. The nine centaurs who looked different than Stephan had the upper bodies of either Ethiopian or African-American people, and the lower bodies, legs and tails of zebras instead of horses, which makes them a cousin species which was, in fact, related to Stephan's species - the nine weird and bizarre-looking centaurs were none other than zebra centaurs (or 'Zebrataurs' for short).

At first, Stephan didn't know if he should go forward to meet them and try to talk to them or not, but after a few minutes of thinking to himself, Stephan finally made it up in his mind, and so he decided to go to meet the Zebrataurs and try to talk to them. However, when the Zebrataurs turned and saw Stephan coming towards them, one of them, a male, suddenly cried "Ahhhhhhhhhh! It's the white centaur who intruded into our cave before!", and then another Zebrataur, a female (or A.K.A - a Zebratauress), added "We gotta run away now! That white centaur might bring us lots of harm if he comes too near us!", and then another male, which was possibly the leader of their group, yelled to the rest of the Zebrataurs "Run for your lives!", and so the nine Zebrataurs all started to trot and gallop away in an attempt to avoid Stephan, whom they all believed might be dangerous to them, or might try to mean them all lots of harm if any of them will try to talk to him back.

When Stephan noticed them running away from him upon seeing him coming towards then, he then called for them all "No, wait! Come back! I mean you all no harm! I just wanna talk to you!", but the Zebrataurs didn't stopped dead in their tracks and they continued to trot and gallop away from Stephan in an attempt to lose him, and all of them managed to escape and disappear from Stephan's eyesight, much to his dismay to know that they don't like him for being a 'white centaur', and so he gave up the pursuit after the Zebrataurs and he decided to go and find someplace where he can rest but not sleep for the upcoming noon, and after searching for someplace good for himself to rest, Stephan entered a meadow where he found a big and tall tree and he decided to go and rest under it for the upcoming noon, and once under the tree, Stephan rested down under it and started to feel relaxed and comforted, before he closed his eyes and started to take slow and deep breathes as he listened to the sounds of the winds which blew softly, and to the sounds of some singing birds which chirped right above him, on some of the branches of the tree.

For about a long hour, Stephan relaxed under the tree he found, but then he suddenly heard someone giggling at him, and when Stephan opened his eyes, he saw a male baby Zebrataur sitting down on his lower horse chest and torso and looking down at him with a cute smile, much to Stephan's shock and surprise to see a Zebrataur this close to him, especially if the baby one giggling at him is sitting down on his lower horse chest and torso and looking down at him with a cute smile. Stephan looked up at the baby Zebra who sat down on him and then he asked him "Excuse me, little one? What are you thinking you're doing here on my lower horse chest and torso?", but the male baby Zebrataur then said in baby language "Wu ar yu, Mr. Waite sentaor?", and Stephan who barely understood what the baby Zebrataur said answered back "I'm Stephan.", and then he asked him "What are you doing here all alone by yourself?", and then the baby Zebrataur said "Wel, ai aksidentaly wandered tuu far awey from de rest of mai herd, end ai hev no aidia were ai em nauu.".

Stephan tried to translate what the baby Zebrataur said to know what did he meant to in adult language, and after doing so, Stephan then asked the baby Zebrataur "And what's your name, little one?", and the baby Zebrataur said (in baby language) "Mai name is Timmy!", and then Stephan said to him after hearing his name "You've got quite a good name for someone around your age.", and then Timmy said to him back "Fenks, Stefan.", and then Stephan asked him "Would you like me to take you with me so we can search for your herd so I can bring you back to them?", and then Timmy said "Shur! Ai maiit es wel ask dem if yu can join aur herd!", and when Stephan heard what Timmy just said, the teenage male centaur gasped in shockbefore he asked "Do you think you can really do that for me?", and then he added and explained "I'm all on my own and all by myself, so I don't really have a herd of my own.", and then Timmy said "Shur! Ai hev an older sister wu is araund yur aig, end ai'm shur shi will aksept yu intu de herd if yu tek me wif yu bek tu de rest of de herd!", and then Stephan said to him "I'll take you back to where you belong, but first, you need to get off my lower horse chest and torso so I can roll onto my side and then stand up on my hooves!", and then Timmy stood back up onto his hooves before jumping off Stephan's lower horse chest and torso, and once Timmy was off him, Stephan then rolled onto his side and then he slowly stood back up on his hooves, thus shocking and surprising Timmy with his tall height, which was for an average teenage centaur between 5 and 6 feet (between 1.5 and 1.8 meters) tall (adult centaurs may have an average height of as much as 7 or 8 feet (2.1 or 2.4 meters) tall).

Then, Stephan said to him "Follow me, Timmy, and I promise you I will take you back to your herd, but we must search for them first.", and then Timmy said "Okey! Ai'm wif yu, Stefan! Ai wont leev yur saiid! Ai promes!", and then Stephan said "Let's go, Timmy! Let's go and find your herd!", and then, the teenage centaur and the baby Zebrataur started to walk away from the tree and from the meadow, and then they started to search for the Zebrataurs herd together, and with Timmy is now on his side, Stephan got for himself a new friend and ally to which he can help by taking him back to his herd, whom are all probably worried sick by now from their youngster's disappearance.

As for Chloe, Aylene and all the others, they all went together to search for Stephan once again and they all hoped that this time, they will find him, try to reason with him and persuade him to return with all of them back home to Ponyville. Meanwhile, Stephan and Timmy were searching for the Zebrataurs herd (which Timmy was part of) so Stephan can give Timmy back to them, and he also hoped that in return for giving their youngster back to them, the Zebrataurs will accept him into their herd and will also accept him as one of them.

Then, after searching for Timmy's herd for a while, the centaur (Stephan) and the Zebrataur (Timmy) accidentally stumbled upon one of Terrence's Liontaurs, a male, and they saw he was enjoying feasting on an unfortunate antelope which he hunted and killed for food, and it also seemed like he didn't noticed the two equine centaurs whom are both looking at him enjoying feasting on the antelope. However, Timmy then asked Stephan in shock "Wat is dis fing?", and then Stephan said to him "It's a Liontaur, Timmy. And I surely know to who this one belongs - to Terrence!", and then Timmy asked him "Wu'z Terens?", and then Stephan said "He's an abusive big male African bush elephant who likes to destroy babies and children! Especially innocent little girls! And also because he's the last of his kind in all of Equestria!", and when Timmy heard what Stephan said, he then turned to look at the male Liontaur, who is still feasting on his antelope, and then he asked "So, doz dat mins dat Laiontaor wil der tu hart as?", and then Stephan said "Yes, Timmy, but right now, he seems to enjoy his meal he caught for himself.", and then he added "Whatever you do, do not come any closer to that Liontaur so he won't-", but then he is cut in mid-sentence when the male Liontaur heard Stephan's warning words, which distracted him from his meal, and then he let out a loud and angrily roar at both him and Timmy, thus prompting them to gallop away together before the male Liontaur decided to take off and dump his meal behind and chase after them instead.

Stephan and Timmy tried to outrun and escape the male Liontaur, but after a long chase, the two ran into a dead end, which was in this case - a tall rock wall, and then the male Liontaur caught up to them and had them both trapped and cornered against the tall rock wall, and he prepared to strike them and finish them off for good, but then a male voice screamed and yelled behind the male Liontaur "Leave Timmy alone!", and this prompted the male Liontaur to turn back and see eight teenage Zebrataurs (which are the same ones whom Stephan first met in their cave, with Timmy being the ninth (which Stephan didn't noticed and saw until the baby Zebrataur got lost and found him instead)), and when Stephan and Timmy turned to see the Zebrataurs standing tall and proud all together and quickly getting the male Liontaur's attention, and when Stephan and Timmy saw one of the female Zebrataurs, which stood second on the left side with the rest of the herd, Timmy then cried for her "Sister!", and the teenage Zebratauress saw him too and cried "Timmy! Don't worry, my sweet little brother! We're coming to save you!", and then a male Zebrataur (which was the leader of the herd) cried and yelled "Charge!", and then the Zebrataurs started to gallop together towards the male Liontaur, who didn't had much time to react, and then they all started to attack him from all directions, and after a few minutes of fighting the male Liontaur, the leader of the Zebrataurs gave the feline centaur a final blow by stabbing him in the upper human chest and torso with a spear through the mane, thus killing the ferocious beast for good (and leaving Terrence with two more Liontaurs on his side - a last male Liontaur and the one and only Liontauress (female)).

With the third male Liontaur is dead, Timmy then trotted and galloped towards one of the Zebratauresses, the one which was his older sister, and she too saw him coming towards her so she too went towards him as well, and when they got close enough to each other, Timmy then jumped up and hugged at his older sister's chest and cried "Big sister! Ai'm so sory ai wandered awey laik ai did! Pliz, forgiv mi!", and then tears formed and rolled down his eyes and he started to cry, but then his older sister said to him kindly "Shhh, it's okay, Timmy. I don't blame you. It happens to every baby, and not just to you, my dear little brother. I forgive you, Timmy. I will always love you, and I will never be angry at you. I promise.", and when the older Zebratauress managed to calm Timmy down, she then turned and noticed Stephan standing there and looking at her and at the rest of the herd from nearby, and then she asked her little brother "Timmy, who is that white centaur who is standing right there and was looking at all of us?", and then Timmy turned to Stephan and said "Big sister, dis is mai neu frend, Stefan.", and then he added "Hi helped mi sirch for yu ol end giv mi som neu kompani. Hi wonts tu join aur herd.", and then Stephan took a step forward and said "Hi there, I'm Stephan!".

However, when the rest of the Zebrataurs herd also turned and noticed Stephan nearby, they all galloped towards him and they all stopped right in front of him, and then the male leader of their herd stepped forward and in front of his herd to confront Stephan. Then, the male Zebrataur leader asked Stephan with a scowl on his face "What are you still doing here?!", and then he added "I thought I warned you to stay away from my herd, white centaur!", but then Stephan said to him back "Hey, hey! Calm down! I don't wanna fight you or any member of your herd! I'm just here to give you all your lost youngster! That's all!", but the Zebrataur leader then asked him "Do you have a name, white centaur?", and then Stephan said "Well, yes. My name is Stephan, and I tried to tell you my name once, but it seems like you don't listen or mind my name.", but then the Zebrataur leader grabbed with both of his human arms and hands at Stephan's neck and then he yelled at him "What did you just said?!", and then he started to choke the teenage centaur while still keeping looking at him with a scowling face.

However, then, Timmy cried "Brenden, pliz, stop it nau! Yu'r chowking him!", but then the Zebrataur leader (whose name is 'Brandon') turned back to Timmy, and then he cruelly kicked the baby Zebrataur in the lower horse underbelly with a hind zebra leg and yelled at him "You stay out of this, Timmy! I'm the leader here in this herd, not you! So you better not talk to me or else I will kick you harder than that!", and then he turned back to Stephan and yelled at him "And you, Stephan! How dare you show up after you intruded into our cave the night before?!", but then Stephan tried to speak up and say as he felt Brandon's hands choking at his neck "I'm sorry I intruded into your cave before! I just need a new home where I can stay, as well as new friends!", and then Brandon rudely asked "Excuse me?!", and then Stephan begged "Please let go of my neck! I can't breath! I wanna join your herd! I'm all alone with no other centaurs around with me!", but then Brandon yelled at him "What are you saying?! Are you really all alone and on your own, white centaur?!", and then Stephan nodded and said "Yes! Now let go of my neck! You're choking my windpipe!", and then Brandon let go and released his grip from Stephan's neck, but then he pushed him down and caused him to fall down and strike the ground with both his upper human back and lower horse back.

Then, he looked up to see Brandon towering over him while still glaring him with scowling eyes, before the Zebrataur leader said "You're allowed to join my herd, white centaur! But I give you a warning! I give you four days to officially become part of my herd! Do you hear me?! FOUR DAYS!", and then he added "If you show us all how loyal you really are to all of us, then you're a part of my herd, but if you fail - you will be banished from the herd and will never be allowed to come back to us ever again!", and then he lowered down, looked at Stephan close and right in the eyes before he then angrily yelled at him in the face "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!", and Stephan said "Yes, I do.", and then Brandon said "Now that's a good white centaur!", and then he yelled at him "And now, come along!", and then Stephan slowly got back up on his hooves and then he simply said "Okay.", and then he started to follow behind Brandon and his Zebrataurs herd all the way back to their cave, and this is when his four days to prove himself loyal to the Zebrataurs herd so he can officially become a part of their herd began.


	67. Chapter 66:part of the herd (1st day)

The next day, Stephan began his first out of four days which Brandon, the leader of the Zebrataurs, gave him to see how loyal and fit the teenage male centaur really is, and if he's indeed worthy enough to become a part of the Zebrataurs herd. When Stephan and the Zebrataurs came out of the cave and left, they went all together to hunt for food, just like Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their evil animals (excluding Shujaa and Kenai, since the two have been reformed) always used to.

Stephan and the Zebrataurs searched for some animals which they all can hunt for food, and after searching for some animals for a while, Brandon told everyone to stop and follow him very slowly, as the Zebrataur leader have found some animals which he and the herd (and Stephan) can all hunt for food - a herd of deer. Then, Brandon turned back to his herd and said to them "Now listen to me, everyone. We need to hunt at least three of these deer to have their meat feeding our tummies. Do you all understand?", and then they all said "Yes, Brandon.", but then Stephan asked "But, how do we hunt them?", and then he added "We don't have any tools.", but then Brandon said to him "You don't need a weapon to hunt a deer, Stephan. Just use your arms and hands to choke the deer and suffocate it until you make it collapse, and then use your front hooves to kick and break its neck. It's a very easy thing to do, especially if you're a Zebrataur.".

Then, Brandon said to Stephan before turning away from him so he can show him how to stalk and then jump and choke a deer "Watch me doing this.", and then he went into a group of nearby large bushes and this is when he started to choose and stalk a specifically random deer, and in this case - it was a young stag (male). Then, Brandon slowly approached the unaware stag from inside the large bushes, and once he got close enough, Brandon then jumped out and grabbed with both of human his arms and hands around the young stag's neck snd then he started to choke him and cause him to suffocate in his tight grip, and after struggling and failing to escape Brandon's grip, the young stag finally collapsed down to the ground, and then Brandon reared up onto his hind zebra legs and then he started to kick with his zebra forelegs and hooves at the young stag's neck, thus breaking his neck and killing him, and also showing Stephan how to kill a deer without using any tools or weapons to do so.

With one young stag is dead and good enough to feed the Zebrataurs and Stephan, they all need to hunt at least two more deer so everyone can cook and feed on their tasty meat, but all the other deer saw Brandon after he killed one of their herd, they all started to run away, but this is when Brandon called for his Zebrataurs and for Stephan "Get them!", and then the Zebrataurs and the centaur all started to trot and gallop towards the deer, and eventually, two of the Zebrataurs managed to choke and then kill an adult doe (female), thus leaving at least just one more deer the Zebrataurs and Stephan all still need to hunt for food.

Then, Stephan turned his head to see Timmy and his older sister are trying to catch up to an adult stag, and so he decided to go to help them take him (the stag) down, but then the stag turned to face Timmy and his older sister and then he started to charge at them, thus prompting the two Zebrataurs to turn around and gallop away from the stag, and Timmy's older sister managed to escape, but Timmy himself, however, is struggling to escape the stag, which then tried to mean harm to Timmy by injuring him with his antlers, but then Stephan jumped on the adult stag from behind and then he started to choke and suffocate the animal by the neck, before causing it to finally collapse down to the ground, and then Stephan reared up onto his hind horse legs and then he used his horse forelegs to kick and break the stag's neck, killing it, and also saving Timmy's life.

With three deer being hunted and killed for food, the Zebrataurs decided to end the hunting for today, but then Timmy's older sister cried "What happened to my little brother Timmy?!", and then Timmy cried for her as he then ran towards her "Ai'm okey, big sister!", and when the two Zebrataurs got reunited with each other, Timmy's sister then asked her little brother "How did you escaped that stag?", and then Timmy said "Stefan saivd mi! Wen de stag got clos enof tu mi end traid tu hart mi, Stefan keim to saiv mi bai choking dat stag end den hi brok hiz nek! Stefan saivd mai laif, end ai'm so greitful tu hev him on aur side!", and when Timmy's older sister turned to see Stephan standing there and looking at them, while at the same time the centaur was feeling guilty for killing the stag just a few moments ago, then the teenage Zebratauress went up to him and said "Thank you for saving my little brother's life, Stephan.", but then Stephan said "It was nothing, really. Somebody else would've done the same thing I did.", but then the Zebratauress placed both of her human hands on both of his shoulders, and then she said "Thank you so much, Stephan. I love you.", and then she kissed Stephan on the left cheek, thus causing him to blush before he then smiled and simply said "Thank you, Miss.", and when they stepped aback from each other, Brandon then called for the both of them (and to Timmy) to come over to him and to the rest of the herd, and so the three went to meet up and reunite with the rest of the Zebrataurs herd.

Then, Brandon said "Look at these three beautiful deer we all hunted! So much meat to cook for tonight!", and then he asked Stephan "And what did you do when we hunted?", and then Stephan said "Well, I saved Timmy's life by hunting down and killing an adult stag which started to chase after him, so this means that one of these kills was mine.", but then Brandon cried "Nonsense! You're not going to get any meat to eat! I didn't even saw what you did there!", and this made Stephan frown down at Brandon's insults, before he then asked while looking a big angry "Okay, first, what's your name? And secondly, what's your problem?", and then Brandon said "My name is Brandon, you fool! By the way, Stephan, for starters; YOU are my problem!", but then Stephan said "But I showed some loyalty by saving the one and only youngster from you herd, and by hunting and killing that full grown stag for all of you!", but then Brandon said with a sour face "Huh! Likely story! Tell me the truth!", but then Stephan cried "I told you the truth! Why don't you believe me?!", and then he added "Ask Timmy! He saw me saving his life from that stag that charged at him and hunting and killing that animal for him and for all of you!", but then another Zebrataur, a teenage male which was around the same age as Brandon but looked taller and more muscular than him yelled "A baby dummy never tells the truth, white centaur!", and then Stephan asked him "And who are you?", and then the tall and muscular Zebrataur said "I'm Biff, Brandon's best friend, and I will not let you insult him, you white centaur!".

However, then Timmy's older sister stepped in between the three and cried "Everyone, stop it right now!", and what she just did shocked all the other Zebrataurs, and even Stephan and Timmy looked at her in shock, before she then took a deep breath and said to Brandon "I'm so sorry I snapped like that, it's just...Brandon needs to understand Stephan, and so are all the others.", and then she added and explained "Timmy was the first member of our herd who clearly saw Stephan is worthy enough and was loyal enough to become one of us, even if he's a white centaur. So, please, trust and listen to him, or at least believe in him, that's all what I ask for.", but then Brandon violently grabbed her by the neck snd yelled in her face "Shut up and don't interfere, you chump! No female in my herd have any rights to talk to me without asking me for permissions!", but then Stephan said to him "Brandon, you leave her alone! Boys like you have no right to pick on girls, and you're not the first creature to whom I say that!".

When Brandon heard what the centaur just said, he then ordered his friend Biff "Biff, get that white centaur for me!", and then Biff said "As you wish, my leader and best friend!", and then he charged towards Stephan, but he managed to move out of the way and then he charged towards Brandon and managed to release his grip from Timmy's older sister, only to later hear Timmy himself crying, as Stephan and the Zebratauress both turned to see Biff trying to choke Timmy and yelling at him "You dumb little baby have done a huge mistake when you brought that white centaur with you!", but then Stephan yelled at him "Leave him out of this!" before he ran around the muscular Zebrataur and then he turned tail and bucked him square in the crotch, thus causing to scream and let go of Timmy, who is then caught and was placed back on the ground safely by his older sister, but when Brandon stood back up on his hooves, he then yelled "Enough! No more fighting for today! We need to carry these deer all the way back to our cave! And some of us also need to find some twigs, sticks and rocks so we can make fire to cook their fresh and tasty meat!", and so everyone obeyed him before they started to carry together the three deer all the way back to the cave, and though Stephan is reluctant and unwilling to help Brandon and the others on the inside, he still knew that if he won't help the Zebrataurs, he'll be banished from their herd even before the end of his fourth and last day he'll have with all of them, and so he too helped the Zebrataurs to carry the three deer all the way back to the cave.

When nighttime came, Stephan and the Zebrataurs were all already back in their cave, and they even set up some fire so they can cook the meat of the three deer which they hunted during the day for dinner, and so everyone enjoyed eating cooked deer meat for dinner, everyone that is except for Stephan, who is hungry and starving, but was prevented and was also forbidden from eating by Brandon, who still saw Stephan as not so loyal and/or worthy to the Zebrataurs herd. Stephan just sat down inside the cave, and he looked away from all the Zebrataurs and to the opening of the cave which leads outside, before he then sighed and turned to look down at the cave's floor, feeling ashamed and also a bit depressed because now he misses Chloe, Aylene and everyone else he knew, liked and loved for the most.

However, then, Timmy noticed him sitting away from all the others, and so he went up to him with a piece of cooked deer meat so he can feed him some meat (since Stephan was also hungry and starving), and when Timmy stopped by Stephan's side, he raised up a human arm and hand to touch at the right side of Stephan's upper human body's midsection, thus getting his attention when the teenage centaur turned to look at him with a sad face, but also with a hungry stomach, and then Timmy raised both of his human arms and hands and showed his piece of cooked deer meat to Stephan, and then he said to him "Teik dis mit, Stefan. Yu nid it.", but at first, Stephan just looked down at him with a sad face as he showed by his pained emotions that he doesn't want to eat, but when his human stomach suddenly rumbled, Stephan changed his mind and then he took the cooked piece of deer meat from Timmy's hands, and then he started to eat the cooked meat, much to Timmy's joy to know that Stephan trusts him like a real friend.

When everyone finished eating their dinner, they all fell asleep in their cave, but Stephan, however, stayed awake at night because he started to miss Chloe, Aylene and everyone else whom he left behind, and even though he already made new friends with Timmy, the youngest member of the Zebrataurs herd, Stephan still felt the big hole in his heart which have formed from what he did wrong when he suddenly snapped at Chloe and Aylene and ran away from them and for everyone else, and it's all his evil father's fault that Stephan is now feeling miserable and almost friendless, and tomorrow, Stephan will begin his second out of four days in which he'll have to prove to all the Zebrataurs herd how much worthy he is to them, and also how much loyalty he have for the Zebrataurs herd as well.

Then, Stephan yawned and then he finally went to a spot inside the cave where he finally fell asleep, and there are only three days left for him to stay with the Zebrataurs herd, and if he fails to show how loyal and worthy he really is to all of them before his fourth and last day ends, Brandon (the leader of the herd) will banish him away for good, and Stephan will have no other choice but to live all alone and also survive all on his own.


	68. Chapter 67:part of the herd (2nd day)

The next morning, the Stephan's second out of the four days of living with the Zebrataurs herd has began, and Stephan knew he have to do something good enough that will make all the Zebrataurs, and especially Brandon happy with him so they can and will see he's indeed worthy to become a part of their herd, and also to show them all his loyalty he have for all of them, but will it work?

The Zebrataurs and Stephan came out of their cave and left to have some fun all together, and Timmy chose to play with Stephan, much to the teenage male centaur's joy to know that at least Timmy knows how worthy and loyal he is to the Zebrataurs herd, and so the two started to trot and gallop around and play together, and Timmy's older sister watched them from a distance, and she had tears of joy forming in her eyes to know that her little baby brother have managed to make friends with Stephan, even though he's a white centaur. However, Timmy did not cared about Stephan being a white centaur, because all he saw in him from when they first met each other and from the start was a good friend.

Stephan and Timmy then wandered far away from the res of the herd, and when they got out of all the Zebrataurs eyesights, they ended up reaching some large bushes and they sat down next to them, but then something started to move inside the bushes, and when Stephan and Timmy heard something's moving towards them inside the large bushes nearby, they stood up again, and then Timmy went behind Stephan, and Stephan readied himself to attack whatever is moving and coming towards them inside the large bushes, but what or actually who came out of the large bushes have taken them by surprise, especially Stephan.

Out of the bushes, a young male white centaur who appeared to be around the same age as Timmy came out and showed himself, and Stephan clearly knew who the little centaur was - it was his little brother, Andy, but Zoey, his twin sister, is nowhere to be seen beside him, thus showing Stephan that Andy was all alone. Then, Andy said to his older brother in baby language "Hai, Stefan! Ai fainaly faund yu! Wat ar yu duing hir?", and then Stephan asked him back "How did you got all the way here, Andy?", and then Andy explained "Wi ol went sirching for yu, end ai kinda got separated from de oders end got lost, bat den ai faund yu, Stefan!", and then Stephan said "That explains why you're out here all alone by yourself, Andy.".

Then, Timmy came out from behind Stephan and saw Andy, and once the young white centaur also got his attention shifted from Stephan to the baby Zebrataur, Timmy then asked Stephan "Stefan, wu is dat yong waite centaur wu is around mai own aig? End wat is hi duing aut hir ol bai himself?", and then Stephan said to Timmy "Timmy, I want to introduce you to my little brother. His name is Andy.", and then he turned to Andy and said "Andy, I want you to meet Timmy. He may be a Zebrataur, but he truly saw me as a good friend and believed in me from the start.". However, then Andy said "Yu nid tu com wif mi bek hom, Stefan. Everyone's worried sik abaut yu end dey ol wont yu tu com bek hom! Pliz, com bek tu as! Com bek tu Blubell, Zoey end mi! Wi ol miss yu so mach!".

However, Stephan said back "I can't come back to all of you. Father wants me to a bad centaur like he always wanted me to be, and since I'm his eldest son, I cannot escape or change my destiny. I'm supposed to be evil like him and not good like you, Zoey and Bluebell. I'm sorry but I've already found just what my father would want for my own good - bad centaurs, or may I say in that case - Zebrataurs which will accept me as one of them when I show their leader I'm worthy enough to make him happy to have me. When he'll accept me as not just an honorary but also as an official member of his herd, you won't see me or hear from me ever again, Andy.".

When Andy heard what Stephan said, he gasped in shock and then cried and begged from his older brother "Pliz, com bek tu ol of as! Ai beg yu! Yu ar mai older broder! Don't leave mi end Zoey behind yur bek! End wat abaut Blubell? Yu can't leave her alon!", but then Stephan snapped and yelled "And I don't love her anymore! She's nothing but a disgrace, just like my father told me! And since she has a good and a kind heart to all living creatures, then she's a dumb loser! By the way, little brother, you and Zoey aren't anymore my little siblings! I have Timmy instead and he already chose to be my friend! I don't any of you back home anymore!", but then Timmy said "Wel, Ai did chos tu bi yur friend, Stefan, end dat's tru, bat stil, how kud yu sei sach fings tu yur own broder?", but then Stephan looked down at him and growled a bit angrily at him, thus causing Timmy to become scared of him and step aback and away from him.

Then, Stephan turned back to look at Andy and then he said to him "Brandon is my new leader now, and I know that even though he may not want me to become a member and a part of his herd, I still bet that he may grow to like me if I show him I'm as strong as father is, so now, please go away and don't ever return or bother to look for me ever again, Andy.", and then he about to turn to go, but then Andy cried "Pliz, Stefan! Don't go!", but then Stephan said back "Goodbye, little brother.", and then he started to walk away from Andy, thus leaving the young centaur shocked, wounded and heartbroken before tears of sadness and pain started to form and roll down his eyes, and then he slowly turned to go and he started to walk away in an opposite direction to where Stephan turned and walked away, before the young centaur then started to gallop away crying in sadness and pain, thus leaving Timmy to just stand there in shock and confusion before he then turned and looked back at Stephan, who continued to walk away without looking back, but what he didn't know is that he and Timmy weren't alone and that they're being watched.

Brandon and his best friend, Biff, followed Stephan and Timmy and watched them the whole time, and when Brandon saw how Stephan yelled at his own little brother and turned him away, the Zebrataur smiled evilly and decided to go after Stephan and try to talk to him and persuade him to stay and become a member and part of the herd. Stephan continued to walk away until he accidentally bumped into someone else who is taller and more muscular, and when he turned and looked up, he saw Biff looking down at him with an evil smile before the muscular teenage Zebrataur said to him "Come with me, white centaur. Our leader wants to talk to you.", and then Stephan asked "What does he wants from me now? To banish me?", but then Biff said "Not at all, buddy. Brandon and I saw how you confronted that little white centaur and turned him away, and so Brandon decided upon seeing how tough and stubborn you really are that you're an honorary member of the herd.", but then Stephan said "Please, leave me alone, Biff. Brandon doesn't really wants me to be part of his herd. I know he's lying.", but then a male voice said "Is that what you really think?", and when Stephan turned away from Biff, he saw Brandon standing in front of him with a smile on his face, and by his side, it was Howard (Stephan's father) standing next to him with a smile on his own face as well.

When Stephan saw his father and Brandon standing in front of him with smiles on their faces, he then gasped in shock and asked "Brandon? Dad? What are you two doing here?", and then Howard said to his eldest son "Stephan, I'm so proud of you.", I but then Stephan asked his father "You're proud of me? What for?", and then Brandon said "I saw you confronting your own little brother and turning him away, and that's exactly something I too did before.", and then Stephan asked "What? Do you wanna tell me that you too did the same thing I just did?", and then Brandon said "That's correct, Stephan. And now, listen to what I have to say.", and then Brandon took a deep breath before he said "I talked with your father about taking you with me and making you one of my herd, and he said yes and that you can join us if you want to. If you don't want to, then you will live all alone for the rest of your life.", and then Stephan thought for about two minutes if to trust Brandon or not, but when he made it up in his mind, Stephan then said "Yes, I want to come with you. I don't really have any other choice.", and then Howard said "Now that's my boy I love for the most.", and then he added "Since I won't be carrying for you or looking out for you either, this means that from now on, you're one of Brandon's herd. Everyone in the herd will like you and will love you, and some of the most beautiful females in the herd will want you and will accept you as a mate, and maybe one day, you and the herd will be able to avenge Lord Tirek for me. I promise you that Princess Bluebell may be crushed and will choose some good, kind and yet dumb centaur instead of you, but this will also give you the chance to choose and have a Zebratauress for a mate instead. Everything's going to be alright, son. I promise.".

When Stephan heard what his father said, Stephan felt tears of joy forming in his eyes before he then slowly walked towards him and when he got close enough, Stephan then reared up onto his hind horse legs and started to hug at his father with both his human arms and hands and horse forelegs, and then he finally burst into tears and cried "Father, I'm so sorry for everything good I did! I should've listened to you and not to mother! You're right all along! Mother was stupid while you're smart, and you knew what really good for me! I'm so sorry, father! Please forgive me!", and then Howard patted on Stephan's head and said "There, there, my son. There's no need for you to cry. Your mother fooled you and blinded you with her good nature and kindness, but thanks to me, you can now see your real destiny in this world. Now, please go with Brandon and help him care for his herd. From now, the herd needs you for the most.", and when Stephan heard what his father said, the teenage centaur sniffled and pulled away from him and said "I promise I will look out for my new herd, and especially look up to my leader Brandon.", and then he added "Goodbye, father.", and then Howard said "Goodbye, Stephan. Take care of your new herd and leader." and then he turned around and started to gallop away from Stephan until he disappeared into the horizon, thus leaving Stephan alone with Brandon and Biff.

Then, Brandon said to Stephan "Let's go back home to the cave and tell everyone that you're here to stay.", and then Biff went up to Stephan's side and placed one of his muscular human arms and hands on Stephan's upper human back and then he said to Brandon "Lead the way, Brandon.", and so the three went together all the way back home to the cave, where the rest of the herd is already waiting there for them to come back home, and once Brandon and Biff entered the cave with Stephan, everyone were happy to see them all again, but then Timmy's older sister asked "Where's Timmy?", but then Stephan said "Well, I don't know what happened to him after I confronted my own brother and left.", but then Brandon said "Who cares about that little morsel anyway? We saw he's quite dumb as that young white centaur who is Stephan's 'so-called' little brother.", and then Biff added "Yeah, Stephan will now take his place, and from now on, we don't need that stupid Timmy anymore.".

However, when Timmy's older sister heard what they just said, the teenage Zebratauress gasped in shock and cried "Where is he now?!", and then Stephan said "I don't know.", but then Brandon added "And we don't even care now that we have Stephan to replace him!", but then Timmy's sister cried "You took Stephan into our herd but then dumped my precious little Timmy?! How could you?!", but then Biff yelled at her "Shut you mouth, you dummy! If you talk to my leader like that again, I will not hesitate to beat you up and tell Brandon to banish you forever from the herd!", and when Timmy's sister heard what the tall and muscular Zebrataur said, she then trotted to the back of the cave and started to cry over the apparent 'loss' of Timmy, and Stephan felt sorry for her as he hung his head down in shame for scaring him and causing him to get away from him and stay away from him, but Brandon and Biff didn't cared at all since Timmy was just a baby, and to them, he's not good enough to help the herd and only causes troubles and also gets himself into troubles, but now that he's gone forever from the herd, Brandon and Biff can finally relief from the little 'troublemaker' who drives them both crazy and mad.

Meanwhile, as for Timmy, he decided to follow Andy and see where he's going, and so he ended up finding Andy sitting down under a tree in the meadow which wasn't too far away from Ponyville, and so Timmy decided to go up to him and comfort him, but at first, Andy rejected him, but Timmy didn't gave up and tried again to show Andy that he really do understands his pain, and when he succeeded and gained Andy's trust, Andy decided to take Timmy with him back home to Ponyville so he can show him to everyone else, and therefore he may help everyone to search again for Stephan, find him and persuade him to come back home with them, and Timmy willingly came with Andy because he too wanted Stephan to know what's really good for him, and tomorrow, they will return with everyone else to get Stephan back to his real home.


	69. Chapter 68:part of the herd (3rd day)

The next day, it was Stephan's third out of four days he's going to have with the Zebrataurs herd before officially becoming one of them (since he only became an honorary member of their herd), and in the morning, he and the Zebrataurs all came out of their cave and started to have fun together, everyone except for Timmy's older sister, who is still sad over the apparent 'loss' of her little brother, though Brandon and Biff doesn't seem to mind (since they both thought Timmy was both useless and also a troublemaker), but Stephan was worried about her, and so he decided to go up to her so he can try to cheer her up by reassuring her that her little brother, Timmy, is still alive and well.

However, when Timmy's older sister saw Stephan approaching and coming towards her, she gave him a sour face and turned her face away from him, and it's because she didn't wanted to talk to him since she believed he's responsible for Timmy's disappearance. Then, Stephan asked "Excuse me?", but then the Zebratauress cried "Go away!" and then she added "My little brother, Timmy, is gone because of you!", but then Stephan said to her "It wasn't my fault, I swear! He chose not to come back with me after I yelled at my own brother!", but then the Zebratauress asked him "Why should I believe you?!" and then she cried "Every white centaur is nothing but a liar! And so are you!", but then Stephan begged "Please, you must believe in me! I'm sure your brother, Timmy, is still alive somewhere far away from us, and I'm sure he will return to us when he wants to!", and when Timmy's older sister heard what Stephan said, she suddenly turned to look at him and then she asked him "Are you really telling me the truth? My little brother is still alive?", and then Stephan said "Yes, I'm sure of it! Your brother is still alive and I'm sure he will come back to us sooner or later!".

When Timmy older sister what Stephan said, she's finally got reassured by his words and then she said "Thank you for trying to reassure me, Stephan.", and then Stephan said "I'm happy to help." and then he asked her "What's your name?", and then she said "My name is Layla. Sorry I didn't told you this earlier.", but then Stephan said to her "It's okay, and I'm pretty sure your brother is still alive and is probably in midway of coming back to us. We just need to be patient.", and then Layla said "Thank you, Stephan." and then she stood up on her hooves and kissed him (again, and for the second time) on the cheek, thus causing him to blush (once again) before he said "Well, I wasn't expecting this to come, but since you offered me that kiss, so yes, whatever." and then he finished and said "I truly accept your kiss.", and then Layla said to him "Let's go back to the rest of the herd, Stephan.", and then he said "Yes, let's go before they decide to banish you, or maybe even me if they decide to.", and so the centaur and the Zebratauress decided to go back together to meet and reunite with the rest of the herd.

Meanwhile, Timmy (after he was been introduced to everyone else, including Chloe, Aylene and even Princess Bluebell by Andy) went to search for Stephan and for the Zebrataurs herd, and he of course brought everyone else along with him, and while searching for Stephan and for the Zebrataurs herd, Bluebell said "I can't believe Stephan would dare to say that I'm a dumb loser to his own little brother Andy! His monster for a father managed to twist him into becoming evil! We need to redeem Stephan back to our side and show him that his father is only lying to him all along!", but later at some point, Timmy and Andy suddenly got separated from the rest of the searching party, and so they ended up finding out that they got lost away from everyone else.

Then, the two started to search for Stephan and the Zebrataurs together in hopes they'll be able to persuade Stephan to come back home to Ponyville, and while still searching for the teenage male centaur and for the Zebrataurs herd (which made him a honorary member of their herd), the two came across what appeared to be a large rock, and so they both decided to climb and stand on top of it so they can see and watch the area more better, but upon the baby centaur and baby Zebrataur both standing on top of it, the 'large rock' suddenly started to talk and speak up and then it said in a gruff and grumpy but yet female voice "What are you two stupid babies thinking you're doing on my back?! Get off me now!", and when Timmy and Andy heard the 'large rock' is angrily talking to them, Andy then asked "Were dat vois sadenli keim from?", but then they felt the 'large rock' is starting to move before it then shook both Timmy and Andy off itself in a violent way, and the two landed back on the ground and also on their horse and zebra butts, and then Timmy asked "Did dat larj rok jast frew as off itself?", but then the gruff and grumpy female voice said "Who are you calling a large rock?! You stupid dummies!", and when they both heard the 'large rock' starting to growl angrily at them from right behind their backs, Timmy and Andy both swallowed nervously before they turned around together to see that much to their fear and terror that the 'large rock' they climbed on was NOT a rock at all.

In front of them, Timmy and Andy saw an adult female southern white rhinoceros standing in front of them and angrily growling at them before she started to bear her teeth in front of the two terrified equine baby centaurs, thus causing them to start to shake in fear as the female southern white rhinoceros then started to snort angrily at them, and Timmy and Andy felt her snorts hitting their upper human chests and torsos in the form of a cold and heartless ice cold chill traveling up and down to rest of their bodies, before the female southern white rhinoceros then asked angrily "What are two babies thinking you're doing here?!", and then Timmy said while still shaking and holding and hugging tightly at Andy (who also did the same thing at Timmy) "W-wel, wi ar sirching for aur friends, end ai fink wi sadenli got lost.", and then Andy added and asked "Ken yu pliz help as?", but then the female southern white rhinoceros yelled at them "How dare you two intruding and getting in here?! This is my territory! Do you two understand?!", and when she yelled at them, Timmy and Andy hugged each other very tightly as they had both nervous and scared looks on each of their faces as they kept looking at the female southern white rhinoceros, who kept looking at them angrily like a ferocious and territorial full-grown polar bear which was about to kill and eat a couple of poor and defenseless arctic seal pups.

Then, the female southern white rhinoceros started to kick and dig at the ground with her right hind leg, and then she let out an angry growl at Andy and Timmy, who then turned tail and started to run away together in distress, but then the female southern white rhinoceros started to charge and chase after them, and the two equine baby centaurs knew that they have to gallop together for their lives as fast as they can and while they both still can.

Meanwhile, back with Stephan and Layla, the two have finally found the rest of the herd and got reunited with all of them, but then Brandon asked "Where have gou two been?", and so Stephan said "I was just trying to cheer up Layla by telling her that Timmy is still alive.", but then Biff yelled at them both "Timmy is dead, you fools! I'm pretty sure he's nothing but skin and bones right now!", but then they all suddenly heard Timmy screaming "Help!", and then they also heard Andy crying "Help as!", and when Layla and Stephan both recognized their screaming voices, Layla then cried back "Don't worry, Timmy! I'm coming to save you!", and then she started to trot away and then she saw Timmy and Andy both galloping towards her, but then she also saw the female southern white rhinoceros who still kept chasing after them, and once Timmy and Andy reached up to Layla, the two hid and cowered in fear behind her as the female southern white rhinoceros kept running and charging towards them, before she then stopped to see Layla protecting both Timmy and Andy behind her back and facing the female southern white rhinoceros, before she then readied herself to fight her (the female southern white rhinoceros) all by herself.

Then, the female southern white rhinoceros yelled at Layla "Stay out of my way and let me finish off these two little ones for messing up with me!", but then Layla said back defyingly "No, Mrs. Southern white rhinoceros! You leave both my little brother and his new friend alone!", thus enraging the female southern white rhinoceros, who then started to kick and dig in the ground with her right hind leg once again before she readied herself to strike at Layla, Timmy and Andy. Then, the female white rhinoceros started to charge towards Layla and the little ones, but then Lyala jumped up and landed on the female white rhino's back, and then she started to kick with all four zebra legs and hooves at the female white rhino's back, causing her (the female white rhinoceros) to scream and growl in pain as she moved and shook herself from side to side in an attempt to throw Layla off her back, but then Layla just jumped off and landed on the ground and then she bucked the female white rhino with her hind zebra legs and hooves square and right in the right side of the face, thus causing the female white rhinoceros to scream and growl in pain some more, before Layla then demanded and said to her "Go! Leave us be! Run away and never return!", and the female white rhinoceros eventually did as Layla demanded, and so she turned tail and started to run away, thus leaving Layla, Timmy and Andy alone in shame and defeat.

Then, once the female southern white rhinoceros was gone from sight, Layla turned to see all the other Zebrataurs and Stephan all looking at her in shook, before Brandon then slowly stepped forward and went toward her with a weird expression on his face, and when Layla noticed something's wrong, she then asked Brandon "Brandon?", but then Brandon slapped her across the face and then yelled at her angrily "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU FACE THAT WHITE RHINOCEROS ALL BY YOURSELF! YOU REALIZE WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU?! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED! I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU FOR FIGHTING SUCH A HUGE BEAST ALONE, LAYLA! FROM NOW ON, YOU AND TIMMY ARE BOTH BANISHED FROM MY HERD! LEAVE NOW AND NEVER COME BACK!", and when Layla heard everything Brandon let out at her in anger that was mingled with madness, tears started to form in the teenage Zebratauress' eyes as she then started to cry, turned tail and started to gallop away with Timmy and Andy following close behind her, and the tears rolled down from Layla's eyes and trailed behind her as she continued to gallop away until she, Timmy and Andy all disappeared from the Zebrataurs herd (and stephan's) eyesights, and once the three were gone, Biff said "Good riddance! She got what she deserved for disobeying one of Brandon's most important rules - do not fight beasts larger than you when you're on your own!", but then Stephan said "I hope she'll be alright." as he looked in the direction where Layla, Timmy and Andy all galloped away, before he and the Zebrataurs herd were all ordered by Brandon to return back to the cave with him, and so Stephan and the Zebrataurs herd all went all the way back to their cave.

Layla, Timmy and Andy continued to gallop away as fast as they all can until they suddenly stopped to find themselves in the meadow that was not too far away from Ponyville. Then, Layla asked "Where should we all go now?", and then Andy answered "Tu Ponivil of cors. Der, yur broder end ai wil introdus yu tu ol of aur friends.", and then Timmy added in agreement "End dey will help as bai using yu for a gud perpes sach es wat wi ol nid tu ridim Stefan bek tu aur said.", and when Layla heard what her little brother and his new friend said, she said back in response "Of course I will help your friends redeem Stephan! Especially after what that monster Brandon just did to me when he slapped me across the face and yelled at me and banished me away from the herd for no reason! That way we'll all be able to teach that crazy and mad Zebrataur for a herd leader just the right lesson he needs and deserves!", and then she said to Timmy and Andy "Timmy, you and your new friend please take me to Ponyville to meet all the rest of your friends! I would like to join them, come along with them and also support them and help them all against Brandon!", and so Timmy and Andy started to trot towards Ponyville and Layla followed and came along, and once they all reached Ponyville, Timmy and Andy started to lead Layla towards the Castle of Friendship, and upon arriving there, they entered inside with Layla following in tow, and so they eventually ended up getting reunited with everyone else, who greeted and welcomed them back in open arms (or hooves in some cases).

However, then, Bluebell turned to notice and see Layla and so she walked towards her and asked her "Who are you?", and Layla said in response "I'm Layla, Timmy's older sister.", and then she asked Bluebell back "And who are you, white centauress?", and Bluebell said "I'm Princess Bluebell, because I'm born a legendary type of a centauress with large and beautiful bird-like wings on my lower horse back which allows me to fly and fight in midair, but you can just call me Bluebell.", and then Layla said to her "It's so nice to meet you. You also seem to be very nice and caring for others, just like me.", but then Bluebell asked "If I may ask, can you please tell me what happened to you that caused you to come here all alone and without your herd?", and this made Layla's face turn sad and then she answered and explained "Brandon banished me from the herd for fighting a much larger enemy all by myself. He even slapped me across my face, yelled at me in deep anger, great fury and pure rage, and then he told me to go away and never return, and that's exactly why I decided to come here and help you redeem Stephan back to your side in the first place.".

Then, however, tears started to form and roll down Layla's eyes as she felt like she's going to cry, but then Bluebell went up to her and then she kindly grabbed and held at a human hand of hers with her own human hand in an attempt to make Layla feel some comfort before she then said to her "It's okay, Layla. There's no reason for you to cry. It's not your fault that Brandon have banished you from the herd, it was all his fault that you're feeling in pain, but my friends and I we're all going to make sure that not only Stephan redeems back to our side, but also make sure that Brandon will be taught a great lesson for being disrespectful towards both you and your little brother and for casting you both out for no good reason at all. I promise you that my friends and I will not only help Stephan redeem back to our side, but we'll also teach that Brandon a lesson not to attack you and/or cast you and your little brother out for no reason.", and when Layla opened her teary eyes to look at Bluebell's reassuring smile and look she had on her face, Layla then simply said "Thank you, Bluebell.", before she then hugged Bluebell and started to cry into the white centauress' shoulder, thus prompting her to return the hug to the Zebratauress whom she tried to comfort and cheer up before a single tears formed and rolled down Bluebell's eye, thus showing she truly understands that Layla is in pain and needs comfort after Brandon cruelly and heartlessly beaten her, yelled at her and casted her out of his herd for fighting all by herself.

Then, when Layla stopped crying and calmed down, she then pulled away from Bluebell to look into her kind and reassuring eyes before the white centauress then nodded to her in agreement that she and her friends will help her too, and then she said "Tomorrow, we'll go all together to redeem Stephan and deal with Brandon for you. I promise.", and then Chloe said "Yeah! I would like to come with you too!", and then Aylene added "And I will aid Chloe and help you to teach that beast for a Zebrataur a lesson for you!", and then Chloe said "Together we'll slap a 6 across his face and that will teach him and show him not to be cruel and heartless towards girls!", and then Shujaa joined in and said "Tomorrow, that Brandon will be taught just the right lesson he truly deserves for his pure malevolence! Tomorrow, the great fight with the Zebrataurs herd will take its place!", and everyone knew that Shujaa is right about one thing - tomorrow, they will go all together to save Stephan and teach Brandon a lesson for his cruel and heartless nature and also for his pure malevolence.


	70. Chapter 69:part of the herd (4th day)

When the next day arrived, Stephan and the Zebrataurs (minus Timmy and Layla) went out of their cave to have some fun together, and it was also the fourth and last which will help Brandon determine if Stephan should become an official member of the Zebrataurs herd (because Stephan only became a _honorary_ member of the herd, during the second day).

As for Timmy and as for his older sister Layla, they went along with Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell and everyone else to search for Stephan and the herd, find them and persuade Stephan to come back home to Ponyville. While searching for Stephan, Fluttershy said "I hope Stephan will listen to us.", but then Rainbow Dash said "His father is such an unforgivable jerk for fooling him and lying to him about all of us not being his friends all along!", and then Rarity added "I hope that ruffian will be eventually caught and sentenced to live in Tartarus next to Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow for the rest of his life!", and then Bluebell said to them "I want Stephan to know that I love him with all my heart, and I also want him to know that he deserves to have me as his future wife instead of some Zebratauress who might be too unfit for him to be with.", and then Layla said unoffended as she understood Bluebell is not specifically referring to her "I understand you, Bluebell. I don't want to be Stephan's future wife, and I don't want him to have a Zebratauress like any other female from Brandon's herd as his future wife either.", and then Aron said "Brandon is trying to trick Stephan into becoming evil just like his father." and then he added "When I get my hands on that evil Zebrataur's neck, I'm going to strangle him for twisting Stephan into becoming evil against his will!".

However, then Linda said to him "Strangling that Brandon still won't help persuading Stephan to see that Zebrataur was been lying to him from the start. We need to find the best and most perfect way that will help us show Stephan that Brandon is merely just using him against himself.", and then Applejack said "I have to agree with Linda. We must find a way to persuade Stephan to see and realize that no good Zebrataur varmint is trying to make him evil just like his no good father.", and then Starlight added "I hope Stephan is alright. He needs to know that he could not trust Brandon.", and then Twilight said as they all kept searching for Stephan and the herd "I would like to show that monster for a Zebrataur some real magic for turning Stephan into a ferocious beast!".

Meanwhile, Stephan and the Zebrataurs herd were all doing fine together, but that is until the same adult female southern white rhinoceros from before suddenly appeared and started to approach them all with an evil look on her eyes as she also gave Stephan and the Zebrataurs an evil smirk. However, when one of the Zebrataurs, a male (not Brandon or Biff), saw the female white rhinoceros approaching towards them (Stephan, the herd and himself), he screamed "Run! A white rhinoceros is coming towards us!", and when Stephan, Brandon, Biff and the others also turned and saw the female white rhinoceros approaching towards them all with an evil smirk on her face, this is when Brandon cried "Everyone, run!" and so he, Stephan and the others all started to trot and gallop and they all tried to escape, before the female white rhinoceros then started to chase after them in a fast burst of speed so she can catch up with one of them, separate him or her from the rest of the herd, and then kill him or her for pleasure.

Stephan tried to gallop as fast as he can to keep up with the Zebrataurs herd, but then he started to tire off and slow down, thus allowing the female white rhinoceros to catch up with him and separate him from the Zebrataurs herd. Then, the female white rhinoceros said to Stephan in a gruff and evil voice as she gave him an evil smirk "Now what do we have here? Isn't it a normal white centaur? What are you doing with a herd of Zebrataurs?", but then Stephan said to her "Please, leave me alone! I did nothing bad to you before! Let me go back to my herd!", but then the female white rhinoceros stomped her right foreleg and foot on the ground next to him and yelled "Silence!", and then she added evilly "If you want to be with your herd again, you will need to serve for me as my assistant, centaur. If you want to be still alive, you will have to obey me. Only me. Only Ganda.".

However, Stephan then said "I serve and obey my leader Brandon, and not some heartless beast like you!", but this only made Ganda (the adult female southern white rhinoceros) angry at him before she said with rage rising in her eyes "You WILL obey me, and I know you DO want to be mine!", and then she pushed him and managed to knock him off his hooves and caused him to hit the ground, before she then aimed her head and horns at Stephan's upper human back and added "If you won't obey me, centaur, then you will die!", and then she angrily yelled "ON MY HORNS!", but before she can strike at Stephan's upper human back, a familiar female voice suddenly called and yelled "Leave Stephan alone!", and when Ganda heard the female voice that just yelled at her, she then got away from Stephan and yelled back "Who goes there?!", and then Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell, Andy, Zoey, Timmy, Layla and all the others came towards her and Stephan and then they all stopped a few yards away from them.

Then, Bluebell cried "Leave my dear Stephan alone, you big ugly rhinoceros!", but this only angered Ganda before she then yelled back "Who are you calling a big ugly rhinoceros, you trump!", but then Chloe cried "You leave Stephan alone!", and then Aylene added "Yeah! Just turn around and go away!", but then Ganda yelled "That's what you all think!" before she then charged towards them, but then Bluebell and Layla also went towards her, and then the three all started to fight each other in a fight of two against one, and so Bluebell and Layla worked together to fight Ganda and defeat her before they will go to Stephan and persuade him to come back home to Ponyville.

Then, Bluebell and Layla started to kick together at Ganda's back with their horse and zebra legs and hooves, and this caused the white rhinoceros to growl and cry in pain and she tried to shake them off, back then Layla jumped off her back while Bluebell just flew up by using her wings to do so, and then the two went up to Ganda's front and then they both turned tails and bucked her with hind horse and zebra legs on both sides of her face, thus causing her to growl and cry in pain some more before she then decided to retreat away for her life, and so she then started to run away for her life, thus leaving everyone alone with Stephan, who barely just managed to get back up on his hooves.

Then, Bluebell, Layla and everyone else approached Stephan and they were all happy to see him again, but Stephan wasn't feeling the same way before he simply asked as he turned away from all of them "Oh, what are you all doing here?", and then Bluebell answered and explained "We all came here to search and look for you, Stephan.", and then she went up to him and kindly grabbed and held at his hand with her own and then she begged and added "Please, come back home with all of us, Stephan. We all really miss you.", but then Stephan smacked her hand away from his own hand using his other hand and then he turned to her and yelled at her "Go away from me and stay away from me, Bluebell! I don't love you anymore! You're a disgrace to all of centaur kind! My father was right about you! You're indeed a dumb loser for the good centauress you are!".

When everyone heard what Stephan just said to Bluebell, they all gasped in shock while Bluebell looked at Stephan in disbelief and then she asked him "Why are you saying this to me?", but then Stephan looked at her unpleasantly before he yelled at her "Shut up, good centauress! My father told me you're such a dumb loser for who you are!", and this made Bluebell gasp in shock when she heard Stephan calling her a dumb loser for the second time, and then she asked him "Stephan, what are you talking about? I'm not a dumb loser. Why are you saying this to me?", but then Stephan said to her "I give you a fair warning, Bluebell! From now on, I'm part of Brandon's herd, and since he talked to my father about that before, he (Brandon) accepted letting me become a member of his herd, and therefore - nobody loves or likes me no more, except for Brandon and his herd!".

However, when everyone heard what he just said, Layla then also came forward to help Bluebell persuade Stephan to come back home to Ponyville and then she said "If you think Brandon really liked you so much like you at least expected, then I have something to say and tell you and to everyone else about him.", and then she yelled and let out the answer "Brandon is evil! He never even liked you! All he cares about so much it's for only himself!", and then Bluebell added in agreement with Layla "Layla is right! If Brandon dared to banish her and her little brother from his own herd for no reason at all, then he might do the same thing with you when you're at least expected!" but then Stephan yelled at the both of them "Shut up your mouths! Both of you!", thus shocking the kind centauress, kind Zebratauress, and also everyone else who stood behind them.

Then, Stephan said and added with tears starting to form in his eyes "Well, you all know what?! I'm not anymore friends or allies with any of you no more! News flash - none of you are no longer my friends or allies, and I'm from now on nothing more but your enemy! Goodbye forever, everyone!", and then he turned away from everyone and he was about to leave, but then Bluebell tried to place her hand on his shoulder and she cried and begged "Please, Stephan! Don't go! I love you with all my heart! Don't leave me!", but then Stephan smacked her hand away from his shoulder and then he yelled "Lair! You don't really love me! How could a good centauress like you love a bad centaur like me?! I'm done with you!", but then Bluebell cried "Stephan, you're not evil! Brandon and your father were both just tricking you into becoming evil!", but then Stephan yelled "I don't even care about what you're even saying anymore! Brandon is now my leader and I must obey him and follow his orders!", but then Bluebell cried "Stephan, you can't mean it!", but then Stephan finished and yelled "Goodbye, Bluebell!" and then he started to gallop away from Bluebell, Layla and everyone else with tears rolling down his eyes and trailing behind him, and when Bluebell saw him leaving, the heartbroken centauress lowered down onto her horse haunches and then she finally burst into tears and started to cry, thus prompting Layla and everyone else to come and comfort her and try to calm her down, but then Layla turned and looked in the direction where Stephan went and then she said with rage burning in her eyes "Brandon, you will pay for what you've done to Stephan! When my friends and I will find you, we'll be all giving you a taste of your own medicine! You twisted Stephan and you also turned him evil! You will pay for what you've done!".

As for Stephan, he kept galloping away until he felt he was far enough from all of his 'former friends', and this is where he finally slowed down but kept walking in a normal walking speed, but after a while, Stephan finally stopped dead in his tracks and then he said "Who needs Bluebell? Well, not me!", and then he added "She can find some other kind and yet stupid centaur she can choose as a future husband or something like that and forget about me!", but then a male voice said evilly "Stephan, I'm so proud of you!", and when Stephan heard the voice, he turned to see Brandon coming towards him, and when Brandon ended up stopping right in front of him, Stephan asked the Zebrataur leader "Brandon, what are you doing here?", and then Brandon said "Well, I'm just looking for you, that's all.", and then he added "What you did back there was just the same thing I would've done if someone would dare to betray me and my herd!".

When Stephan heard what Brandon just said, the centaur then asked "Really?", and then Brandon said "Exactly! The way you yelled at both that centauress with the wings and that traitor Layla is just what I wanted to see in you! That just showed me you're indeed fit and good enough to be one of my herd!", and this made Stephan ask "Are you telling me the truth?", and then Brandon said "Yeah, that's right, Stephan! You passed the test of proving me that you're fit and good enough to be part of my herd within four days! From now on, you're not only a honorary member, because now you're also an official member of my herd!", and then he placed a hand on Stephan's shoulder and added "Welcome to my herd, Stephan! Now you're in!".

Just then, Biff came out of nowhere and appeared behind Stephan, and then he said to him "Come, Stephan. You have so much more to do with us.", and then he went to Stephan's side and placed a muscular human arm and hand behind the centaur's upper human back and then he added "The herd is waiting for us. Come with us, Stephan.", and then he started to push and lead Stephan from behind while Brandon turned tail and started to lead them from the front, and then the three started to walk away and all the way back to the cave, where all the rest of the herd were all waiting for them to come back.

When Brandon and Biff returned back to the cave with Stephan, the Zebrataurs greeted and welcomed the three back, and this is when Brandon and Biff declared and announced that Stephan is now an official member of the herd, much to the herd's sudden outburst of joy and happiness to know that they all finally have Stephan as the first official member of the herd who is not a Zebrataur like the rest of the herd, and this made Stephan to burst into tears of joy as well, before Brandon and Biff then hugged him and tried to calm him down, and when nighttime came, Stephan and the herd fell asleep peacefully inside their cave, and Stephan was happy because he thought he finally found just the right place where he really belongs, but what he still don't know is that his joy and happiness won't be lasting this very long.


	71. Chapter 70:Brandon's betrayal

The next morning, Stephan and the Zebrataurs herd all woke up and went outside all together and Brandon decided to make and do a challenge for all the male Zebrataurs in the herd (and Stephan) - a long race from Mount Aris to the Crystal Empire, and when all the males in Brandon's herd accepted doing the long racing challenge, Brandon confirmed that the decision is final and that all the males must prepare for the long racing challenge, which he will start at noon, but Stephan, however, was the only one who is unsure if to accept doing the long racing challenge or not.

And so, before noon came, Stephan asked Brandon if he can not be part of the long racing challenge, but then Brandon said to him "I'm afraid you will have to join us, Stephan. You don't really have a choice but to accept the long racing challenge.", but then Stephan asked "But why?", and then Brandon explained "Since you're also a male like any other male Zebrataur in my herd, you must do the long racing challenge with all the other males in my herd, Stephan.", and this made Stephan frown before he then said "Fine. I will be part of the long racing challenge. I promise I won't fail you, Brandon.", and then Brandon smirked evilly to himself before he said to Stephan "That's my good brother!", but when Stephan heard what the Zebrataur leader said, Stephan gasped in shock when he realized that Brandon just called him his brother, but then the teenage male centaur shook his head repeatedly and snapped out of his shocked state and then he said "I promise I won't fail you during the long racing challenge, Brandon.", and then he turned around and walked away from Brandon and joined up with the other males and prepared himself for the long racing challenge.

When noontime came, Brandon, the male Zebrataurs and Stephan were all ready to begin the long racing challenge (and since they all already arrived at Mount Aris), and then Brandon spoke up and said to all the males in the herd "All the males, listen up! We're going to start our long racing challenge from here (Mount Aris) all the way to the Crystal Empire! When all of us reach there, we're going to start a new mission, but I will tell you what kind of mission it's going to be only when we all finally reach there!", and then Biff came up to his side and added "All the males - follow Brandon! All the females - follow behind and help make sure that none of the males gets lost!", and then Brandon said "The long racing challenge is starting now! All the males - are you all ready?", and then all the males (except for Stephan) said "We're all ready!", and then Brandon said to them all to stand in a row, and once all the males (and Stephan) did as he said and stood in a row, Brandon then counted down "Five, four, three, two, one!" and then he yelled "let's go!", and when all the males (and Stephan) all heard what he said, they all started to trot and gallop as fast as each and every male from Brandon's herd can, and this is when the long race from Mount Aris to the Crystal Empire finally began.

All the male Zebrataurs and Stephan trotted and galloped after Brandon, who led them all from the front so they can follow him, while the Zebratauresses all followed behind to make sure that none of the males accidentally goes astray and gets lost, but in mid-race, however, Stephan accidentally started to slow down due to himself getting tired from trotting and running so fast since he and herd first started to move out at the beginning of the long racing challenge, and it didn't took long before the centaur finally collapsed on the ground and started to inhale and exhale heavily in great defeat, thus prompting two Zebratauresses which are, in fact, the only two female members left in Brandon's herd (since Brandon banished Layla) to come to his aid.

When the two Zebratauresses reached Stephan, they tried to help him up, but because he trotted and galloped so fast too much, he couldn't stand back up on his hooves on his own, and despite the two Zebratauresses tried to help him, Stephan is still too weak and is unable to stand back up on his hooves, and when Brandon turned to look back and saw Stephan and the Zebratauresses staying behind in midway, Brandon then ordered Biff to lead the rest of the herd forward and continue towards the Crystal Empire, and when Biff listened and told the other male Zebrataurs to continue forward on their way to the Crystal Empire, Brandon returned back to Stephan and the Zebratauresses to see what's wrong.

When Brandon reached Stephan and the two Zebratauresses, he saw Stephan is struggling to get back up on his hooves, and then the Zebrataur leader asked "What's wrong with you now?", and then Stephan begged "Please help me! I'm tired and I can't keep up with you! You gotta help me!", but then Brandon said in an insulting tone "So is that it, white centaur? Are you saying you can't keep up with the rest of the herd?!", and then Stephan said "Well, I'm afraid so.", but then Brandon said "Then I guess that's it, white centaur! If you're too weak to keep up with the rest of the herd, then you're no longer a member of my herd!", and when Brandon said that, Stephan gasped in shock and then asked "How could you say that?", and then he added "I thought we're brothers like you once said we were!", but then Brandon said "Oh, please! How could I even call a white centaur like you my brother?! I don't even need you anymore! And as a matter of fact, Stephan, I never even wanted you to be one of my herd at all!".

When Stephan heard the Zebrataur leader who once called him his brother saying such mean words to him, the centaur gasped in shock to realize that Brandon never even cared about him at all, and then Stephan cried "How could you? I thought you did cared! My father even agreed that I can join you and with you as a part of your herd!", but then Brandon said "You're wrong, Stephan! Your father and I faked everything for you!", and then he added and explained "The real plan was to get you to turn against your real friends! But when you're at least expect, we will dump you behind for good!", and when Stephan heard what he said, he cried "You can't mean it, Brandon!", but then Brandon said evilly "Believe me, Stephan! I do mean it!", and then he added "It was been fun for a while for all of us to have you here in the herd, but now you've outgrown your usefulness!", but then Stephan struggled up to his hooves and then he grabbed at Brandon's hand with his own, and then he cried and begged "Please, Brandon! Don't go!", but then Brandon smacked the centaur's hand away from his own hand using his other hand and said evilly "Goodbye, Stephan!", and then he said to the Zebratauresses "You two, go ahead and catch up with the males!", and the two Zebratauresses obeyed and then they started to trot and gallop away, thus leaving Brandon and Stephan alone with each other.

Then, Brandon said to Stephan "Now I have one last thing to give you, Stephan!", and then he turned tail and kicked dirt in Stephan's face, thus prompting him to say "Yuck!" and then he wiped away the dirt from himself in pure disgust, before Brandon turned with his head back to him and evilly said "This!", and then he added "See you never, Stephan! I hope I will never meet you filthy white centaur ever again!", and then he finally turned with his head away from Stephan and finally started to trot and gallop away, thus leaving the heartbroken white centaur behind. However, Stephan cried for him to come back and help him by calling "Brandon! Don't go! Please, I beg you! Don't leave me alone!", but the cruel and heartless Zebrataur leader ignored his begging calls for help, and so he just continued to trot and gallop forward in the direction the rest of his herd already went - to the Crystal Empire, and thus finally leaving the poor and heartbroken Stephan all alone.

Once Brandon was gone, Stephan struggled to stand back up again, and after a few failed attempts, Stephan finally managed to successfully get back up on his hooves, but instead of following in the direction where Brandon and the herd went, Stephan decided to wander off in a different direction, because now he's all alone and he's also on his own once again. Eventually, after walking and wandering off slowly for quite a while, Stephan finally found a small lake where he can drink from and also to use it to drown his sorrows.

However, he wasn't alone for long as Stephan suddenly heard a familiar female voice calling for him, but in that case, it wasn't Bluebell this time - but was his own mother instead. When Stephan heard his mother's voice, he turned to look up and see his own mother's spirit flying down and landing on the lake's surface, and then Stephan asked her "Mother? What are you doing here?", but then Stephan's mother asked her teenage son "Where are these bad Zebrataurs who made a deal with your father to make you betray your real friends?", and then Stephan answered and explained "Well, they all left me behind. They don't care about me anymore. Now I'm all alone by myself and I have no friends at all.", and then he let out a sigh and added "Maybe I should just face it - I don't deserve to live anymore. I've already lost everything I had. Even you, mother.", and then some tears started to form in the teenage centaur's eyes.

However, Stephan then felt a soft hand gently touching and stroking at his face and then wiping away the tears forming in his eyes, and when he opened his eyes saw his own mother's ghost actually touching him and trying to comfort him after he was been tricked by his own father and Brandon from the start, this is when the centauress said in the softest of voices "Shhh, it's okay, Stephan. You didn't lost everything. I know you still have Bluebell, and your little siblings as well, and also these human girl (Chloe) and Pegasus pony (Aylene) who are your best friends.", but then Stephan said "They're not my friends anymore. I have nothing left to do anymore. And soon enough, I will be joining you for all my failures.", but then his mother's spirit said to him "Don't say that, my son. You still have lots of years to live. You do deserve to have Bluebell as your future wife, and you do deserve to bring some kind baby centaurs to Equestria in the future, and so have your own children.", but then Stephan said "That won't happen, mother. In fact, I actually made sure that I will never be friends with Bluebell anymore, and neither with Chloe and Aylene, just like father wanted me to.", and when she heard what her son said, the centauress spirit asked Stephan "What are you talking about son? What did you do to Bluebell?", and then Stephan confessed and said "I yelled at Bluebell and I even dared to hurt her feelings, just like father always wanted me to do.".

When Stephan's mother heard what her son said, she gasped in shock and asked "Stephan, how could you do that to that kind centauress who loves you so much?", but then Stephan cried "Because I don't have a choice! I'm supposed to follow father, and Lord Tirek! If I don't follow their hoofprints, then I'm nothing but a disgrace to all of centaur kind!", but then Stephan's mother's spirit said "That's not true at all, my son! I was good before I died, and right now as a spirit, I still am as good and as kind like I was before!", but then Stephan said "Then what should I do right now?! I can't go back and apologize to Bluebell now! She may not want to forgive me anymore! It's too late!", and then he started to cry as he thought that there's nothing else left for himself to do anymore.

However, Stephan's mother's spirit started to touch lightly at her son's cheek and then she said "Oh, Stephan, nothing is too late. You can still apologize to Bluebell when she comes here to find you with everyone else by her sides.", but then Stephan cried "She won't forgive me! Nor will everyone else! To them, I'm now nothing but a ferocious monster! I'm not welcome anywhere anymore! The end is near and the time has come!", but then his mother said to him "No, it's not your time to go! You're still too young to die! You do deserve to live, and I love you, Stephan!", and when his mother's words touched his heart, Stephan tried to hug his mother, who then tried to make herself feel solid enough for her son so he can touch and hug her, before she then pulled him into a tight embrace.

However, once they let go of each other and broke their tight embrace, the mother centauress then said to Stephan "Go and find your real friends and apologize to them, but you also need to warn them all about what's going to happen in the Crystal Empire.", but then Stephan asked "Brandon and his herd were all going there, so can you please tell me what's wrong?", and then his mother's spirit answered and explained "Brandon and his herd, they are the problem! They want to attack the Crystal Empire!", and when heard what she said, he then gasped in shock and asked "What?! So Brandon and his herd were all planning to attack and then rule the Crystal Empire?!", and then his mother's ghost said "Yes, I'm afraid so! Now go and find your real friends, apologize to them and tell them all to go to the Crystal Empire to stop Brandon and his herd before they can all reach its central part - the Crystal Palace, where Princess Cadance, Shining Armor and their daughter, Flurry Heart, all live!", and then she added "Stephan, you must save the Crystal Empire!", and then Stephan said "Of course I will do something about this! Brandon betrayed me, so I'm going back to my real friends and have my revenge on that evil Zebrataur for tricking me into turning on my real friends against my will!", and then Stephan's mother's ghost said "That's my boy! Now go and take care of yourself! Find Your real friends and tell them about Brandon's plan to attack and rule the Crystal Empire!", and then Stephan said "I will! Goodbye, mother!", and then his mother's spirit said "Goodbye, Stephan! I wish you good luck!", and then she started to fade away until she completely disappeared into thin air, thus leaving Stephan alone once again.

Then, Stephan made everything up in his mind and said "I will have my revenge on you, Brandon! When I will find my real friends, I will apologized to all of them and then I will tell them all about your evil plans to attack and rule the Crystal Empire! When my real friends and I we'll all find you and your herd in the Crystal Enpire, I'm going to make sure you run away and will never return! I promise that, Brandon, I will stop you from trying to do whatever you want, and I will also promise I foil your evil plans and make sure you won't mess up with anyone else ever again!", and then the young centaur started to walk away from the small lake and then he began to search for Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell and all the others, who are all his real friends.


	72. Chapter 71:Stephan returns home

Stephan continued to search for Bluebell, Chloe, Aylene and everyone else, but despite he continued to search for them all almost everywhere, Stephan still couldn't find any of them. However, then he saw a shadowy centaur standing a bit far away from him, and at first, Stephan thought it might be Bluebell or Layla, and so he decided to go over to the shadowy centaur and see who he or she was.

When Stephan reached and got close enough to look at the shadowy centaur, it turned out to be a teenage male Zebrataur who is none other than one of Brandon's males, but Stephan also saw something that shocked him for the most - the male Zebrataur looked really sad, and he wasn't even faking or pretending to be sad or even in pain at all, because when Stephan got even closer to the male Zebrataur, he saw injuries and bruises on the teenage male Zebrataur's body, and this made Stephan gasp in shock before the male Zebrataur then turned to him and begged "Stephan! Please, don't hurt me! I beg you! I'm no longer part of Brandon's herd no more! Have some mercy!", but then Stephan asked in shock and concern "Who did this to you?! What kind of some barbaric monster beaten you up like this?!", and then the male Zebrataur explained "Brandon and Biff have beaten me up for not being able to keep up with the rest of the herd!".

When Stephan heard what the injured male Zebrataur said, the centaur smashed his hoof against the ground and a scowl formed on his face before he then yelled in anger "HOW DARE THEY! HOW DARE THESE TWO EXCUSES FOR A LEADER AND HIS SECOND-IN-COMMAND DO SUCH BARBARIC THING TO ONE OF THEIR OWN KIND! THESE TWO JERKS WILL PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID! BANISHING ME FROM THE HERD IS ONE THING, BUT BANISHING A MEMBER OF THEIR OWN KIND FROM THEIR OWN HERD AS WELL?! THAT'S JUST CROSSING THE RED LINE! THAT'S GOING TOO FAR!", and then Stephan let out a growl as he wanted to get and have his revenge on both Brandon and Biff as soon as possible.

However, he soon took a deep breath and calmed himself down when he noticed and realized that he accidentally managed to scare the injured male Zebrataur, who stepped aback from him and shook in fear when he saw Stephan's fury the centaur have against Brandon and Biff, and then Stephan slowly approached him and said in a more calmer voice "Hey, it's okay, Sir. There's no need for you to fear me. I'm not angry at you. In fact, you're totally fine. It's your leader and his second-in-command I'm mad at for what they did to the both of us.", and when the injured Zebrataur heard what Stephan said, he stopped shaking and then he said "What do you want from me, Stephan?", and then Stephan said "At first, I thought you're Bluebell or Layla, so I went towards you and found out it was only you instead.".

However, when the injured Zebrataur heard Stephan mentioning Layla, he then took a step forward and towards Stephan and asked "Did you just mentioned my girlfriend?", and then Stephan asked him "What are talking about, Sir?", and then the injured Zebrataur said "Layla is my girlfriend, and I really do love her so much. I truly hated what Brandon and Biff have done to her when they banished her and her little brother from the herd. Just thinking about what they have done to her and to her little brother makes me so mad!", but then Stephan said "Hey, don't be mad, Sir. I think I can help you deal with these two monsters, because I too hate them so much for banishing me from the herd and dumping me behind for not being strong enough and/or being able to keep up with the herd. I think that if you join me, Sir, we can work together and get our revenge on these two excuses who are our former leader and his second-in-command for what they've done to the both of us!", and then the injured Zebrataur asked him "Are you sure, Stephan?", and then Stephan said "Yes, I'm pretty sure teamwork between the both of us will help us fight and defeat Brandon for what he have done to us!".

Then, the injured Zebrataur said "It sounds great, Stephan! By the way, if you want to know some more about me and also know who I am, my name is Zach!", and then Stephan said to him "It's nice to meet you too, Zach!", and then he added "Now we need to go and find my real friends! We need to inform them all about Brandon's plans to attack the Crystal Empire!", and then Zach said "Then let's go! I I hope your friends will help me and will treat all my injuries and bruises these two monsters have given me!", and so Brandon and his newest friend, Zach the Zebrataur, started to walk away together and then they started to search for everyone else together, and the two hoped that eventually, they will find them all.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell and all the others were all still searching for Stephan since they all wanted to see if he's still with Brandon and with the Zebrataurs herd, and after searching for quite a while, they finally found Stephan once again, but Layla noticed that something was wrong when she noticed that only Zach is with him, and so everyone went to meet Stephan, and when he saw them all, he went towards them with Zach in tow and he ended up hugging Bluebell tightly (since she ran in front of everyone else to meet him), and then tears formed and rolled down his eyes before he cried and said to the winged centauress "Bluebell, I'm so sorry for everything I did! I should've known better than to yell at you and hurt your feelings! Brandon tricked me into turning on you! I'm so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?", and then Bluebell said "Yes, I forgive you. All of us do understand everything and forgive you. Brandon was just messing up with you so to make you like a member of his herd until he doesn't need you no more. You're forgiven, Stephan, and I want you to know that even though what you did was wrong, I still forgive you and love you with all my heart.".

Then, once Stephan and Bluebell broke the hug and stepped aback from each other to give each other some space, Stephan then introduced Zach to everyone and said "Everyone, meet Zach!", but then Layla asked the male Zebrataur "Zach, what are you doing out here all alone with only Stephan by your side?", and then she added "Where's Brandon and the rest of the herd?", and then Zach answered "They beaten me up, banished me from the herd and left me alone!", and when everyone heard what Zach just said, they all gasped in shock before Aylene asked "How could that excuse for a good leader do such a thing to you?", and then Chloe added "Which Zebrataurs beaten you up like this? I see many injuries and bruises all over your body!", and then Zach said "Brandon and Biff beaten me up and dumped me behind for not being able to keep up with the rest of the herd!", and when everyone heard what he said, they all gasped in shock again before Layla said angrily "The nerve of these monsters! How dare they harm my boyfriend! It's unacceptable! I won't forgive them for what they did! Banishing me and my little brother Timmy from the herd is one thing, but beating up my boyfriend and banishing him from the herd too is just crossing the line! They will both pay for everything they've already done!", and then Bluebell joined her and said as she clenched her hands into fists "When we'll all find that evil Zebrataur, I'm just going to break his neck!", and then Shujaa interrupted and said "And Kenai and I would love to attack and beat up his muscular friend!".

Then, Kenai asked "Speaking of that jerk, where is he as well as all the rest of his herd?", and then Stephan said "We all must go to the Crystal Empire! Brandon and his herd were all planning to attack the Crystal Empire! They want to destroy Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart and claim the Crystal Empire and its palace for themselves!", and when everyone heard what did he just said, Twilight said "Then we must go now! But first, let me use my magical healing spell so I heal your newest friend here before we go to fight that monster!", and then Zach said "I'm in!", and then Twilight lit up her horn and then she started to use her magic on Zach's body, and then she used the magical healing spell to heal all his injuries and bruises, thus also healing him completely, and once she was done healing the male Zebrataur's body, then Twilight said "Now let's go, every creature! To the Crystal Empire!", and then she, Starlight, Celestia and Luna (who were both still with the entire group) used their magic all together to teleport and transport themselves and everyone else along with them all the way to the Crystal Empire to stop Brandon and the rest of his herd.

When they all arrived at the Crystal Empire, Stephan, Zach, Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell and all the others all started to go towards the Crystal Palace to save Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart. When they all arrived at the Crystal Palace at last, everyone saw some royal guards which were all knocked unconscious (by Brandon and by the rest of his herd), and so they all quickly decided to enter inside the Crystal Palace to stop Brandon and the rest of his herd from succeeding in taking over the Crystal Empire.

When they all arrived at and entered the Crystal Palace's throne room, everyone saw Shining Armor and Cadance being captured and restrained by four Zebrataurs (the two remaining males and the two remaining females, respectively), and when they all saw Brandon and Biff, everyone gasped in shock when they all saw Brandon is choking Flurry Heart with his human arms and hands, before the Zebrataur leader then turned to look at everyone and gave them all an evil smirk, and when he saw Stephan and Zach, Brandon said in a mocking tone "Oh, so my two most beloved brothers decided to rejoin my herd! What a shame!", and then he laughed evilly before Flurry Heart cried "Stephan, help me!", and so Stephan scowled at the evil Zebrataur leader who once called him his brother and then he said in a firm tone "Brandon, you let go of Shining Armor and Cadance's little daughter!", and then Zach joined him and yelled "Now!", but Brandon and Biff just laughed away their demands and then Biff said "My leader and I will never listen to you two traitors who betrayed our herd, understand?!", but then Zach said "No, Biff! We didn't chose to betray you! You and Brandon dumped the both of us behind your backs! You two are the real traitors!", but then Brandon said evilly "So, you do wanna fight us, don't you boys?!", and Stephan said "We definitely want to fight you two! If we both win, you and Biff were out of the Crystal Empire!", but then Biff asked "But if WE win instead?", and then Zach said "So you two will have the rights to take over and rule the entire Crystal Empire!", and then Brandon said with an evil "That's a deal! Now let's fight! Two-on-two!", and then Zach said "First, let go of the little Alicorn filly! Then you and Biff can both fight the both of us!", and when Brandon heard what the male Zebrataur who turned against him said, this is when he finally let go his grip of Flurry Heart before he then threw her at Bluebell and Layla, but Twilight caught her with her magic and brought her to her hooves so she can protect her from further harm.

Then, Brandon and Biff slowly approached Stephan and Zach, and the two knew they must fight and defeat their enemies in order to save the Crystal Empire, and this is when Brandon made the first move by trotting and charging towards Stephan and Zach, but the two quickly managed to dodge and move out of the way, thus saving themselves and each other from Brandon's move. However, Biff then managed to trot and charge towards Stephan and then he grabbed at him and tried to break his arm and then he said "Let's see that so-called new friend of yours trying to save you from me!", and Stephan desperately tried to fight back, but since Biff was taller and more muscular than him, the large teenage Zebrataur almost managed to overpower Stephan.

However, Zach then charged towards Biff's rear end and then he turned tail and bucked him in the crotch with his hind zebra legs and hooves, thus causing Biff to scream and let go of Stephan, and thus forcing him to turn his attention to Zach instead, who is willing and determined to fight him and defeat him. Then, however, before Zach can attack Biff, he was suddenly grabbed and was held back by Brandon, who then started to drag him away from Biff, and so Stephan wanted to help him fight against the Zebrataur leader, but Biff then grabbed the centaur by his neck before he can charge towards Brandon, and then he started to cruelly and heartlessly choke Stephan before he evilly said "You white centaur (Stephan) are nothing but a useless jerk! I'm going to make sure you're not interfering with our plans!", and it seemed like Brandon and Biff are both going to win in this fight.

Then, however, Zach suddenly managed to break free from Brandon's grip, and so he then bucked him in the upper human chest and torso, thus throwing Brandon back but not knocking him out cold, and then Zach quickly went to save and help Stephan take on Biff, who is still choking the helpless centaur who is struggling to fight back against him. Then, Zach went around Biff, turned tail and bucked him in the crotch a second time, thus casuing to scream again and let go of Stephan's neck, and then he turned back to face Zach, who is still willing and determined to fight him, but before Zach can attack him, however, he was suddenly grabbed and was held back by Brandon once again, thus allowing Biff to grab Zach by the neck and then he started to choke him before he evilly said "And you, Zach, you're nothing but a traitor to our herd for the rest of your life!".

However, before Brandon and Biff can have Zach finished off in their grasp, Stephan managed to recover from the previous choking attack done by Biff, and then he went to help Zach fight Brandon and Biff and then he managed to jump up and climb onto Biff's back, and then he started to grab at Biff's head and he started to punch him on both sides of the face to make him let go of Zach, but then Biff managed to wildly shake himself and he managed to throw Stephan off his back, before he then let go his grip from Zach's neck, but only with his left hand (as he kept choking Zach using only his right hand), and then he grabbed Stephan by the neck and managed to pick him up and slam him against Zach, thus knocking the both of them off their hooves, but thus also accidentally causing Stephan to buck at Brandon and knock him out cold in the process.

However, Biff was surprisingly so strong that he then managed to pin both Stephan and Zach down with each of his zebra forelegs and hooves and then he lowered down to grab both Stephan and Zach by the necks with his human arms and hands and then he managed to both choke and step on them, and with Biff adding more painful pressure and squeezing at both Stephan and Zach's throats and upper human stomachs, the centaur and the good Zebrataur were both unable to fight back as they struggled to buck at him in the lower horse underbelly or in the crotch, but failed, and thus allowing Biff to finally finished them both at once, as both Stephan and Zach are now too weak and helpless to fight back against their larger and stronger enemy, who is quickly gaining the upper hand in this fight.

Then, Biff said evilly to his two enemies whom he trapped underneath himself "You two are weak, and no one needs you alive no more! You both have outgrown your usefulness to this world! And you, Stephan, do me one last favor and say hello to your stupid mother for me!", before he then laughed evilly at Stephan and Zach, who are both unable to fight back and escape their fate. However, just as it looks like Biff is going to destroy both Stephan and Zach for good, Biff suddenly froze in place as he felt himself surrounded by some magic, and when he looked at himself for a moment, he saw much to his shock that his body is glowing in a blue magic aura, and when everyone also saw this, they all turned to look at Cadance, but they saw she isn't using her magic on Biff at all, but when they turned to look at Bluebell, they saw her hands are glowing in the same blue magic aura that froze and trapped Biff's body and also held him in place and prevented him from destroying Stephan and Zach, and then everyone (including Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart) all gasped in shock to see and know that Bluebell can actually use magic like a Unicorn, an Alicorn or even a changeling, and it seems she's actually very good in using magic, as everyone quickly found out.

Then, Bluebell used her magic to lift and levitate Biff up into the air and then she started to slam him against his will and physical strength against the walls and the ceiling repeatedly, and eventually she flew up into the air as well (by using her own wings, of course), and then she first punched him three times in the face before she then turned tail and bucked him one hard and painful buck into the upper human chest and torso, before she then used her magic to send him breaking through one of the windows and falling down until he hit the ground below, thus saving both Stephan and Zach's lives.

With Biff being defeated, everyone looked at Bluebell in shock before Chloe then asked her in shock "What was that?!", and then Aylene added "Bluebell, where did you suddenly got such powerful magic? What you just did to that big, bad and muscular Zebrataur was so amazing!", and then Celestia stepped forward and approached Bluebell and then she said "I've never seen a centauress like you using such powerful magic with your hands!", and then Luna said "What did you just did to that evil, big male Zebrataur was just unbelievable as it cannot be described!", and then Cadance approached Bluebell as well (because the rest of the Zebrataurs herd also saw what Bluebell did to their second-in-command, and so they all decided to trot and gallop out of the Crystal Palace and leave the Crystal Empire and escape for their lives to avoid becoming next, and also to avoid the same fate, though Biff is probably still alive despite being seriously injured) and then the Alicorn said "I truly appreciate what you've done, Bluebell! I never thought you're so strong and that you're able to fight much stronger enemies by using magic!", and then Shining Armor added "And, for addition, you also saved Stephan's life!", and then Twilight said "You saved both Stephan and his newest friend from getting killed by that large and muscular Zebrataur who tried to destroy them both so he and his leader can rule the Crystal Empire!", and then Starlight added "I have to admit, I've never seen a good or kind centauress using magic in the same levels as you!", and when Bluebell heard all the comments everyone said to her about her capability of using magic, she then blushed as she felt a bit embarrassed before she then said "Thank you, everyone!".

Just then, Stephan and Zach both managed to recover and get up on their hooves, and then Stephan asked as he and Zach both turned to look at everyone "What just happened? Why are we both still alive? How come we survived that horrible harassment? And where's Biff? Where did he go?", and this is when Bluebell turned and went up to Stephan and then she hugged him and said "I saved you and your newest friend's lives!", and this made Stephan and Zach to gasp in shock before Zach asked "Did you just said you are the one who saved our lives?", and then Bluebell said "Yes, I did! In fact, I actually used my magic to get Biff off of you two and then I slammed him against the walls and the ceiling repeatedly, before I then sent him flying out by breaking through a window and throwing him out of the Crystal Palace!", and this made Stephan and Zach to gasp in shock before Stephan then said "I'm sorry, Bluebell! It's all my fault you had to use your magic to save us! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!", but the Bluebell said "Stephan, you know I do forgive you for everything you've done wrong, and you should also know that it's because I still love you!", and when Stephan heard what she said, this is when he hugged her back and said "I love you too, Bluebell! And I would like you to be my wife in the future! Not just because you can use magic, but also because we both love each other so much that we truly deserve to have each other!", and what Stephan just said managed to make tears of joy form and roll down Bluebell's eyes as she then hugged him back, much to everyone else's happiness and joy to know that Stephan is finally ready to return back home to Ponyville.

However, then, Brandon recovered from the previous attack during the fight with Biff on Stephan and Zach, and when he saw Stephan and Bluebell together, a look of both jealousy and pure disgust crept across his face and then he yelled and roared at Stephan "YOU!", thus getting everyone's attention and when they all saw him up on his hooves, Zach then said to him "You better run away while you still can, Brandon!", and then Layla went up to the good Zebrataur and stopped by his side as she too looked at Brandon with angry eyes for everything bad the evil Zebrataur leader have done, before she then said and added "You better leave now or else Bluebell will do you the same thing she already done to your friend!", and Brandon said with a huff "Fine! I will leave you all alone for now, but I promise you all that one day, I will have my revenge on Stephan and Zach for underestimating and disrespecting their leader!", but then Zach yelled "You're not our leader anymore! Now go away and never return!", and with these words being said, Brandon finally turned away and started to trot and gallop out of the throne room, and then he left the Crystal Palace and continued to gallop away until he finally left the Crystal Empire as well, and then he continued to gallop away for his life.

With Brandon is now gone, everyone said Goodbye to Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart and then Celestia, Luna, Starlight and Twilight used their magic all together to teleport themselves and everyone else with them back to the royal castle in Canterlot, and once they all arrived there, this is when everyone said goodbye to each other and went separate ways to their respective homes, and Zach, Layla and Timmy all decided to come to live in Ponyville near Stephan and the twins (since the three Zebrataurs are no longer part of Brandon's herd anymore), and with Stephan is finally back in Ponyville, he learned his lesson - which was not to listen to his own evil father (Howard) anymore - and with Stephan is now completely aware and knows of Howard's evil tricks, he won't be listening to him or following him ever again.


	73. Chapter 72:the journey to Yakyakistan

A full month have passed since Stephan was fooled and was tricked into turning all of his real friends by his own father and also by Brandon and Biff, but now he already knows of his father's evil tricks and so he won't fall for his father's evilness anymore, and so now he's already back in Ponyville and he's enjoying living there with his twin baby siblings, Andy and Zoey, and have his new neighbors somewhere nearby, which are in this case - Zach, Layla and Timmy (all of whom are the three good Zebrataurs who betrayed Brandon, Biff and the rest of the herd), who decided to go to live in Ponyville as well and enjoy new good lives together near Stephan and far away from Brandon, and Zach became Stephan's newest best friend.

It was now also 55 months (4 years and 7 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 43 months (3 years and 7 months) since Aylene became her beloved Equestrian Pegasus pony sister, and they too enjoy their lives in the royal castle in Canterlot, but they also enjoy having best friends with Stephan, since last month, the friendship bond between Chloe, Aylene and Stephan grew even more tighter, even more stronger and even more rock-solid than ever before, thus making all three of them strong and powerful all together.

One day, Chloe and Aylene went out of the royal castle and they went all the way to Ponyville to meet Stephan again, who is now happy and okay for real this time, and when the two arrived in Ponyville and started to make their way towards Stephan's house, Stephan decided to make a surprise to Chloe and Aylene when they will come to visit and meet him again, and so he went all around his house and he closed and shut all the windows and turned off all the lights, and when he heard Chloe and Aylene knocking on the front door which led to his house, this is when Stephan called for them "Come in, girls!", and then he quickly went to find a place where he can hide in and then he found some white linens and he decided to cover himself with them to disguise as a ghost so he can both surprise and scare Chloe and Aylene in case they come to find him inside his dark house.

When Chloe and Aylene opened the door and went inside, they saw that Stephan's house is so dark inside, and then Chloe called and asked "Hello? Stephan? Where are you?", and then Aylene added "Please, show yourself! We just came here to say hello! If you want to come with us and play in the meadow, just come out from wherever you are and show yourself!", but Stephan didn't answered and so Chloe and Aylene had no choice but to search for Stephan everywhere inside his own house, and Stephan himself stayed down under the white linens and waited patiently for Chloe and Aylene to stumble upon him so he can both scare and surprise them both at the same time.

When Chloe and Aylene finally reached and entered the room where Stephan waited for them to come, Chloe then called for Stephan "Come out, wherever you are, Stephan!", and then Aylene added "Please come out! We just wanna say hello!", and then Stephan decided to come out for them while he was covered in the white linens and then he yelled "BOO!", and when Chloe and Aylene turned and saw him covered in the white linens, this is when Chloe and Aylene screamed and cried together "Ahhh! A ghost!", and then they decided to turn and run away together in fear, and then they quickly went out of the room with Stephan, who is still covered in the white linens, is following after them close behind and giving a hot pursuit after them, and then he started to chase after both Chloe and Aylene all around his own house and tried to catch up with them.

Eventually, Stephan managed to catch up with both Chloe and Aylene and he managed to go past them and trap them before they can both escape and leave his house, and then he tried to sound like a scary ghost and he said "Give me your souls!", and this made Chloe and Aylene start to cry in fear and hug each as they both thought that the 'ghost' is going to kill them and steal their souls, and this when Chloe cried "Please, go away!", and then Aylene added "Leave us alone!", but then Stephan (who is still under the white linens) approached them both very close, and this is when he removed and threw the white linens away and off himself before he pointed at them both with a human arm and hand and happiny yelled "Gotcha!", before he then burst into a laughter from having his prank on Chloe and Aylene coming out successful.

However, when Chloe and Aylene opened their eyes and saw Stephan standing there and laughing at them, the two pulled away from each other before they both asked together "Stephan? It was you all along?", and then Stephan looked at them and said while still giggling "Yes, I just pulled a prank on you two, that's all!", but this made both Chloe and Aylene a bit angry and mad at him for his prank which clearly managed to scare them to death, and then Chloe said with a hint of anger in her voice tone "Do you realize that you almost caused us both a heart attack?!", and then Aylene cried and added "Stephan, what were you thinking?! You managed to scare us both to death!", but then Stephan said "I'm sorry! I just wanted to see how would you both react when you both see me disguised as a ghost, that's all!", but then Chloe said to him "Don't ever do this to us again, Stephan!", and then Aylene added and said "Do you understand?!", and then Stephan said "Okay, I apologize for what I did!", and then he apologized for his prank he pulled on both Chloe and Aylene and said "I'm sorry my prank managed to scare you both to death!", and when Chloe and Aylene heard his apology, their angry expressions changed into happy ones as they both suddenly started to giggle before Chloe said "It's okay, Stephan! We both already know this prank!", and then Aylene added "And even though your prank did managed to scare us both to death, we can and we will still forgive you because you're our best friend!", and then Stephan said "I knew you both probably already knew this prank I pulled on both of you!", and then the three burst out into a laughter and started to laugh all together.

Later, when they all stopped laughing, Chloe explained to Stephan that when she was just four years old, her older brother, Mike, and their parents, Jeff and Jane, pulled a prank on her by disguising each other and themselves as ghosts by covering themselves in white linens and then they tried to scare her, and she even explained that their prank did not only scared her to death but also made her cry in fear and terror since she didn't knew it was nothing more but a whole prank. Aylene then said and explained that she too experienced the same prank when she was much younger, when her mother, Black Heart, and her father, Wild Berry, disguised each other and themselves as ghosts and tried to scare her by chasing after her while being disguised as ghosts and yelling 'Boo!' at her, but she also explained that despite the prank did managed to scare her to death and caused her to cry, she still forgave her parents when they both realized how wrong they were when they pulled the prank on her and then decided to apologize to her for scaring her with their prank.

Then, Stephan asked them "These two things happened to you two before your families turned on you and before Black Heart killed Wild Berry?", and then Chloe and Aylene both nodded and then Chloe said "Yes, indeed!", and then Aylene added "And now that we already now this prank, we're not really scared of it anymore!", and then Stephan said "I see.", and then he asked "Anyway, do you wanna come outside with me and play with me in the meadow?", and then Chloe said to him "You said it!", and then Aylene added "Let's go and have some fun together!", and so the three went out of Stephan's house and they all went to play in the meadow all together.

In the meadow, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all enjoyed playing and having fun together, and once they all got tired, they all went to sit and lie down under the tree, and then Stephan said "Now I finally enjoy my life with you two much more better than before!", and then Chloe said to him "We're both happy to hear that, Stephan!", and then Aylene added "We too enjoy having you as our true best friend as well!", but then an awfully familiar male voice said "Well, well, well! Isn't it Stephan the centaur and his hairless ape girl and stripeless, chicken-winged zebra friends!", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan turned to look up and forward, they all saw Akeno with Lysander and Sayla standing right behind him, and all three were looking at them with evil smirks on their faces.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan saw their three animal enemies looking and glaring at them evilly, Stephan then asked "What's is going on?", and then Aylene added "What do you three want from us?", and then Chloe cried "Go away and leave us alone!", but then Akeno said "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, you three think my friends and I here will all just listen to you this easily, don't you?", and then he added "Well guess what, I have a surprise for you!", and then he suddenly lit up his forehead in a red aura similar to both Lysander and Sayla and then he used his magic to transform himself into Stephan, much to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's shock, and thus showing them all that Akeno learned to use and control magic and finally became a shape-shifter, and in his case - a shape-shifting okapi.

Then, Akeno (in the form of Stephan) said evilly in Stephan's voice but sounded evilly compared to the good and real Stephan "I became a shape-shifting okapi, and now my friends and I we're all ready to get our revenge on you three just as we promised when Sayla told you so!", and then he, Lysander and Sayla all laughed evilly at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, who then quickly stood up on their feet and hooves but then they all decided to run away together for their lives to avoid being picked on by their three animal enemies.

However, Lysander and Sayla froze the three in place by using their own magic and then Akeno also used his own magic to make a set of chains appear out of thin air, and then he used them to chain up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan by their necks, wrists, ankles and hooves, and once he was done, Akeno, Lysander and Sayla all released their magical grip from the now chained up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, whom are all now unable to escape their three animal enemies, and no matter what they all tried to do, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's struggling to escape from their chains are futile, and they soon realized that their animal enemies have finally managed to capture them and have them all for themselves, much to Lysander, Sayla and Akeno's delight as the three evil animals then started to laugh evilly all together, before Akeno then used his magic to transform back to his normal self and to his original okapi form and then he said evilly to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan "You're not going anywhere! But with us!", and then he, Lysander and Sayla all gave them evil smirks once again.

Then, Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all used their magic together to levitate Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and they soon placed them down on their backs, before the three evil animals turned tail and left the meadow together while taking Chloe, Aylene and Stephan along with them, thus having the three of them hostages. While continuing to walk away with the human girl, Pegasus pony and centaur as their hostages, Lysander said "I know a great place where we can treat our three punching bags with lots of disrespect for the bitter experience they've all have given us!", and then Sayla asked "Which place did you chose for us to go to so we can have our revenge on these three stupid scums?", and then Lysander answered and explained "I've heard about a crazy and dumb place which most ponies and most non-ponies know as Yakyakistan! We can take our three stupid scums to torment them all in there!".

However, then Akeno asked "Wait a second, isn't that where all these weird, dumb, fat and ugly bisons live? You know, the bison kingdom?", but then Sayla corrected him and said "I think you mean 'yaks', not bisons, Akeno. Yakyakistan is where all the yaks live. It's also less commonly known as the yak kingdom.", and then Lysander said "You're right, Sayla. We're all going to Yakyakistan - the yak kingdom. When we reach there, we'll figure out what kind of harassment we'll all give these human girl, Pegasus pony and centaur for everything bad they've all done to us!", but then they all suddenly heard Stephan yelling at them at the top of his lungs "Let us all go home!", and then Chloe joined him and yelled "Yes, get and remove these stupid chains away from us or else you will all regret it!", and then Aylene added "That's right, set us all free, you're a trio of jerks!", but then Lysander yelled at them all "Shut up your mouths, you three disgusting rats!", and then Sayla added "When we all get to Yakyakistan, this is going to be the last of all three of you!", and then Akeno yelled "Yeah, so be all quite until we finally reach our last stop and final destination, you stupid little children!", and then he added "My friends and I we're all getting fed up with everything all three of you were all saying to us!", and so Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all continued to walk towards their final destination, which is in this case - Yakyakistan, with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all held hostages and in chains to prevent their escape before the animal villains' arrival at their final destination.


	74. Chapter 73:Chloe in Yakyakistan

Meanwhile, in the changeling kingdom, Thorax and Pharynx were sitting down on their thrones inside their hive and they were both thinking about their two daughters (and nieces), Chloe and Aylene, but also about their best centaur friend Stephan, whom they both already saw once in the Grand Galloping Gala before Lysander, Sayla and Akeno's attack, and they also know him very well since they've already heard about how he defended both Chloe and Aylene from Akeno and fought the okapi and managed to knock him out cold for meaning harm to the human girl and Pegasus pony, but Thorax and Pharynx also know him for rescuing Chloe and Aylene from Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart when they successfully tried and fed the both of them a poisonous cake, and later healing Chloe and Aylene from the poison after the centaur took on the four villains and won.

Thorax and Pharynx truly missed Chloe and Aylene, but they also wanted to see Stephan again, and then Thorax sighed and said "We haven't seen Chloe and Aylene for a long time, Pharynx. I truly miss them, and I also want to see their centaur friend, Stephan, once again.", and then Pharynx turned to him and asked "What do you suggest we should do?", and then Thorax said "Go to visit them in the royal castle, I guess.", and then he added "After all, Celestia and Luna will let me go inside to see them since they both already know me as the father figure for both Chloe and Aylene, and also because I truly love them as my daughters so much that I will promise to do everything to help them when they both need me, and if I'm available to come for them at the time.".

Then, Pharynx said "Yeah, I truly miss them too. Maybe we should send a letter to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that we're coming to the royal castle to meet and see Chloe and Aylene, but also Stephan once again, after not seeing any of them for a long time.", and then Thorax said to him "That's an excellent idea, Pharynx. I'll start to write Celestia and Luna a letter which will say that you and I we're going to the royal castle to see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and once I will be done with the letter, I will tell our dear subjects that you and I we're both going to meet and see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once again after not seeing any of them for a long time.", and then he asked "How does it sounds?", and then Pharynx said to his younger brother "That sounds good to me. Let's do this right now.", and so Thorax used his magic to pick up a piece of paper and a quill and then he started to write a letter to Celestia and Luna, while his older brother Pharynx sat down beside him and both listened and waited patiently for Thorax to finish writing and then sending the letter to Celestia and Luna, before they will go to tell their changeling subjects that they're both going to the royal castle to visit, meet and see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once again after not seeing them in a long time.

 _Dear Princess Celestia,_

 _I will come today with my brother, Pharynx, to visit you and Luna in the royal castle and see how big and strong Chloe and Aylene have became during the long time we haven't saw them, and we also want to see Stephan because he's their best friend and we surely wanna know how strong and tough he is now, and we also wanna have some good time with all three of them and see how they're all today._

 _I also learned thanks to one of my subjects that Stephan was almost twisted by his own father into becoming evil just like him, but I also learned how Stephan ran away and joined a herd of Zebrataurs led a despicable young male named Brandon and his best friend Biff, who both pretended to be his best friends until he showed that he couldn't keep up with the rest of their herd, and thus getting banished from their herd._

 _However, I also heard and learned that Stephan decided to turn on Brandon for tricking him into almost becoming evil, and with the help of a young male Zebrataur whose name is Zach, who was also banished from the herd by these Brandon and Biff, the two fought the two bad Zebrataurs together, and even though the bad Zebrataurs almost won against Stephan and his newest friend, I'm still proud of how strong Stephan is today._

 _I'm coming with my brother, Pharynx, to the royal castle to see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and also to say to Stephan how I'm so proud of him for realizing how much Chloe, Aylene and all the rest of us love and like him so much, and also for seeing through his own father's deception when he almost tricked him and realizing he's never evil like him, and was also welcome by all of us as the good centaur we all know and love for the most._

 _I truly care for both my precious human and Pegasus daughters, but also for their best friend Stephan, whom I must still thank for showing us changelings that not all centaurs were evil in the first place, and also for showing me that some centaurs can be the same as kind as me, my brother Pharynx and all of our dear changelings, whom are all of our dear subjects._

 _I promise you and Luna that Pharynx and I we'll come to Canterlot to meet Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in the royal castle._

 _You're truly,_

 _King Thorax_.

When he finished writing the letter, Thorax then used his magic to fold it before he then sent the now folded letter to the royal castle by teleporting and transporting it there, and once he was done doing so, Thorax then turned to his brother Pharynx and then he said "Now let's tell our subjects you and I we're going to the royal castle to meet Chloe and Aylene again, and also to see their centaur friend, Stephan, once again.", and then Pharynx said back "Right!", and then the two changeling kings went to tell all their subjects they're going to the royal castle to visit Celestia and Luna and also to meet and see Chloe and Aylene again, and also to see Stephan (in case he's there with them), and once the two changeling kings were done telling and informing all their changelings they're to be missing for a while, Thorax and Pharynx then started to fly away and leave the changeling hive together, and then they left the changeling kingdom and continued to fly on their way to the royal castle to meet Chloe and Aylene again, and also to see Stephan once again.

Later, however, when Thorax and Pharynx both arrived at the royal castle, Thorax then asked if he and Pharynx can enter and go inside to see Chloe and Aylene, and also Stephan if he's in there with them, but then one of the royal guards said to them "I'm sorry, Thorax and Pharynx, but Chloe and Aylene have left the royal castle and went to Ponyville to meet Stephan, who is currently living there.", and the other royal guard added "Stephan doesn't yet lives in the royal castle, but I'm sure that one day, he will probably become a noble of the royal castle after his own father will be found and imprisoned for mistreating and tricking his own son like he always did.", and then the first royal guard said to the two changeling kings "If you two want to see Chloe and Aylene, you both need to go away and return later, only when they return here.".

When they heard what the royal guards said, Thorax then frowned and looked down disappointed for not being able to see Chloe and Aylene right now, before Pharynx then came to his side and tried to cheer him by saying that he's sure that Chloe and Aylene will return to the royal castle later, and that they will be both happy to see him again, and he also reminded Thorax how good he was to them like a real father should, before Thorax then let out a sigh before he then turned and said to his older brother "You're right, I am Chloe and Aylene's proud but also very kind father, and I'm always happy to see them and be with them though we don't realy see each other very often. Thanks, Pharynx.", and then Pharynx said "That's what older brothers are for.", and then the two changeling kings turned back to the two royal guards before Thorax then said to them "Thank you both for informing me about where are my two beloved daughters whom I love so much.", and then one of the royal guards said "You can go away and return later to meet Chloe and Aylene in case they return here.", and then Thorax said "Thanks." before he and Pharynx then started to slowly walk away from the royal castle and towards Canterlot, but Thorax had a sad face as he really wanted to see Chloe and Aylene, but they're not available at the time he came to visit and meet them again, and that made Thorax really sad, and Pharynx understood his younger brother's feelings and he tried to do his best to cheer him up.

Then, Pharynx suddenly suggested "Maybe we should go and see where they are, Thorax. They gotta be somewhere far away from here, but I'm sure we'll be able to find them.", and then Thorax said back "I hope you're right, before the two then flew away together and decided and started to go and search for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan. Meanwhile, Lysander, Sayla and Akeno were still taking Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to Yakyakistan with them, and now they're all almost there, and when they all saw Yakyakistan still a bit far away from them, Sayla cried "I see Yakyakistan over there! We're getting very close! It's now just less than a mile away from us!", and so the three animal villains continued towards Yakyakistan with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan chained up on their backs, and it didn't took long for them all to reach there, and once the six finally arrived in Yakyakistan, Sayla then said "Ah, Yakyakistan! Just the place we wanted to go to! We're all finally here at last!", and then they all entered Yakyakistan.

When Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and their hostages entered Yakyakistan (which was also a very large village), they saw lots of yaks roaming around freely and some are even seen inside some of the village's buildings (which were all large huts), but most of the yaks appeared to be oblivious of the three non-yak animals' appearance, as well as of their hostages, but one young male yak, however, appeared to be aware of their appearance, and he was really curious about these new creatures who arrived at the yak's village, and so he decided to follow them and see where they're going, and also see what they're doing in Yakyakistan in the first place.

When Lysander, Sayla and Akeno (with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan on their backs) all stopped together at some point in Yakyakistan, Sayla then asked "What should we do with these three young scams?", and then Lysander said to her "Akeno and I didn't yet figured out what kind of threat we should exact upon them.", but then a young male voice suddenly asked "Um, excuse me? Who are you three?", and when the three evil shape-shifting animals heard the young male voice is directly talking to them, they all then looked down to see a young male yak who appeared to be around the same age as Clownbeak the young male Hippogriff, and at first, the three animals didn't know what to do in case a very young stranger comes and asks them a question, but then Akeno decided to take matters to his own even-toed hooves before he then looked down at the young male yak and said to him "Well, kid, I'm Akeno, a former member of Asha's okapi family.", and then he turned and motioned with a left foreleg and an even-toed hoof "And these are my best friends standing right behind me.", and then Sayla raised an arm and hand and then she placed them on her own chest before she said "I'm Sayla, once a member of Angalifu's gorilla troop, now banished forever, I'm best friends with Akeno and Lysander.", and then Lysander spoke up and said "Who said villains like us can never become friends? We're animals, not monsters!", and then he added "I'm Lysander, once the leader of my crocodile float, now a lonesome specimen, I'm best friends with Sayla and Akeno!".

Then, however, the young male yak turned and tilted his head to the left and saw Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all chained up on their backs, and then he asked as he then pointed up at the chained human girl, Pegasus pony and centaur "Who are they? What are they doing here? And why they're all in chains?", but then Akeno said "They're with us, and in fact, we're just about to get rid of them in your homeland in Yakyakistan!", but then the young male yak asked them "Why?", and then Sayla said with a rather angry tone "Because they're all the reasons why the three of us have only each other!", but then Chloe snapped and cried "Don't listen to them, young yak! They messed up with us and with our lives first!", but then Lysander snarled at her "Shut up! You don't even know what you're even saying!", but then Aylene added "You three messed up with us for nonsensical reasons and for lots of things we haven't even done to you!", but then Akeno turned back to her and yelled "Shut up your mouth, chicken-winged stripeless zebra!", but then Stephan yelled "You meant us all lots of harm for no reasons at all! You three have only each other because you brought this upon yourselves!".

When the young yak heard what Chloe, Aylene and Stephan said, he gasped in shock and then he asked them "Is that true? Did these Lysander, Sayla and Akeno here are the bad guys?", and then Stephan said "Every word of ours is true!", and then he added "Now, please, help us out of these chains! We beg you!", but then Akeno yelled "Don't listen to that half-hairless ape/half-stripeless zebra! He and his two female friends are the real bad guys here, not us!", but then the young yak then asked "Then why do I see you three have evil faces? What's all this all about?", but then Sayla yelled "Shut up you mouth, you baby bovine! None of this was your business!", but then the young male yak asked as he got offended by the gorilla insulting and angry words "Excuse me? Why is that? Why are you talking to me like that?", and then he added and pointed out "I just met you three for the first time!", but then Lysander said "You better turn tail and run for life before I decide to eat you for lunch, kid!".

However, then, an adult female voice asked "What's going on?", and then suddenly an adult female yak approached and came into sight and joined up with the young male yak, who was probably her child, and then the young yak cried "Momma! I'm so happy you came for me!", but then Sayla mocked with a rather insulting tone "'Momma'?! Huh! That's just perfect! That stupid baby bovine's mother also came here to ruin our plans we have for these three young scams!", but when the young yak and his mother both heard what the female gorilla just said, the mother yak turned to her and asked her in an offended tone "What did you just said?", and then Sayla said "I said that now that you're here for your stupid baby, you both just ruined our plans to dispose of these three young scams we have here with us!".

However, then, the mother yak said "Don't you dare talk to me or to my son like that, you big bad monster ape!", but then Sayla yelled at her "Shut up your mouth, you filthy bovine! An adult from my species is strong enough to kill almost every baby animal on sight!", and then Lysander added "So we warn you - you and your son turn tail before I decided to eat your little one for lunch!", and then Akeno yelled "Or maybe we will feed you both to our jackals! They surely would like to eat some yak meat for lunch!", but then the youn yak cried "Please, don't hurt me and my momma!", but then Akeno lowered his head down and pushed him violently with his head before yelling at him "If you want some more, I'd like to apply!", but then the mother yak angrily charged and sent Akeno up into the air, thus causing Stephan to fall off from him and land on the ground, while Akeno himself, however, crashed against the ground, and thus causing him to cry in pain, before he then cried "That hurts!".

When Lysander and Sayla saw their okapi friend lying injured on the ground, the female gorilla roared at the mother yak "YOU JERK!", and then she charged with Lysander in tow towards her, and before the mother yak could react, Sayla then jumped up onto her back and then she tried to make her way up to the mother yak's neck, and once she did, Sayla started to bite cruelly and heartlessly right at her neck, while Lysander started to whip at her legs with his tail before he then said "I don't care I'm dealing with a mother like you! You, your son and as well as all of your own kind will learn to respect endangered species like ours!", but while they're distracted when they fought the mother yak, her child ran up to Stephan and then he used his own horns and legs to break down the chains and free the centaur away from them, before Stephan then looked down at him and said with a kind smile "Thanks a lot, kid!", before he then added "Now go free my friends, while I will save your mother!", and then the young yak nodded before he then ran up to Chloe and Aylene and started to break down their chains and set them free as well, and then Stephan charged towards Lysander and then he ended up stomping on his back ten times with each of his forelegs, thus knocking the crocodile out.

Then, however, Sayla then jumped off the mother yak and then she landed right on Stephan and then she started to choke him with both of her hands and yelled like a murderess right into his eyes "DIE NOW, FILTHY CENTAUR!", and Stephan struggled to throw her off himself as she surprisingly started to gain the upper hand against him, but just as it seemed like Sayla is going to kill Stephan, a familiar male voice then yelled "Leave Stephan alone!", and when Sayla heard the voice yelling at her, she then turned to see Thorax and Pharynx both standing and looking angrily at her, before Pharynx then added and yelled at the female gorilla "You let Stephan go, you monster!", but then Sayla said to them "Do not interfere, changelings! I'm just showing that centaur here what happens to those who underestimate gorillas like me!", but then Thorax lit up his antlers in a greenish aura before he then released a blast of magic at Sayla and he managed to hit Sayla with it, and thus sending Sayla off Stephan and to be attacked by the mother yak, who soon regained her strength and started to attack the female gorilla, thus sending her flying and she ended up slamming into and hitting Akeno with her own body, thus getting defeated as well.

With all three animal villains defeated, the young yak ran back to his mother and then he hugged her and cried "Momma, you're okay!", while Thorax and Pharynx went up to Chloe and Aylene, before they're joined by Stephan, before the centaur then said "Thank you, Thorax! You and your brother came to rescue us, or at least me, just in time!", and then Thorax said "We're happy to help you, Stephan!", and then Pharynx added "After all, you're Chloe and Aylene's best friend, and we truly appreciate that very much!", and then they turned to see the young yak and his mother both approaching them, before the two yaks stopped in front of them and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all stepped forward and then Stephan said "Thank you and your mother so much for coming to help us! These three evil animals surely have the powers of three shape-shifters who can truly take down changelings!".

However, when Thorax and Pharynx heard what the centaur just said, Thorax then asked him "Did you said that all three of these despicable wild animals were all capable of using magic and transform?", and then Stephan said "Yes, Akeno apparently was now also able to use magic and also transform himself to whatever or to whoever he wants to! Akeno became a shape-shifting animal too!", and then Chloe added "Yeah, that's right! Akeno is now more dangerous than he was before!".

Then, the young yak interrupted and said "Anyway, I'm happy to set you free from these chains these three large wild animals used to keep you as their hostages!", and then he added "I'm Willie!", and then he turned back to his mother who then too introduced herself and said "And I'm Willie's mother! My name is Patricia!", and then Thorax said to them "I'm glad to meet you two as well!", and then Pharynx added "Thank you both again for saving our daughters and nieces, Chloe and Aylene, and their friend Stephan again!", and then Willie the yak said "Happy to say so again, I'm happy to help!", and then his mother, Patricia, then added "I'm too happy to save your children!", but then she asked "But first, I must ask what species of creature is one of your daughters. I truly admit it - I haven't seen anything like her before.", and then she asked "What is your daughter here supposed to be?", and then Chloe stepped forward and answered and explained "Well, I'm a human, and I'm sisters with Aylene, who is the Pegasus pony standing right behind me, and the centaur who is standing next to her is Stephan, and he's in fact our best friend!".

When Patricia the yak heard what Chloe just said, she then said backly "What a surprise! What an odd trio you three are! You three are all two sisters and a best friend, and you're all from three different species! you broke such a wonderful record! What an odd and wonderful trio!", and what she said made Chloe and Aylene smile, but Stephan, however, blushed at the yak's last comments, thus showing that he's apparently a bit embarrassed.

However, then, Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all slowly got back up on their feet and called for their eight jackals to come and help them, and no sooner after they called for the jackals, they all suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and there were indeed all eight of them as they all came and charged to help their bosses fight their enemies, and once the eight jackals got reunited with their three large animal bosses, this is when Lysander, Sayla and Akeno yelled and demanded "Destroy Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, the changeling kings and these two stupid yaks! NOW!", and so the eight jackals all obeyed and started to attack Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Thorax, Pharynx, Willie and Patricia.

Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their family and their newest friends fought together against the jackals, and during the fight, three of the jackals got killed, thus leaving Lysander, Sayla and Akeno with only 5 jackals on their side, but then suddenly, a big male African bush elephant suddenly came out of nowhere and stormed into action and then he suddenly trumpeted and roared angrily at Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their family and their newest friends. When Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Thorax and Pharynx all saw the big male African bush elephant, they quickly recognized him by his evil eyes, and as for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan alone - also by the large notch in his left ear, and they knew who the big male African bush elephant was - it was Terrence.


	75. Chapter 74:the Liontaurs' betrayal

Terrence the big male African bush elephant then looked down at Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their family and new friends, particularly at Willie the yak (since the ferocious elephant already tried to kill Clownbeak the Hippogriff, who was coincidentally around Willie's own age, but because of Kenai's interference - he lost a part of his left ear and failed), and then Terrence said evilly "What do we have here!", but then Lysander asked him "Excuse, Mr. Elephant, but who are you?", and then Terrence turned his attention to the shape-shifting crocodile and said evilly "I'm Terrence! The last living member of my own kind!", and then Sayla asked "Really?", and then Akeno added "You truly seems to be more closer to become extinct even more than me and my own kind!".

Then, Terrence said evilly to Akeno "You're right! When I was younger, I saw that there were at least 500 okapis living all over Equestria!", but then Akeno said to him angrily "But now because of these filthy humans and ponies, there are now less than a 100 okapis living all over this world!", and then he added "And among those who lost their lives were my older brother and my only son!", and Terrence said back to him "Then you and I have something in common! I truly have to admit it, you're not the only one here who lost more than just ONE family member! In fact, when I was only a baby calf, a group of stallions and mares poached and killed my mother for her tusks, and they also did the same thing with my father and older sister later on! I lost THREE members from my own family!".

When everyone heard what Terrence said and revealed about himself that he never told before, Lysander then said "Then welcome to our team, Terrence! It is an honor for us to become your friends and partners for life! I'm Lysander, and I'm too the leader as well as last living member of my own float!", and then Sayla added "I'm Sayla, once a member from Angalifu's troop, but at some point, he banished me forever from his troop!", and then Akeno said evilly "And I'm Akeno, once a proud member of Asha's okapi family, but she ended up banishing me away as well because of these filthy hairless ape girl and her chicken-winged stripeless zebra sister!", and then Terrence said "Then I'm happy to join up with you three! Together, we shall destroy these human girl and her Pegasus pony sister for what they both did to us! And their centaur friend here is going to join them as well!".

Then, he turned with his head back and called for his last two Liontaurs to come over to him and show themselves, and no soon after he called for them, the last male Liontaur finally came into sight, and after a minute or two, the Liontauress also joined up with them, but she appeared to be walking and running much slower than ever before, and when Chloe and Aylene saw the Liontauress' inflated lower lion underbelly, the two then asked together "What happened to the Liontauress? Why is her stomach looks so inflated like this? Is she sick or something?", but then Stephan answered and pointed out cleverly and explained "No, she's pregnant!", and when everyone heard what the centaur just said, Thorax then turned back to him and asked him "Are you sure?", and then Stephan said "Yes! I saw my mother just like that when she was about to birth my little siblings!", and then he added "And Terrence's Liontauress is no different!", but then Terrence yelled "No! That's impossible! You're lying to me!", but then the male Liontaur suddenly said "No, boss! He's right! My wife here is pregnant, and therefore she cannot fight!".

However, when Terrence heard what his last male Liontaur just said, this enraged the bull elephant before he then asked in pure anger "What did you just said?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAID?!", Terrence raised his voice before he then demanded "You go and kill these human girl, Pegasus pony, changelings and yaks for us!", and then he roared and added "NOW!", but the male Liontaur just stood there before he then said in a defying tone "No, Terrence! I don't want to obey your orders and demands no more! I'm leaving you alone and taking my beloved wife with me! And I also suggest you and your new friends leave all these good and kind creatures alone!".

However, what the male Liontaur just said didn't only managed to make Terrence angry, but also Lysander, Sayla and Akeno all looked at him with equally angry faces and with pure rage burning in their eyes, before Akeno then yelled to his and his friends' five remaining jackals "Jackals! Take this male Liontaur down for our new friend and for us! Now!", and the jackals all obeyed his orders and soon they all charged at the male Liontaur, who then let out an angry lion roar and then he started to fight the jackals as they all started to attack him in front of everyone's eyes.

The male Liontaur fought with all his might, and during the fight, he managed to kill one of the jackals, thus leaving only four behind to take down, but despite being able to fight back and kill one of the jackals, the four others still managed to knock him off his lower lion feet, and then they all started to maul him down right in front of his pregnant mate's eyes, who looked down at him in shock before she then cried "NOOOOOOOOO!", but it was too late when one of the jackals managed to bite the male Liontuar through the mane and directly on the neck and finally finish him off for good, thus killing him in front of his pregnant wife.

When the jackals were done with the last male Liontaur, the pregnant Liontauress quickly went up to her mate and then she lowered down onto her lower lion legs and then she lowered her human head to look down into her dead mate's eyes, but they were close and the male Liontaur was motionless, and then the pregnant Liontauress started to sob and whimper as she then lifted up her dead mate's upper humanoid body and head, before she then finally burst into tears and started to cry into his lion mane, and Chloe and Aylene couldn't help but shed some tears of their own as well, and these were of course tears of sadness and sorrow, as they both clearly understood that the Liontauress is indeed in pain from losing her mate, and even Stephan couldn't help but shed some tears of his own as well, as it also reminded how he lost his own mother when she fought back to protect him and the twins more than a year ago, before he even met and befriended Chloe and Aylene.

However, just then, the Liontauress felt something that was long and elongated like an arm touching her shoulder, and when she turned back, she saw Terrence was touching her on the shoulder with his trunk, but then the elephant quickly started to wrap his own trunk around the pregnant Liontauress' neck, and then he started to choke her as he looked at her with angry and evil eyes, before he then said in an evil tone "If I can't have your mate and you, neither your own children can!", but then Thorax yelled at him "Stop this right now, Terrence!", but then Terrence yelled at him "Shut up your mouth, filthy changeling!", and then he added "She and her stupid mate both asked for me to kill them, and now the pregnant traitor is going to get it herself!", and then he continued to choke the Liontauress, who then started to cry as she struggled to get herself free from his snake-like choking grip, but even when tears formed and rolled down her eyes, Terrence showed her no mercy at all, and in fact - he didn't even cared to kill pregnant non-elephant females (since Terrence already knows that he himself is an endling).

However, then, Patricia the yak started to run and charge towards Terrence and then she ended up charging and slamming with her own head and horns against his left hind leg, thus causing the evil elephant to scream in pain and let go of the Liontauress, before he then turned around to face the yak who dared to attack him from behind, and then Willie cried to his mother "You can do this, momma! I know you can! Fight this monster!", thus giving her the encouragement she needed before she then said to Terrence with determination in her eyes "You're not going to kill pregnant females, you monstrous jerk!", but then Terrence yelled at her "What did you called me?! WHAT DID YOU CALLED ME?!" he raised his voice, but that didn't scared Patricia, and in fact, it only made her even more determined to take on him, before she then charged at his left foreleg and caused him to scream in pain and step aback from her once again, and this managed to attract other yaks, which then started to approach Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, the changeling kings, Willie and Patricia, and also the four animal villains.

When Terrence saw all the yaks around him, he then yelled at them all in anger "DON'T YOU DARE THINK ABOUT TAKING ON AN ELEPHANT LIKE ME, YOU STINKY AND FILTHY BOVINES! I'M MUCH BIGGER AND EVEN SMARTER THAN ALL OF YOU!", but then all the yaks yelled together "CHARGE!", and then they started to charge and attack not only Terrence, but also Lysander, Sayla and Akeno as well, while the jackals decided to retreat, but not before one of them is killed when one of the yaks smashed it to death underneath its massive size and heavy weight, thus leaving only three jackals to run away for their lives as they retreated and eventually left Yakyakistan.

Then, Thorax took off and flew up into the air and then he lit up his antlers and used his magic to surround the pregnant Liontauress in a greenish magic aura, and then he started to lift her up and away from the ground and he started to carry her away to safety, and Pharynx took off and flew up and followed him in tow, and Stephan took Chloe on his back while Aylene trotted and galloped by their side, but not before they all said goodbye to their new yak friends, Willie and his mother Patricia, and once they all said goodbye to their newest friends, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the changeling kings all started to leave and they all eventually left Yakyakistan, with the pregnant Liontauress that was once Terrence's minion, but now is going to be a mother when she's going to birth her own babies and start her own family away from the evil elephant.

When they all arrived in Ponyville, Thorax decided to take the pregnant Liontauress to the hospital, where she can and will be able to recover from the trauma Terrence have caused her when he killed her mate, and so once Thorax was done sending the Liontauress to the hospital, he and Pharynx then took and led Chloe, Aylene and Stephan back to Canterlot and once they arrived and entered the royal castle all together, they explained to Celestia and Luna everything that happened to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan today, but they also explained that they made new friends with two yaks in Yakyakistan, but they also told the princesses that Terrence's last two Liontaurs turned on him because the female was pregnant and therefore can't fight when he asks her to, which led to the elephant to cruelly and heartlessly kill the male Liontaur, and tried and attempted murder on the female as well out of pure anger and blind rage, but she was luckily saved and was brought to Ponyville Hospital where she can recover from the trauma and safety give birth to her new babies without Terrence's malevolent interference, and Thorax last explained that Terrence is now friends with Lysander, Sayla and Akeno, and therefore the male African bush elephant is now the fourth member of their evil team.

However, despite Celestia and Luna were both shocked to hear everything at first, the two then said that they're both still happy and glad that Chloe, Aylene and their best friend Stephan were all safe, and they also decided they should pay a visit to the pregnant Liontauress in Ponyville Hospital next week and see how is she doing, and then Stephan said "I promise her that I will help her avenge her dead mate by attacking and fighting Terrence and removing his tusks as a punishment for his ferocity before we will send him to Tartarus alongside Lysander, Sayla and Akeno!", and then Luna said to him "That's exactly what we all need to do with him!".

Meanwhile, Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and Terrence all managed to escape the yaks and leave Yakyakistan, and once the four managed to get far away from Yakyakistan, they all continued to travel together all the way back to the Everfree Forest, before Lysander then said "We will never forgive them for this!", and then Sayla added "They will pay for what they've all done to us!", and then Akeno said "One day, we will get them all for a payback time!", and then Terrence added angrily "Just you wait, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan! We will have our revenge!", and when they all finally arrived and entered the Everfree Forest, the four animal villains started to plot and think about new plans to exact their revenge on Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, their family and all of their friends.


	76. Chapter 75:Terrence imprisoned

A weak have passed since Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were kidnapped by Lysander, Sayla and Akeno, only to be rescued by Thorax and Pharynx when the formidable trio were taken by the animal villains all the way to Yakyakistan to be killed by them, before the yaks suddenly interfered with the evil animals' plans and attacked them and Terrence, who then joined the other three animals to exact his revenge on Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone they love and like for the most, and the elephant is very willing to kill his Liontauress after realizing that she's pregnant, and thus causing the infuriated elephant to kill his last male Liontaur (who is the unborn cubs' father), but Thorax and Pharynx helped rescuing the Liontauress and her unborn cubs from getting killed by the elephant, and they're brought all the way to Ponyville Hospital to make sure the Liontauress heals from the trauma Terrence have given her when he killed her mate in front of her eyes and then tried to kill her next, and also to help her give birth to her cubs without any of the animal villains' interference.

One day, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan went together to the hospital to see how the Liontauress is doing, and they hoped that this time, they will also see some cute little cubs lying down or sleeping against her sides or even one in their mother's upper human arms and hands, but the three were unaware that the mane seven, Spike, Celestia and Luna, and even Andy and Zoey, were all following them right behind their backs as Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all making their way to Ponyville Hospital, and soon the three entered and then they're approached by Nurse Redheart and two other nurses, and then Stephan kindly asked her "Nurse Redheart, can we see the Liontauress now, please?", and then Nurse Redheard said "Follow me.", and then one of the nurses said "I'm sure she'll be very happy to meet you again after what you've done for her.", and then the other nurse said "And she said to us that now she's willing to show you all a wonderful surprise!", and then Aylene said excitedly "I'm so excited to see if the Liontauress have already birthed her cubs! They must be so cute!", and then they all ended up stopping and turning to face a patient's room on the left, and then Nurse Redheart said to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan "You three go ahead. The Liontauress is waiting for to see you three. She wants to thank you all for what you've done for her when you all saved her life.", and so Chloe, Aylene and Stephan slowly opened the door and then they all went inside the patient's room to see the Liontauress whose life they've saved.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all entered the patient's room, they all saw the Liontauress lying down on her bed, and when they looked closely at the right side of her lower lion body, they saw two baby humans with the lower bodies, legs and tails of lion cubs (Liontaur cubs) sleeping against her side, and this made Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all smile to see that the Liontauress had safely managed to give birth to two healthy babies of her own, a son and a daughter, before they both suddenly yawned and let out cute baby sounds and noises as they both started to move against their mother's side, much to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's joy and happiness, before everyone else (who followed all the way to the hospital behind them) also entered the room and they're all overjoyed to see the newborn baby Liontaurs moving against their mother's side.

Then, the Liontauress slowly turned and reached with both of her upper human arms and hands for her babies and then she picked up the male one and then she started to cradle him into her chest, and after a minute or two, she then slowly stretched her arms and hands with her baby son lying down in them towards Stephan, and when she got with her arms and hands close enough to Stephan, she then said to him "I give you the honor to pick my little son in your hands.", and Stephan couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy before he then said after he wiped them away from his own eyes "Thanks, Mrs!", and then he slowly stretched his own human arms and hands towards the Liontauress' own arms and hands, and then he slowly started to touch and feel the baby male Liontaur moving a little bit in his own arms and hands, before the Liontauress slowly let go and pulled her hands away and back to herself, thus leaving Stephan to hold the male baby Liontaur in his own arms and hands all by himself, before he then slowly pulled him and cradled him into his own chest, much to everyone's joy when they saw Stephan treating the newborn male baby Liontaur not like his little siblings, but actually like if he's his own son, though it still managed to make both Andy and Zoey a bit jealous of seeing their older brother holding and cradling a baby younger than them in his own arms and hands, and Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and even Rainbow Dash all couldn't help but shed some tears of joy when they all saw Stephan showing them all a paternity word as one day, Stephan will probably become a real father and will have his own children someday.

Then, the Liontauress slowly turned and looked down at her baby daughter (the baby Liontauress) and then she slowly lifted and held her up before cradling her into her chest with her own arms and hands, but just then, a long, gray, snake-like 'arm' suddenly came out through the open window, grabbed the baby Liontauress and snatched her away from her mother through the open window, and when everyone looked through the open window, they saw Terrence holding the baby Liontauress in his trunk and looking at her with angry and evil eyes, and just feeling how scary and intimidating the elephant who just kidnapped her away from her mother actually was managed to make the baby Liontauress start crying in his trunk, and everyone gasped to shock to see that Terrence is back to exact his revenge on the Liontauress who betrayed him.

When the mother Liontauress saw her former master about to torment her daughter in front of her and everyone else's eyes, she cried and begged "Please, leave her alone! She's my baby!", but Terrence completely ignored her begging words (since he himself sire no children of his own, because of him being the very last male of his own kind, and with no living female African bush elephants exist anywhere in Equestria, this indeed makes him the endling of his own species). Then, Celestia and Luna both lit up their horns and they're about to aim and blast directly at Terrence's forehead, but then Terrence warned "Don't you two dare blast your magic at me or else this newborn baby female dies!", but then Twilight yelled at him "You let her go now!", but then Terrence yelled at her back "Shut up your mouth, you stupid mare!", and then he added "You all don't just get it to your minds, do you?!", but then Rainbow Dash asked "What do you mean, Terrence?", and then Terrence roared in anger "I'M THE VERY LAST MALE OF MY KIND!", and his angry roaring voice made the baby Liontauress cry out loud as she moved in his trunk, before Terrence noticed her and yelled at her "SHUT UP YOUR MOUTH AND STOP CRYING THIS INSTANCE! YOU DON'T WANT TO UNDERESTIMATE AN ENDLING!", but then Bluebell yelled "Stop yelling at the baby Liontauress this instance, Terrence!", but then Terrence turned to her and said "I think you're messing with the wrong elephant here, centauress!", and then he added and warned "Just stay away from me and I won't kill that little one here!".

However, no one believed his words and his warning and they all just stood still, before he added "Are you all so defiant? Stay away and I will mean the female baby here no harm!", but then Bluebell said defiantly "No, Terrence! You leave her alone!", and this made Terrence put the baby Liontauress down on the ground and away from himself, before he then turned to look at Bluebell in the eyes before he then said to her "Alright, stupid centauress! You're asking for it, and now you're going to get it!", and then Bluebell flew through the open window and she charged at his forehead, but the evil elephant quickly managed to defend himself by raising up his trunk and wrapping it around Bluebell's neck, and then he slowly lowered her down to look at her in the eyes and started to choke her, but then he also raised up his left foreleg and then he placed it hardly on Bluebell's back and he tried to use this malevolent move in an attempt to break her neck, but then the mother Liontauress cried "Terrence, stop! You're going to break her neck!", but the elephant just ignored her and continued to wrap his trunk and left foreleg around the centauress, who struggled to kick at him and get him away from herself, and everyone else watched in horror before Stephan cried "Bluebell! No!".

Then, the mother Liontauress cried "You're going to break her neck!", but Terrence still did not paid attention to her words as he kept harassing Bluebell while looking down at her with angry eyes full of vengeance and hate, and this made the Liontauress to suddenly jump out of her bed and through the open window and then she started to attack Terrence and cried "Terrence, leave her alone! Let her go! Let her go!", and when Terrence let go of Bluebell, he then turned to look angrily at the Liontauress, before he then turned tail and kicked her in the lower lion gut with his left hind leg and he sent her hitting the ground next to her baby daughter, whom he placed down on the ground not too far away, thus causing the mother Liontauress to cry and faint in pain as the kick Terrence gave her was too much hard for her to handle.

When Bluebell turned and saw the Liontauress lying down on the ground next to her newborn daughter, she gasped in shock to see her pain, before she then turned back to see Terrence laughing evilly at them before he then said "This is what happens when you underestimate an African bush elephant! Now you're paying the full price!", but then something suddenly snapped inside the centauress which made her clench her right hand into a fist and then she lit up her fist in a blue magic aura, and then she readied herself to attack Terrence as she then took off and flew up until she reached Terrence's eye level, and when the elephant turned to her, she then angrily punched him in the left side of the face very hard that her magic actually managed to make him dizzy as he then started to shake his head in an attempt to shake the attack off, but for some reason, he couldn't, before he then collapsed and slammed with the right side of his body against a nearby tree, thus causing it to break off and loose from its roots and cause it to fall down to the ground, and once it hit the ground, Terrence lied down unconscious against the now fallen nearby tree, much to everyone's shock to see what Bluebell's punching magic fist actually did to the evil elephant, and that's exactly what he really deserved for everything bad he have done so far in his life.

Then, everyone else went around the hospital to meet up with Bluebell and the mother Liontauress, but they arrived too late as the Liontauress was heavily wounded by the kick Terrence gave to her lower lion gut, and so the Liontauress slowly reached with her arms and hands to pick up and cradle her crying baby daughter to her chest to comfort her and calm her down, before she then turned and said to Bluebell as she barely looked up at her and took her last breaths "My son and my daughter...they both need someone to protect them.", and then she asked Bluebell "Will you or will one of your friends do that for me?", and then she added and begged "Promise me that you all will protect and raise them for me.", and so the centauress said with tears in her eyes as she looked down to see the Liontauress is also shedding tears of her own "I promise, Mrs. My friends and I will all help raise your babies for you.", and so the Liontauress said to her "Thank you.", and then she slowly moved her baby daughter away from her own chest and then she moved her towards Bluebell, who then lowered down onto her horse haunches and lowered down her human arms and hands, and then she slowly and carefully picked up the newborn baby Liontauress in her arms and hands and then she cradled her to her chest, before the centauress then stood back up again and looked back down at the mother Liontauress as she took her last breaths and peacefully died, and this made Bluebell start crying, and everyone else who soon joined up with her also saw the mother Liontauress' dead body lying on the ground, and soon they all started to shed tears as well as they all mourned the loss of the poor mother Liontauress.

Later, after mourning the loss of the poor mother Liontauress, Bluebell said "We promise you we will all protect and raise your little babies like if they were our own, and we promise to keep them both away from harm and from dangerous enemies like Terrence and his friends!", before she then turned and saw Celestia and Luna approaching and walking towards Terrence's apparently 'dead' body, and then they inspected and checked on him to see if he's really dead, but then they started to feel he's still breathing deep inside, which means that despite he's motionless and unconscious, Terrence is actually still alive, but it will take for him a few hours to finally regain his strength, open his eyes and get back up on his feet, and so Stephan said to the princesses as he approached behind them and made his way towards Terrence's body "I think that now we can give that elephant some payback time for orphaning these poor little babies, princesses!", and then Celestia said to him "I guess you're right, Stephan! While he's lying down unconscious, we can use our magic to cut off and remove away his tusks while he's still alive and without even killing him!", and then Luna added "It might be a magic-draining process, but it might still work!", and then Stephan turned to Bluebell and then he called for her to come and help, and he also told Twilight and Starlight to come and help as well, and so they all trotted and came forward until they all reached Terrence's unconscious body, and then Stephan pulled out a new magical healing potion and then Celestia turned to him and noticed the potion and asked "What kind of magical potion is that?", and then Stephan said "It's for treating bleeding injuries and it also help to clean off blood from open injuries!", and then he added "To be honest, I guess I somehow learned how to craft and make this magical healing potion all by myself!".

Then, the princesses, Starlight and Bluebell all worked together and started to use their magic to do a tusk removal surgery on Terrence's unconscious body, and it didn't took them all longer than a full hour to just cut off and remove away Terrence's left tusk from his head and face, thus leaving Stephan to play his own part and role in the surgery, and then he started to use the new magical healing potion on the open wound where there was once Terrence's left tusk, and so he managed to prevent the injury from start bleeding and he also managed to clean all the blood inside the wound, but in doing so, Stephan had to spend a third of his new magical healing potion to get the job done quickly, and once the surgery on Terrence was over, Celestia checked if the elephant is still alive, and much to her shock, she could still hear him breathing and his heart pounding and pushing his blood all around his body to keep him alive, before she, Luna, Twilight, Starlight, Bluebell and Stephan all turned back to everyone else all together, and then Celestia said "The surgery was a huge success! We managed to remove Terrence's left tusk without even killing him! He's still alive after everything!", and so everyone cheered as they saw Stephan helping Twilight, Starlight and Bluebell carry Terrence's left tusk so they can all show it to everyone else, and then Stephan announced and declared as he and the girls dropped the tusk in front of them all "Terrence's left tusk!".

Then, Rarity asked "Now what should we do with that monstrous ruffian?", and then Stephan "There is one place where we should probably send him to so he can rot there for the rest of his life for all the crimes and attempted crimes he have done so far in his life - Tartarus!", and then Celestia went over to him and said "And that's exactly where he's going to live!" and then Luna added "As for Cozy Glow and Lord Tirek, they would surely and would probably be surprised to see him stuck and trapped in Tartarus with them, and I'm sure Terrence will get annoyed by them (mostly by Cozy Glow) and will try to ignore them, but he wouldn't be able to since we will lock him up in a cage next to them!", and so Celestia and Luna then used the rest of their magic to make a very large cage appear out of thin air, and then they levitated and put Terrence inside it, and then they locked the cage to make sure Terrence won't be able to escape, before the two princesses then opened a portal and went through it to Tartarus while taking Terrence along with them.

Meanwhile, in Tartarus, Lord Tirek is being fed up by Cozy Glow's begging for friendship with him, but then the two were interrupted when the portal suddenly appeared in Tartarus, before Celestia and Luna then stepped out of it and got to Tartarus, and then they showed the still unconscious Terrence locked inside the very large cage, before they then placed it down next to Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow's smaller cages, and then they turned tail and left Tartarus through the portal, and once they went through, the portal and went back to Ponyville, this is when the portal finally closed and Celestia and Luna were both back in Ponyville and they soon got reunited with everyone else, before Celestia said "Now Terrence will live, suffer and rot in Tartarus for the rest of his life!", and then Luna added "And from now on, that monster for an elephant means no one no more trouble!", and then everyone else cheered for them.

hours later, in Tartarus, Terrence finally woke up and opened up his eyes to find himself lying down on the floor and then he heard the voice of young filly saying to him "Pst, pst, behind your back.", and when Terrence turned around, he saw a pink Pegasus filly with light blue mane and tail, scarlet eyes and a rook for a cutie mark locked up in a cage that was right in front of him, and that was none other than the youngest known powerful villain in all of Equestria - Cozy Glow. Then, Cozy Glow said to him as she gave him a smile "I'm so glad you're finally awake, Mr. Elephant!", but then Terrence asked "Huh? What a young little Pegasus filly is doing here? And why she's even in a cage?" and then he added "What's going on? I'm so confused. Did that young little Pegasus filly just talked to me?", and then Cozy Glow said with a cute smile which looked pretty innocent "My name is Cozy Glow!", and then she motioned with a forehoof to the cage that was next to her own "And that is my new friend, Lord Tirek!", and then Terrence turned to his left and saw an ugly, old but also demonic-looking centaur that was also locked up in a larger cage that was next to Cozy Glow's, and that was none other than the worst of all centaurs who lives in all of Equestria - Lord Tirek.

However, Lord Tirek was just getting fed up with Cozy Glow's talking about him like if he's really her best friend, and so he turned and yelled at the Pegasus filly "Shut up your mouth, little filly! I'm just getting fed up with your nonsense!", but then Terrence interrupted him and said "Excuse me, but can you please tell me where I am and what is this place?", and then Lord Tirek turned to him and then he asked "And who are you, big bad elephant?", and then Terrence introduced himself and said "I'm Terrence, the last living member of my own kind! A.K.A - I'm the last living African bush elephant living in all of Equestria!", and then he asked the demonic centaur "And who are you supposed to be?", and then Lord Tirek said "I'm Lord Tirek, the most evil centaur who lives in all of Equestria!", and then he added "And this horrible place is Tartarus! The home AND prison for all kinds of evil monsters as well as villains who live in this world!".

However, Terrence then asked "Prison?", and then he turned away from the centaur and Pegasus filly and then he started to walk away, only to be stopped by a row of iron bars which blocked his path, and so he ended up bumping his own head against some of them and yelling "Ouch, that hurts!", but then he started to look at the bars and then all around himself to find out that just like Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow, Terrence is also locked up in a cage, and when he found out that he's stuck, trapped and locked in the cage, this is when he let out a distressed trumpeting roar as he found out that he's imprisoned in Tartarus to serve his sentence.

However, Terrence's soon turned to look back at both Cozy Glow and Lord Tirek with angry eyes before he then yelled at them and angrily asked "Did you two locked me up here?!", but then Lord Tirek said "We did not!", and then Cozy Glow said "It was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! THEY locked you up in a cage and brought you here!", but then Terrence said to her "When I'm getting out of this cage, I will break into your cages and I will kill the both of you on my handsomely enormous tusks! BOTH OF THEM!" he roared in anger, but then Cozy Glow said "I don't know what you're saying! You don't have two tusks!", but then Terrence asked while bearing his angry face down at her "Excuse me?! What did you just said about my beautiful tusks!", and then Cozy Glow answered "Well, to be honest, I can only see you have only _one_ tusk on your big and scary face!".

When Terrence heard what the evil Pegasus filly said, he yelled "How dare you filthy little one say to me that I have only ONE TUSK! You're just making me so mad I want to trample you to death for spouting such nonsense about me and in my presence!", but then Lord Tirek said to him "She's right, Terrence! You have only one tusk on your face!", and then the elephant asked him "Are you really sure you're telling me the truth?", and then Tirek said "Sure, I do! Let me give you a mirror so you can for yourself!", and so the demonic centaur pulled out a big mirror and he moved it from his own cage to Terrence's and then he placed it right in front of the evil elephant's face, and when Terrence looked and recognized himself in the mirror, he then saw much to his shock that the Pegasus filly and the demonic centaur were both right - his right tusk was still intact on his face, but his left tusk is no longer to be seen on his face anymore, and this caused Terrence to let out another distressed trumpeting roar when he realized that now he's a one-tusked elephant.

Then, Terrence cried and asked "Who did this to me?!", and then Lord Tirek said "I bet Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both did this to you, Terrence.", but then Cozy Glow added "But don't worry about that! I'm sure you will grow a new tusk within a few months to years later!", but then Terrence turned to her and yelled at her in anger "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING YOURSELF! ELEPHANTS HAVE TUSKS ONLY ONCE DURING THEIR LIFETIME! THEY CANNOT REPLACE OR REGROW THEM BACK AFTER THEY GET THEIR TUSKS REMOVED!", and this made Cozy Glow very dizzy from hearing the elephant's angry bellowings and so she then said while still being dizzy "I think I should stop talking to this crazy elephant!", and when Lord Tirek so his Pegasus pony partner falling down after getting dizzy from Terrence's words, the demonic centaur then turned to him and said "Please, just please! Stop yelling and bellowing like this! You just made that filly dizzy and who knows when you're going to do the same thing with me!", but then Terrence said to him "If you don't want me to really bellow at your face, help me get out of this cage and I may spare you!", but then Lord Tirek said "I can't help you! I'm locked up in a cage, same as you!", and this made the elephant said "Fine then! You and your filly just go ahead and rot here alongside me!", before he then turned around and looked away from the demonic centaur and then he dropped down on his stomach and said to himself "I wish Lysander, Sayla and Akeno were here. They probably will be able to use their evil magic to save and rescue me, and also help me get out of here.", and then a tear of sadness formed and rolled down his eye as he then looked down at the floor with a depressed expression on his face.


	77. Chapter 76:Chloe turns 13, Terrence free

A full month have passed since Terrence killed his Liontauress who betrayed him, though he was then knocked out cold by Bluebell before she and the others helped removing his left tusk while he was still alive, and also successfully made sure that he will be staying alive after his left tusk was removed, before he's then was sent to rot in Tartarus for the rest of his life. Also, it was now 56 months (4 years and 8 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 44 months (3 years and 8 months) since Aylene became her beloved Pegasus pony sister, and they're both doing along well as they're helping their family and friends raise the two orphaned Liontaur cubs, who are now a month-old each, but are still dependent on adult creatures, even if they are non-Liontaurs. They decided to call the female cub Sirga (after the name of a lioness which was raised since she was just a little cub by humans back on planet earth) and the male cub Simba (Which means 'Lion' in Swahili), and the two baby Liontaurs seems to be happy to know that they're going to live and have new friends with the other baby creatures (none of which were Liontaurs).

As for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, they all knew there's something specially important that is coming soon - Chloe's thirteenth birthday, which means that Chloe is going to turn 13 years-old very soon, and Chloe hoped that she will be happy to celebrate her thirteenth birthday with Aylene, Stephan and everyone else, especially her family and friends. There are only three days before Chloe will turn 13 years old, and she knew that not so long after her thirteenth birthday, she, alongside Aylene and Stephan, will also celebrate five years since her arrival in Equestria, and also celebrate four years since Aylene officially became her sister (both will be celebrated at the same time, four months later).

Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all so excited and they wanted to know and see how and what Chloe's thirteenth birthday party would be like, and Chloe knew that soon enough, she will become a teenage girl when she turns 13 very soon, and as for Lysander, who still wants to eat her, Sayla, who still wants to torment her, and Akeno, who still wants to abuse her and Aylene for being a human and a pony, they're all still searching for their elephant friend, Terrence, who is still locked up in Tartarus, and the wound that was left where his left tusk should be started to slowly heal over the last month since he had his left tusk removed (while he was still alive), but soon enough, a new animal villain will be coming to rescue him, set him free and will help him escape and leave Tartarus very soon.

A day have passed, and there are now only two days left before Chloe will turn 13 years old and will celebrate her thirteenth birthday with, Aylene, Stephan, her Equestrian family and all of her Equestrian friends, and at the same time, Terrence is still locked up in Tartarus and is now waiting to be finally released from his cage, and after waiting for quite a while during the day, a southern white rhinoceros suddenly came out of nowhere and went charging towards the one-tusked elephant, who is still locked up in his cage, and then the rhinoceros slammed its head and horns against the iron bars on Terrence's cage, and eventually, when it broke and knocked two of the iron bars loose and out of place and away from Terrence's cage, this is when the rhinoceros got with only its head and part of its neck through the gap into Terrence's cage and looked up at the one-tusked elephant in the eyes, but Terrence looked shocked and also a bit terrified to see such a tough rhinoceros like the one who just broke off and removed away two iron bars from his cage actually coming to his rescue at last, especially after the elephant have suffered in Tartarus for an entire month for all of his crimes he have done so far in his life.

Then, Terrence asked the rhinoceros "Who...who are you?", and then the rhinoceros said "My name is Ganda, and I'm here to set you free from your cage, Mr. Elephant.", but then Terrence said "My name's Terrence! And as you can see, I'm an African bush elephant! I was supposed to have two tusks, but my enemies knocked me out and managed to remove my left tusk while successfully keeping me alive throughout the surgery! That's exactly why you can see I have only my right tusk, and thus making me a one-tusked elephant!", and when Ganda showed her horns to Terrence, she then said "Take a good long look at my horns, Terrence! These were precious and poachers will come for them more than to elephants' tusks!", and then Terrence asked her "How come?", and then Ganda explained "Back on planet earth, there are more elephants and less rhinos living in the African plains, and that's because poachers often hunt more rhinos than elephants! Our horns were more worthy to be sold to the black market and to be traded there for lots of money compared to elephants' tusks!", and when Terrence heard when the female rhinoceros said, he then gasped in shock to know that back on planet earth, there are more of his species and less of Ganda's, before he then said "I...I didn't know your species is more endangered than mine!", and then she said to him in a sarcastic tone "Surprise.".

Then, Ganda rammed herself into another iron bar, before she then grabbed it with her mouth and teeth and broke it out of place, before she then tossed and threw it away to make the gap in the cage even wider, and then she managed to get into the cage with the rest of her neck, the front part of her body and her left foreleg, and then she raised her left foreleg up to let Terrence shake it with his trunk as she said to him with an evil smile "I promise to become your new partner, Terrence, and I also promise you I will get you out of that filthy cage! This is no place for a wild animal to live in, especially when it comes out to be locked up in Tartarus!", and then Terrence wrapped his trunk around Ganda's foreleg and then he shook it and said back "Thank you, Ganda! Even if you're not an elephant like me, we both still have something in common!", and once he let go of the rhinoceros' foreleg, Ganda then continued to ram herself into his cage and break and remove the rest of the iron bars out of place and throw them away so Terrence will be able to stop out of the cage and escape along with her.

Another day later, there was only one day before Chloe will turn 13 and will celebrate her thirteenth birthday, and at the same time, Ganda successfully managed to break the cage and set Terrence free, and with the one-tusked elephant free from imprisonment, Terrence actually thanked Ganda and said to her as they started to walk away together "Thank you for saving me! These blabbering Pegasus filly and her so-called demonic centaur friend of hers nearly drove me into a nervous breakdown!", and then Ganda said to him as they continued to walk away together until they both reached a secret hole, which actually acted as a secret passage way in and out of Tartarus, and when the two African mammals entered and went through the secret hole, they both finally managed to escape and get out from Tartarus, and they managed to run together to their freedom.

Once out and away from Tartarus, Terrence started to search for Lysander, Sayla and Akeno, and he took Ganda the rhinoceros along with him so she can meet them and become one of their team as well, and Terrence even told her that she would surely fit in with his friends and with their powerful and force-joining team, and then Ganda said to him "I hope they will accept me like they accepted you. After all, Lysander is a crocodile, which makes him a reptile, Sayla is a gorilla, which makes her a primate, Akeno is an okapi, which makes him an artiodactyl, and you're an elephant, which makes you a proboscidean.", and then she added "I'm a rhinoceros, which makes me a perrisodactyl.", but then Terrence said to her "I'm pretty sure my friends will accept you if you tell them about yourself and about everything bad you've been through in your life, Ganda.", and then he added "Besides, I don't care that you're not an elephant like me, because you dared to risk yourself to save me and set me free from that hell prison known as Tartarus.", and then he continued "And even though I'm always intolerant and will hate all kinds of baby female creatures, because none of which were African bush elephants like me, I still trust you for the rhinoceros you really are, Ganda, and for daring to rescue another villainous animal that is just like yourself, which was in that case - it was me!", and when Ganda heard everything the elephant said to her, she then blushed at his comments, thus showing that she actually appreciated hearing everything he said to her, and she also blushed because she didn't expected an elephant to tell her that he truly enjoys to be her new friend for saving him from serving a life sentence in Tartarus.

The following day, it was finally the day when Chloe finally turned 13 years-old and now she's waiting for to celebrate her thirteenth birthday, and she, Aylene and Stephan were all so excited to know and see everything from what everyone have prepared for them (especially for Chloe herself) for the birthday party, and Chloe said to her Pegasus sister and centaur best friend "I'm so excited to see everything everyone have prepared for my thirteenth birthday party!", and then Aylene said to her "Stephan and I both want to see everything too!", and then Stephan added "It's going to be the first birthday of yours in which I'm officially invited in as a new main guest!".

Later, when Twilight and Rainbow Dash came to tell Chloe, Aylene and Stephan that they need to return to royal castle back with them (since the three were all playing together in the meadow at the time), this is when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all jumped together in excitement as they all knew that as for the celebration for Chloe's thirteenth birthday - the time has come, and so Twilight decided to help them by using her magic and teleporting Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Rainbow Dash and herself back to the royal castle, and then, once they're all back in the royal castle again, Twilight and Rainbow Dash led Chloe, Aylene and Stephan with them to the Grand Galloping Gala ballroom, and when they opened the doors leading inside, they're surprised by their family and by all of their friends as well, and even Sirga and Simba (the two baby Liontaurs, who are now both a month-old each) were present, and it is revealed that everyone have prepared to throw Chloe, Aylene and Stephan a birthday party (that was especially for Chloe, with Aylene and Stephan being the invited main guests besides her), and then Pinkie Pie shrieked out loud in a happy tone "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHLOE! YOU'RE NOW 13 YEARS OLD!", and when Chloe saw everything everyone have prepared especially for her so she can celebrate her birthday party, but Aylene and Stephan were both also allowed to look at everything that made them smile and become filled with joy and happiness, and as for Stephan, he was so happy because it was the first birthday party of Chloe's he have ever experienced and celebrated alongside both Chloe and Aylene, and as a new main guest, and that almost made him to forget about his evil biological father, Howard, who abused him so many times and even almost managed to trick him into becoming evil turn on all of his real friends (temporarily, of course).

Meanwhile, as for Terrence and Ganda, the two African mammals were both still searching together for the three other animals (Lysander, Sayla and Akeno), and Terrence also wants upon reuniting with them to introduce Ganda to them and to persuade them to add her to their team as well for being a villainous animal too (and to be the team's fifth member overall), and thus will make her the one and only member of the villainous animals team to be a perrisodactyl mammal (an odd-toed ungulate), and thus will make her feel even more stronger and more intimidating than she used to, before she met Terrence and rescued and freed him from Tartarus. Terrence and Ganda both hoped they will find Lysander, Sayla and Akeno and will not only get Terrence reunited with them, but also get Ganda introduced to them and to make her the fifth member of their villainous animals team, and so the two African mammals continued to search for the three other animals in hopes that they will eventually find them.


	78. Chapter 77:Chloe meets the dragon lord

A week have passed since Chloe turned 13 and celebrated her thirteenth birthday, and now she seems very happy to be finally called a teenage girl as of today forward until she will be called a young lady or young woman when she will turn 18 years old, but until that day when she will turn 18 years old and will officially become an adult woman comes, there are five more years she needs to go through before she will finally become an adult woman at 18 years of age. For now, Chloe is happy to be with her Pegasus pony sister Aylene, and their centaur best friend whom they met when he rescued them twice on that same day, about a full year ago - Stephan.

One day, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan got a letter from Spike, and it turned out that the reason he was the one who wrote and sent the letter for them it's because the dragon lord wants to meet them all, and especially Chloe herself, and the dragon lord is none other than Torch's young-adult daughter, who is friends with Spike and is the one who accepted and let Smolder enroll and become the first dragon student in the School of Friendship in the first place - Princess Ember, who is also, coincidentally, friends and allies with Thorax, just as she is with Spike.

Later that same day, Princess Ember flew high in the skies and she's now in midway between and from the Dragon Lands to Canterlot, and while she continued to fly in the skies towards Canterlot, the dragon lord thought to herself _"I wonder if that new human Chloe is really indeed a good human like everything I've already heard about her."_ , and then she thought to herself some more and added _"If my changeling friend Thorax, as far as I heard and as far as I know, is the father of that young human girl, and if Celestia is the caring mother of that same human girl, I might as well get to know her as well."_ , and so the dragon lord continued to fly on her way towards Canterlot to meet Chloe and see and get to know her, and also to see if Chloe is indeed a good human like everything she heard about her.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all waited in excitement to meet Ember, but there is still one problem - how would Ember react when she will meet Chloe? When Ember almost arrived in Canterlot, Chloe spotted her flying up in the sky towards the royal castle and then she called and yelled for her friends, as well as to her mother Celestia and her aunt Luna "Hey! Look up there! I see a dragon! It's her! It's the dragon lord Ember!", and Ember seemed to hear Chloe calling and yelling to her friends to come, and so the dragon lord started to swoop down and dive towards the ground until she ended up landing on her feet on solid ground in front of the royal castle, and she's soon being greeted by Celestia and Luna, as well as Spike and the mane seven, who were also present in the royal castle to greet her in case she comes to meet and see Chloe for the first time.

Then, Ember asked everyone "Where's the human girl Chloe whom I heard about that is good unlike these Yigal, Gilad and Ezra?", and then Twilight said to her "She saw you coming down to meet us, so she went to meet you too.", and then they suddenly heard Chloe calling "I'm coming, everyone! Here I am!", and when everyone turned back, they saw Chloe running fast towards them, and she ended up stopping right in front of Ember, and then she breathed in and out for a few seconds since she ran really fast to meet the dragon lord, and then she said to Ember "Hi! I'm Chloe, Celestia and Thorax's human daughter! It is an honor to meet you!", and then she asked her "And who are you?", but Ember looked a bit confused for a brief moment as she looked at the now teenage human girl, before she then said to her back "Well, I'm dragon lord Ember!", and then she added "You must be the good human whom I heard about who is very much unlike these bad humans known as Yigal, Gilad and Ezra who caused so much troubles to our world, don't you?", and then Chloe said back "You guessed right, your dragon highness!".

Ember smirked proudly as Chloe then gave her hand to her and waited for her to grab and shake her hand with her claws, which then suddenly made the dragon lord confused (at first), but then she decided to give her own claws to shake the teenage human girl's hand, and once they shook their hand and claws with each other, Chloe said "It is a great honor to meet you, dragon lord Ember!", but then Ember said to her back "Please, just call me Ember! You don't have to be so formal with me! Even if I'm the dragon lord!", and then Chloe said "Sorry! I'm just so excited to meet you!", and then she added "I first arrived here in Equestria when I was only 8, but now I'm 13 years old! I'm already a teenage girl!" and then Aylene came to her side and said "Hi there! I'm Aylene, and I'm also Chloe's sister!", but when the now teenage Pegasus mare said that, Ember was taken aback before she then asked "You are Chloe's sister?", and then Chloe answered "Yes! Aylene's my sister for almost 4 years, and she still is my sister right now!".

However, then Ember said to her and asked "But that's impossible! How can a human and a pony be siblings?", and then Stephan stepped forward and answered for them "Because they're both adopted by Celestia as her daughters, and so they're also Thorax's daughters!", but then Ember asked him "And who are you, centaur?", and then Stephan answered "My name's Stephan, and I'm Chloe and Aylene's best friend! I became their friend a year ago after saved them twice on that same day - the first time from the evil brothers, and the second from a mad okapi named Akeno who hated them so much for being a human and a pony!", but then Ember asked "Are you really friend of Chloe and Aylene, or not?", but then Chloe said to her "Stephan is a good centaur, and he's truly handy when someone needs him, because when he sees someone in danger or being bullied or harassed by another creature, he won't hesitate to spring into action and stand up to the attacker, and he would start fighting and beating up the attacker, and he would end up either knocking out the attacker or chasing him or her away!".

When Ember heard what Chloe said about Steohan being good, kind and even handy when necessary, she then asked the teenage centaur "Is Chloe telling me the truth about you? Would you really stand up to an attacker to defend the victim?", and Stephan nodded before he said "Yes, I would! My own father attacked and harassed me and my little siblings before, so we ran away from him and left him all alone for his cruelty and heartlessness he always had and still has today towards us! That's exactly why I will not tolerate another creature who is just as worse as my own father doing the same things he did to me to another creature! And that's exactly why I gave a fair beating to Akeno when he harassed Chloe and Aylene when they tried to leave the Everfree Forest and go back home to the royal castle!".

When Ember heard what the centaur said, she then gasped in shock to know that Stephan is indeed tough, strong and is able to fight other creatures whom he can tell are bullies, attackers or harassers, before she then said "You must be really strong, but don't think you can be as strong as me, Stephan! I'm the dragon lord!", but then Stephan said "You're wrong! Centaurs can sometimes be strong enough to pick on much stronger attackers at any opportunity! Centaurs were also smart compared to dragons, even if most of them, except for royal winged centaurs, can't fly like them!", but then Chloe interrupted "Let's not continue this going-to-be mad talking to each other!", and then Aylene added "Yes! This barely goes to nowhere but troubles!".

When Stephan and Ember both heard what Chloe and Aylene said, Stephan decided to back down from the talking and simply said "Fine!", and then Ember said "I will stop talking for now, but I still give you three a fair warning - I don't really trust Chloe, though, because I already know how Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, who are all human beings from her own kind caused so many troubles to this world! So I give especially Chloe a warning - she does one wrong step, one wrong move, one thing that will look bad in my eyes, and I will have no choice but to consider and confirm her as my enemy! Because humans are still dangerous creatures which are not native to Equestria!", and so she suddenly gave Chloe a stern look which tells that she still warns her if she will do something that will look really bad, thus causing and prompting Chloe to frown back at her as she realized that Ember still thinks that even good humans like her can still be dangerous like bad humans such as Yigal, Gilad and Ezra themselves.

Then, Twilight came to them and said to Ember "Why not show you a tour around Canterlot? I'm sure you would like it!", and then Ember said "Fine! I'm going on a tour around Canterlot so I can see everything that new here and there myself!", and so the mane seven and Spike started to take and lead Ember on a tour all around Canterlot, but Chloe, Aylene and Stephan stayed behind, and the Pegasus and the centaur what's happening to their human sister and best friend - Chloe was offended by Ember's false warnings, but then Celestia went up to them and then she asked Chloe "What's wrong, Chloe? Is something troubling you?", but Chloe simply said as she crossed her arms "Nothing, mother.".

However, Luna also came forward and then she said "I'm not buying it, Chloe. Tell us what's wrong with you so we can all help you out.", and then Chloe took a deep breath before she said, though in a grumpy tone "Fine, let me spell it out for all of you.", and then she added explained "I thought everyone trust me here and that I'm loved and liked without being insulted for being a human, but that so-called dragon lord Ember here thinks I'm dangerous like Yigal, Gilad and Ezra.", and then she said "She thinks I don't deserve to be here with all of you, and she believes I should either return back to my original home on planet earth, or join Yigal, Gilad and Ezra and become one of them.".

When Aylene, Stephan, Celestia and Luna all heard what Chloe said about Ember not trusting her for being a human, they all gasped in shock before Stephan then asked the teenage human girl "Why are you saying this to us?", but then Chloe turned back to him with an angry face and said "You heard exactly what she said to me - she warned that if I do ONE wrong step, ONE wrong move, ONE thing that will look bad in her eyes, and she will consider and confirm me as a dangerous enemy, just because I'm a human!", and this made Stephan to step aback from her and then he asked "What's gone into you, Chloe? What's going on with you?", but then Chloe said "Nothing!" and turned away from him, but then Aylene went behind her and reached her side before she then placed a forehoof on her shoulder and then she said and asked "So, let me get it straight to the point, Chloe - you hate Ember because you think she hates only because you're a human?", but when Chloe heard her Pegasus pony saying that to her, she cried "I don't hate dragon lord Ember! I truly enjoyed meeting her at first, but then she suddenly thought that there's no such thing as a good human being, and this makes me so mad! Just like how Lysander, Sayla, Akeno and even Terrence all judged me badly for being a human, and for god's sake, these four were all racist to humans, and so is that dragon lord Ember!".

Then, Celestia tried to reassure her that everything will be okay be saying to her "It's okay, Chloe. Everything will be okay. Ember simply don't yet know very clearly that you're a good human, but I'm sure she will know that very soon.", but then Chloe yelled "No! Ember thinks I'm a filthy monster! That's why she threatened me with these false warnings - to keep me away from all of you!", and then tears started to form in the teenage human girl's eyes as she then turned away from Aylene, Stephan, Celestia and Luna and started to tremble in anger and pain, but then Luna placed a hoof on her shoulder and said "Chloe, please. Ember doesn't really knows _everything_ about you yet. Just give her some time to get to know you clearly.", but then Chloe smacked her aunt's hoof away from her shoulder, before turning back to look at her, Celestia, Aylene and Stephan with tears in her eyes, which were mixed with both anger and sadness, and then she yelled "No! No! Ember wants me away for good! She wants me to either live with Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, or to leave this world and never return!".

Bewildered by Chloe's sudden outburst, Celestia said to her "Chloe!", but then Chloe yelled with tears rolling down her eyes "Goodbye, Mother! Goodbye, Aunt Luna! Goodbye, Stephan! And goodbye to you too, Aylene! None of you will never see or hear from me ever again!", and then she started to run away from them all and cry to herself due to being threatened just because of her being a human once again. Stephan called for her "Chloe, come back!", and he was about to go after her, but before he can do so, Celestia stopped and said "Stephan, leave her alone. Let her go, she needs to have some time to herself. Let her cry, she will get over it and calm down eventually, and when she does so, she'll decide to come back here and have a talk with us.", but this made Stephan smash his front left horse hoof on the ground before he then said with anger starting to burn in his eyes "It's all Ember's fault!", and then Aylene cried in agreement "She's the reason why Chloe ran away like this!", and then Stephan growled "She will pay for giving these false warnings to Chloe!", and then he added as he then clenched one of his human hands into a fist "When she comes back here from her tour around Canterlot, Aylene and I we'll both teach her a lesson for messing up with Chloe like she already just did!".

Meanwhile, Chloe continued to run away until she left Canterlot and ended up in the meadow, and when she reached the same tree that was the only one in the meadow, she went up to it, got under it, stopped dead in her tracks and finally collapsed down and cried out her very soul. While sobbing, wailing and crying all alone, Chloe said "How could that cold-hearted dragon lord Ember judge me very badly for being a human?! I did nothing to her, and in fact, I was at first so excited to meet her, but then she suddenly threatened me by giving me these false warnings like if I'm a dangerous pest!", and then the teenage human girl added "Out of all these worse days I've been through in my life, THIS ONE is the worst of them all ever!", and then she started to move her legs and moved with her knees close to her face and then she buried her own face in her knees as she continued to cry.

For about a full hour, Chloe cried as she's unable to shake away the pain from her mind, as well as her heart, as she also remembered how everypony (except for Celestia, Luna and the mane seven) hated her so much for being a human when she first arrived in Equestria, and she also remembered how everypony framed her away just because of her being a human, but having a dragon to repeat and do the same things the Equestrian ponies have already done to her a long time ago just made her feel worse and maybe even worthless and unnecessary to Equestria.

However, after she cried out her very soul for that full hour, Chloe suddenly felt something is touching the top of her head, and when she slowly moved her head and started to look up and away from her own knees, she saw Ezra's Mammophant, Lin Raju, is very close to her, and she felt the end of his long trunk is gently touching at the top of her head without plucking a single hair from the hair of her head, and once Lin Raju lifted his trunk away from Chloe's head and hair, he started to give the teenage human girl some rumbling sounds he, like all proboscideans, can do and make with his own stomach, but Chloe just turned away from the Mammophant, and then she buried her face in her knees once again, much to Lin Raju's displeasure of being ignored, but then an idea suddenly sparked inside the Mammophant's mind and so he decided to go with the new idea, and so he decided to give Chloe a ride to the Everfree Forest so she can meet Asha and her okapi family once again, and since Akeno was already banished from Asha's family, this gave Lin Raju the idea to give Chloe a second chance to make friends with the okapis (without Akeno's interference).

Then, Lin Raju started to slowly wrap his trunk around Chloe's medium-sized body, and once he had his grip on her body, he started to lift her up very carefully from the ground, and he ended up placing her down on his own back, and then the Mammophant gave Chloe some more stomach rumblings before he turned and walked away from the tree and he started to leave the meadow with Chloe on his back, and when the teenage human girl felt she's actually moving and riding on someone's back, she moved her knees and her face away from each other and looked to find herself riding on Lin Raju's back, and then she heard the Mammophant letting out a trumpeting roar, and the loud noise of his roar caused and made Chloe to quickly cover her own ears with her hands until his trumpeting roar stopped, but Lin Raju kept walking away from the meadow and towards the Everfree Forest, and Chloe was still riding on his back, and she suddenly got curious and wanted to know where Lin Raju is taking her to, and when she saw him approaching the Everfree Forest, she realized he's taking her there to have an adventure, and so she said to herself as she looked forward at the Everfree Forest while still riding Lin Raju's back "I wonder what kind of a new adventure is waiting there for me. In the Everfree Forest...".


	79. Chapter 78:meeting the okapis again

Back in the royal castle, Aylene and Stephan waited outside for Ember and for the mane seven to return from their tour around Canterlot, and Celestia and Luna stayed by their side while they both had worried looks on their faces, and once Ember and the mane seven (and Spike) all returned back to the royal castle from their tour around Canterlot, they, particularly Ember, weren't greeted and welcomed back in the way they all expected.

Then, when Ember and the mane seven all noticed that Celestia and Luna have worried looks, Aylene and Stephan have angry looks, and Chloe is missing and is nowhere to be found, Twilight then asked "What's going on?", and then Rainbow Dash added "Where's Chloe?", and then Applejack asked "Did she went to play in the meadow alone and have some private time to only herself?", but then Celestia let out a sigh and simply said with her eyes looking down and keeping her worried look "Chloe ran away.", and when everyone heard what she said, they all (except for Ember) gasped in shock, before Rarity then asked "Where did she go?" and then she added "Can somepony or some other creature here please tell me what happened when we went on the tour around Canterlot to show everything that's new here to Ember?".

But then, however, Stephan stepped forward with Aylene following by his side, and then the centaur said in an angry tone "That Ember here is the reason why Chloe ran away!", and then Aylene added in agreement "Yeah! She threatened Chloe that if she ever does just ONE thing that will look wrong in her eyes, she will consider my human sister as her enemy!", and then Stephan spat out in anger like venom and said angrily "Ember thinks all humans are dangerous monsters, but what about centaurs like me?! We centaurs have the upper body of a human, and we too have the same intelligence and we also feel the same feelings as all normal humans! What am I trying to say here is that why would that jerk for a dragon lord dare to threaten Chloe just because she's a human?! She's even worse than my own father!", and then Aylene added "That's right! I may be a pony, but I'm still Chloe's official sister, and I will never dare to insult her or hurt her feelings just because she's a human!".

However, Ember stepped forward and said to the teenage Pegasus mare and to the teenage centaur "Did you two just dared to insult me?! How dare you! Who do you think you two really are?! Why do you two even care so much about that human?!", and then Stephan said "Because she's our sister and best friend, and we're not going to dump her behind us! Never!", but then Ember said "Have you all forgotten what these Yigal, Gilad and Ezra all did to us and to our world before that Chloe showed up?! How am I supposed to know she's different?!", and then Aylene explained "Because she have the big heart Yigal, Gilad and Ezra never had!", and then Stephan added and said to Ember "But why would you even care about Chloe?! All you wanted her to do is to either go live with the evil brothers or leave Equestria and never return!".

However, Ember said "It's not true! I didn't said to Chloe that I wanted her to go away and never return!", but then Stephan said to her "Obviously, you said something SIMILAR to this! Look what that caused Chloe to do, and just look at what you've done!", and then he raised his voice to the point he exploded in her face "YOU FREAKY REPTILE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! CHLOE RAN AWAY BECAUSE OF YOU! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!", and then he and Aylene were both about to attack Ember, but Twilight, Celestia and Luna used their magic to stop them in time, before Fluttershy then said "Stephan, Aylene, please, calm down. Violence is never the answer.", and then she added "I suggest we all should go and look for her, I just hope she didn't went too far away.", and then she asked as she stretched out her left foreleg and hoof and moved it forward "Who's with me?", and then everypony, Spike and Stephan all gave their hand, claws and hooves to touch at Fluttershy's hoof and then when they all made contact with her hoof while gathering around in a circle, everyone then said "All of us!".

However, then, they're all suddenly joined by another clawed, scaly and reptilian hand (that wasn't Spike's), and it was none other than Ember who also placed her clawed hand to make contact with Fluttershy's hoof, and then they all turned to see Ember is also touching Fluttershy's hoof, before she then said "Count me in!", and then Stephan said as he gave her proud smirk "Of course you're counted here too! Because when we find Chloe, you awe her an apology for these false warnings you gave her before!", and then Aylene added "You got Chloe in trouble, so YOU will be the one to rescue her!", and then Celestia said to them all, causing everyone to turn back to face her and Luna "Luna and I wish you all good luck in finding Chloe and taking her back home!", and then Luna added "Good luck, and I hope you all come back here with Chloe safe and sound!", and Stephan said to them back "We will!", and then Twilight said "Now let's go!", and then Spike cried "This is for Chloe!", and then Starlight Glimmer added "Let's find Chloe!", and then Rainbow Dash finished and said "And take her back home with us! All of us!", and so the mane seven, Spike, Aylene, Stephan and Ember all left the royal castle and went together to search for Chloe.

Meanwhile, Chloe is still riding on Lin Raju's back, and she's somewhat really more happier and less heartbroken than before, and the two were now still traveling deep inside the Everfree Forest, and Lin Raju wants to find and reintroduce Asha and her okapi family to Chloe once again, since the first failure to make them friends because of Akeno's interference about a whole yeart ago, and it didn't took Terrence longer than 20 more minutes before he finally found them and stopped near the okapis' herd, and then he gave Chloe another stomach rumbling noise to make listen to him and look and see the herd of the okapis, whom are all none other Asha and her entire family (minus Akeno), and when Chloe saw Asha and her okapis we're all close enough and weren't too far away from where she and Lin Raju have both stopped, Chloe, rather than showing a angry frowning look on her face, actually gave them all a smile when she recognized them all before she said "I know these okapis! These were Asha and her family! It's their herd!".

Then, Chloe raised up and waved her arm repeatedly and called "Hey! Asha! It's me, Chloe! I came back to meet all of you!", and when the okapis heard her voice, they all turned to see her riding on Lin Raju's back and waving her arm and hand repeatedly and calling for them to come and meet her for the second time, and this is when Asha stepped forward and spotted Chloe, and then she called for the rest of her family "Come with me, everyone! Chloe's back to meet us again! Let's go and meet her again!", and all the other okapis obeyed her words, and then they started to follow Asha until they all stopped in front of Lin Raju, and Chloe looked at all of them with a happy smile from Lin Raju's back, and then Asha slowly stepped forward to greet the teenage human girl once again, and then she said when she reached up with her neck and head to get close enough to let Chloe touch her face "Greetings, Chloe! It is an honor for us all to meet you once again! We're all very sorry for everything that traitor Akeno did to you and to your pony sister from the start! Even thought he started tormenting and harassing the both of you just a year ago, I still can't believe that he's still doing so and is also stuck up as ever!".

Then, Chloe reached with her arms and hands and then she stroked at the okapi matriarch's face and then she said to her "I understand everything you say, and I forgive you. All of you. Plus, when Akeno kidnapped me and Aylene and yelled at us and dumped us both in the same cave Sayla took me alone to and then dumped me in, we both discovered Akeno's dark secret he had in his life that caused him to turn evil - he told us that humans and ponies killed both his older brother and his only son in two different times, probably long before I even arrived in Equestria.".

When Asha and her okapis all heard what Chloe said and explained about Akeno's dark secret, Asha then said to her "I see. You and Aylene already know the truth. I'm so sorry he did all of these abusive things to the both of you in just a full year.", but then Chloe said "It's okay, and like I just said, I forgive you all, though I must still warn you all, and particularly all of your children, about a vicious and vile creature who is the last of his own kind who will do everything it takes to kill them all for pleasure.". When Asha and all her okapis heard what she said, a young female okapi then asked "Who is that vile creature you're talking about? Is he worse than our traitorous Akeno?", and then Chloe said "Yes, he is! His name is Terrence, and he's the last living African bush elephant living in all of Equestria, and his main hobby is to kill both babies and children, particularly more girls than boys, since he knows that he's already an endling, which means that there are no baby African bush elephants from his own kind which he can take care of and raise them up to become the same as evil as he already is now.".

When all the okapis heard what Chloe said about Terrence, a young male okapi then asked her "What's his catch?", and then Chloe turned to him and explained while still sitting on Lin Raju's back "Recently, my friends, my family, my sister and I we've all learned why Terrence acts so evilly - when he was just a young calf, or probably a juvenile, he lost both of his parents and his older sister when they're killed and poached by bad ponies for their tusks, which it's also the same thing that still happening back in my world, back on planet earth, when human poachers kill elephants for their tusks, rhinos for their horns, lions for their manes and furs, and crocodiles for their skin and teeth.".

When the okapis all heard the reason which clearly explained why and how Terrence became evil in the first place, they all gasped in shock once again, before Asha then asked "And where is he now?", and then Chloe said and explained "My mother Celestia, my aunt Luna, Twilight, Stephan and Bluebell managed to knock Terrence out cold for a needless death which he caused, and then they used their magic and a magical healing potion and they worked all together and managed within just a full hour to cut off and remove away that vile elephant's left tusk away from his face, and then mother Celestia and aunt Luna locked him up in a cage and transported him to Tartarus to serve his sentence for the needless death he have caused.".

When the okapis all heard what Chloe said and explained about Terrence's whereabouts which she knew of (before he was released and was led out of Tartarus by Ganda the female southern white rhinoceros), Asha then said "So, there's no reason for us to fear him right now, because he's locked up in a cage in Tartarus, isn't he?", and so Chloe said "Yes, he's trapped in Tartarus, and I'm pretty sure that he's slowly starting to regret doing all of his vile, insane and malevolent acts and deeds he have done from the start in the first place. Right now, he's rotting in his cage next to Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow, who will both not only keep him company in next door, but also annoy him to death, and this will make Terrence wanna cry out loud like a little kid and crawl back to us like a helpless baby, with tears in his eyes and begging for mercy.", and then she gave herself a proud smirk.

Then, Lin Raju slowly lowered down onto his knees, elbows and stomach to allow Chloe to finally climb down from his back and go back to solid ground, and when Lin Raju ended up lying down on his stomach, he rumbled to Chloe with his stomach once again to tell her that she can go down from his back, and so Chloe climbed down from Lin Raju's back and got back to solid ground, and once she stood wih her feet on the safe and solid ground, Lin Raju slowly stood back up on his feet and then he let out a trumpeting roar, which caused Chloe to cover her ears again, while Asha and her okapis all turned with their heads and necks away from the Mammophant, but once he stopped roaring, Chloe finally got her hands off her own ears and the okapis also turned back to Lin Raju, before Chloe then said to the Mammophant "Goodbye, Lin Raju! I promise that this time, I will have with the okapis lots of fun!", and so Lin Raju slowly turned tail and then he started to walk away and leave Chloe alone with all the okapis, and once he was far away, he let out another trumpeting roar that was less louder for Chloe and the okapis to hear because he has gone far away from them, and after a few minutes of watching him walking away, Lin Raju was finally gone from eyesight, thus leaving Chloe with Asha and her family.

Then, Chloe turned to the baby okapis and asked them "Now how about we'll all go and play and have some lots of time together?", and then one of the adult okapis, a female, said to her "I accept letting you take our children to play with you. After all, we all know you're a good human with a big heart, and Akeno had no rights to yell at you and say otherwise. You can go and play and have some fun all together, but just don't forget to return back here before sunset.", and then Chloe said to her back "That's a deal!", and then she turned to the baby okapis and said "Let's go, everyone! Let's finally have some lots of fun together!", and then all the baby okapis cheered and cried happily "Yay! We're finally going to play with Chloe!", and so Chloe and the young okapis all started to trot and run away and then they all started to play together, and as she and all the adult okapis all watched them trotting, running and playing around all together, Asha said "I hope they all will be okay.", and then she gave a kind smile as a tear of joy formed and rolled down her eye, as she watched Chloe and all the young okapis trotting, running, playing and having fun all together.

Meanwhile, Aylene, Stephan, the mane seven, Spike and Ember all continued to search for Chloe and they all ended up reaching the Everfree Forest, so they all decided to enter and check and see if Chloe is wandering around in there, and they all continued to look for her there, and then Stephan said "Chloe, please be safe.", and then Aylene added "Chloe, dear sister, please be and stay safe.", but the Soike said to them "Cheer up, Aylene and Stephan, I'm sure Chloe is fine and I'm pretty that right now she's also looking for us the same way.", and then Ember interrupted and said "Now I see the errors in my ways when I misjudged your friend just because she's a human. I shouldn't have done this to her before I left, and besides, she was so excited to meet me at first because she learned that I'm also friends with Thorax, who is her father figure who also adopted her, alongside Celestia who is the mother. I truly regret what I did that caused her to run away and leave the royal castle like she did. I want to apologize to her and tell her that she's the first ever human who is actually good whom I've ever met in my entire life.".

Back with Chloe and the young okapis, they all accidentally wandered too far away from the herd and so they tried to stay and stick together and search for Asha and for the adult okapis, but instead, they all ended up running into a big male rhinoceros and a big female hippopotamus, but luckily, they managed to stop and hide behind some of the nearby trees to prevent the two large and ferocious animals from detecting them. However, these rhinoceros and hippopotamus were none other than Saut and Einhorn and both seemed to be busy drinking from a nearby lake together, and when the young okapis saw the two massive and ferocious beasts drinking from the nearby lake, one of the okapis, a female, asked Chloe as she trembled and cowered in fear "Chloe, who are these rhinoceros and hippopotamus who are both standing over there and drinking from that lake together?", and then Chloe said and explained "These are Saut and his albino Hippopotamus friend, Einhorn, and it seems they're both busy drinking from that lake together.", and then a young male okapi asked "What? These two are friends?", and then Chloe said "Yes, and if we don't want to get detected by them, we must sneak away very slowly and very carefully before they can both turn their heads away from the lake and see us, and if they see us, particularly and especially me out of all of us, they won't hesitate to charge and attack us.", and when the young okapis all heard what Chloe said, they all shock in great fear as one, a male, took a peak on Saut and Einhorn from behind one of the nearby trees, before he then said in fear "Oh my gosh, they're both so big and also very-very enormous!".

Then, Chloe and the young okapis all started to sneak away very slowly and very carefully and they all tried to keep quiet so to avoid being detected by Saut and Einhorn, but then a young female okapi accidentally tripped over a small rock and she ended up falling and hitting the ground, thus prompting to cry "Ouch!" in pain, but when Saut and Einhorn heard her cry, they both turned away from the lake and then they spotted the young female okapi, who is lying down on her belly and is now trying to get back up on her feet, and even though only Einhorn can see her while Saut can't due to both his eyes being scarred and blinded (though most adult rhinos usually have a very poor eyesight, even if they're not blind), Saut could still sniff and smell her scent with ease, and that's how he too clearly knew she's there.

When the young female okapi turned around and saw the half-southern/half-northern white rhinoceros and the albino hippopotamus both staring her down, with Saut using his sense of smell to stare her down without using both of his scarred and blinded eyes, she screamed at them and then she quickly struggled to get back up on her feet and started to cry for help, only to end up falling back down again and again, but Chloe and the other young okapis couldn't hear her cries, since they all already managed to get away without getting detected, and that allowed both Saut and Einhorn to gain on her as they started to approach her very slowly, with Saut leading and Einhorn following in tow, and once the two got really close to the young female okapi who got left behind, she cried out loud and yelled in tears as she then started to shake and tremble in fear "PLEASE, LEAVE ME ALONE!", thus shocking, surprising and also a bit startling both the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus, who then both took a step back and stepped aback from the young female okapi, who looked at them in fear and terror as she thought the two might bring her harm if she tries to provoke them, even if not purposely.

Then, Saut slowly gained encouragement and so he started to sniff the young female okapi and circle around her while continuing to sniff her from every direction, and he walked around her a 360 to check her out from all the sides and eventually he came to a stop and ended up 'staring' her down with his face and horns were aiming to attack her, before he let out an angry snort and then he suddenly spoke up and said in an evil tone "Die, little one!", thus shocking and scaring the young female okapi who then started to scream for help and then she begged Saut to spare her life and she said "Please, don't hurt me, Mr. Rhinoceros! I don't wanna mess up with you, I swear! I'll just go away and you and your friend here won't have to see me again!", but then Einhorn suddenly spoke up and then she said in the same evil tone as Saut's "Sorry, kid, but weren't going to spare your life! Even if we don't even know who you really are, little okapi, we both will still kill you!", and then the two huge and ferocious ungulates both laughed evilly together, thus causing tears of fear and terror to form and roll down her eyes as she wanted them both to just go away and leave her alone, but then Saut aimed to strike the young female okapi square in the face with his massive and sharp horns, and then he said evilly "Time to die, sweetie!", thus causing the young okapi to cower in even more fear and turn with her face, head and neck away from the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus and she waited helplessly for Saut to strike at her with his horns, but before he can give the young female okapi the malevolent blow, the totally unexpected happened.


	80. Chapter 79:Akeno's revenge, Asha dies

Then, a teenage female voice that didn't sounded like Chloe's or even Aylene's yelled at the two huge beasts "Leave that young female okapi alone!", and when they all heard the voice yelling at Saut and Einhorn, they and the young female okapi all started to look around to see who's calling them, before Bluebell suddenly burst out of the bushes and then she started to attack Saut and Einhorn, and the young female okapi just sat there and looked in shock, but also in a bit of fear and terror when she saw Bluebell and how strong she is against animals and creatures who are all larger than her in body size.

Then Bluebell clenched her hands into fists and then she lit them up in blue magic aura, and then she was about to ready herself to strike at both Saut and Einhorn with her magical fist punches to make sure they're both going down with ease, and so she then struck her right fist and punched Saut directly in the jaw, thus shocking his entire body and causing him to fall down unconscious as he got knocked out, and then she used her left fist and to do the same thing to Einhorn when the albino hippopotamus charged at her and was about to strike at her with her massive jaws, but Bluebell successfully punched her directly in the snout, thus shocking the hippopotamus' entire body, before she too fell down unconscious from the magical fist punch, thus declaring Bluebell the winner.

Once both Saut and Einhorn were down, Bluebell turned to see the young female okapi, who is still just sitting down and shaking in fear and terror at what the winged centauress just did to both the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus, and when Bluebell approached slowly, the young okapi cried and begged "Please, don't hurt me, Miss! I'm just a kid! Leave me alone!", but then Bluebell asked "Hurt you? Why should I?", and then the young female okapi explained "Because I saw what you just did! You knocked out these rhinoceros and hippopotamus, and now you probably want to do me the same thing!".

However, when Bluebell heard what the young okapi just said, the winged centauress said softly "Shhh, it's okay, little one. I won't hurt you like I did to these two no good bullies. I just tried to save you, that's all.", and then the young female okapi asked her "Really?", and then Bluebell said softly "Of course." and then she added "Now get up on your feet and let's go find your mommy and daddy, you seems to be lost.", and then the young okapi said and explained "I am! Chloe and my family we're just playing together, and we stumbled upon and came across these rhinoceros and hippopotamus, and we tried to sneak away, but I got left behind!".

When Bluebell heard the young female okapi mentioning Chloe's name, she then asked her "Did you said Chloe was here in the Everfree Forest?", and the young okapi cried "Yes! We played together with the others, but then we got separated by these enormous rhinoceros and hippopotamus who tried to kill me before you came to save me!", and then the winged centauress said "Then let's go find your family and friends, and also find Chloe as well! I just hope they can't be too far away from here!", and then the youn female okapi finally managed to stand back up on her feet and then she cried "Let's go!", and so she and Bluebell started to search for Chloe and for the other young okapis together.

Meanwhile, Aylene, Stephan, the mane seven, Spike and Ember were all searching for Chloe in the Everfree Forest, and they all ended up coming across Lin Raju, who is just wandering alone in the forest after he left Chloe with the okapis. When they recognized the Mammophant, Twilight then asked him "Lin Raju? Where's Chloe?", and then Rainbow Dash hovered up towards his face and asked "What did you do to her?", but then Lin Raju trumpeted and roared at her, thus causing her and the others to cover their ears until he stopped, and once he stopped, Lin Raju turned tail and started to walk away, motioning with not his trunk but his tail for them all to follow him, and so they decided to go after him and see where he will lead them, and they all hoped that he may lead them to Chloe.

Meanwhile Chloe and the young okapis continued to search for Asha and for the adult okapis, but they couldn't find them anywhere, but then they all saw the one young female okapi who got separated from them earlier returning back to them, but they also saw that she's not alone - Bluebell was seen walking along with her, and eventually they both got reunited with Chloe and with the other young okapis, but when Chloe saw Bluebell, she then asked her "Bluebell? What are you doing here?", and then the young female okapi said "She saved my life from these big bad rhinoceros and hippopotamus! And then she took me with her back to all of you!", and then Bluebell asked Chloe "What are you doing here? And who are all of these other young okapis?", and then Chloe explained "They're all the youngsters from Asha's family, and we're just trying to find our way back to them, because we accidentally got lost and we also stumbled upon Saut and Einhorn, but we didn't knew one of us got left behind!", and then she added "Thank you for bringing her back to us safe ans sound, Bluebell!", and Bluebell said back "It is my honor to rescue a child or a youngster and at the same time deal with the two no good bullies who tried to hurt her for fun! I managed to knock them out in the same way I managed to knock Terrence out!".

However, then said an awfully familiar male voice "Is that what you really think?!", and when Chloe, Bluebell and the young okapis all heard the male voice and what he said, they all turned to see Akeno coming out from behind the trees and facing them with an evil smile creeping on his own face, before he just said and added evilly "Very well! Welcome to meet me again, kids!", and then he burst into an evil laughter, thus shocking Chloe and Bluebell, and scaring all the young okapis. Then, the young female okapi whom Bluebell saved and befriended asked in shock "A-Akeno?! W-what are you doing here?!", and then Akeno said evilly "I'm just here to say hello to all of you! But I almost forgot that there are four friends of mine who wants to meet you all, and especially Chloe, and maybe even that chicken-winged, female half-hairless ape/half-stripeless zebra or hers!".

However, when the insult hit Bluebell because it was directly on both Chloe and herself, she reared up onto her hind horse legs and cried with tears of anger forming in her eyes "How dare you insult me like that?! I'm a centauress!", but then a male voice that came behind Akeno yelled at her "Shut up your mouth, centauress! Or else I will finish where I started!", and then Terrence came out from right behind Akeno and went to his left side and then he trumpeted and roared angrily at her, thus shocking Bluebell and causing her to take off and fly away for a short distance, and she ended up landing beside the young okapis.

When Bluebell and Chloe both saw the evil one-tusked African bush elephant free from Tartarus and roaming with his friends once again, Chloe then asked in shock "Terrence?! But how?!", and then Bluebell asked "I thought you're imprisoned in Tartarus after we removed your left tusk!", but then Terrence said evilly "Surprise!", but then the young female okapi who befriended Bluebell asked while shaking in fear at his intimidating size and height "B-but how did you escaped Tartarus? Who set you free? Why is that?", and then Terrence looked down at her and smiled evilly before he then said to her "Oh, and we also almost forgot to show you my savior who rescued me from Tartarus and became my new best friend!", and then he moved around Akeno to get to his right side and said "Meet my new best friend!", and then Ganda the rhinoceros walked up towards them until she reached and stopped by Akeno's left (where Terrence first stopped before he then moved to Akeno's right), and then she said to Chloe, Bluebell and all the young okapis with an evil tone "Well, hello there, darlings! It's nice to meet you all!", and then she cackled evilly, thus scaring all the young okapis, before the one female whom Bluebell befriended cried "Ahhh! It's Saut's girlfriend! She's here to destroy us!".

However, Ganda then asked "Saut? Who's he?", and then she added "I'm not his girlfriend! I don't even know him!", but then the young female okapi cried "B-but, y-you're a rhinoceros just like him!", but then Ganda said to her as took a step forward "So what? I may be a rhinoceros, but I definitely don't know about that Saut you're just talking about!", and then she added "And now, let me take your little okapi life with my horns and show you I'm even better than that Saut you just spoke of!", and then she moved even closer and aimed her horns to attack the young female okapi, who then shook in fear and begged "Please, don't hurt me!", and then she started sobbing and whimpering and she hoped Ganda will show her mercy, but the adult female southern white rhinoceros showed her no mercy at all as she look right at her with evil eyes, and then she was about to charge towards her.

However, just then, a blast of magic suddenly came out of nowhere and it hit Ganda and caused her to fall and land on her underbelly, and then the mane seven, Aylene, Stephan, Ember, Spike, Lin Raju, Asha and all the adult okapis came just in time to rescue everyone else from harm, and when the young okapis saw their parents and Asha coming towards them, they tried to run towards them too and get reunited with them, but then Lysander and Sayla both came out of nowhere and blocked the way between the adult and their children, before Sayla then said evilly as she eyed each and every one of the young okapis "You're not going anywhere near your parents, kids!" as then she terrified them all with an angry, tooth-bearing face, and then she stood upright and roared like an angry silverback to make herself look even more intimidating to the young okapis, who cowered in fear at her scary and terrifying appearance.

Then, Asha yelled and demanded "Leave our children alone!", but then Sayla turned back to her and yelled at her back "Shut up your mouth, the old okapi who casted our friend Akeno out of her family!", and then Lysander added as he licked his lips "These little okapis go to nowhere but to the inside of my stomach!", and then he turned back and he was about to strike one of the young okapis by shutting his jaws shut at him, but then Ember yelled at him "You leave them alone, you jerk!", and then she flew towards him and then she punched him in the jaw with her claws, thus knocking out another one of his teeth out of his mouth, thus making it the second time someone punches him in the jaws and causes one of his teeth to come and fall out, and that caused Lysander to snarl in pain before he then said to the dragon lord as he turned to face her "You will pay for this, dragon!", but then Chloe came from right behind him and then she liften up her right foot and stomped down on Lysander's tail, causing him to scream in pain before he turned back to face her and said "That's it! I will eat you for this, Chloe!", but before he could snap his jaws shut at her, the young female okapi who befriended Bluebell came out of nowhere and then she helped ember when the two did a double kick together and they managed to directly kick at the evil crocodile's forehead, thus knocking him out cold.

Then, Chloe asked Ember in shock "Dragon lord Ember! I thought you hate me because I'm a human! Why did you just saved me?", and then Ember said "Because it's what friends do, and I'm so sorry I misjudged you for being a human!", and then she stretched and gave her a clawed dragon hand and said "Please, accept my apology!", and Chloe slowly stretched and gave her own arm and hand and when she touched and held Ember's claws, she then shook her hand with the dragon lord's clawed hand before she then said to her "I forgive you, but now it's not the time to shake hands! We have a job to do and everybody needs out help! We took Lysander out, but we still need to take out and defeat the other four animals!", and then Ember said to her "Let's do this, Chloe!", and Chloe said in return "Yes!" before they both headed back towards the battle together to help everyone take out Akeno and his three other friends, and the young female okapi followed them close behind to aid and help in the battle too.

In the battle, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell, the mane seven, Spike and the okapis all fought together to take down Akeno and his three friends who still stood on their feet and fought with all their might, but at some point, Aylene, Stephan and Bluebell all managed together to take out sayla, thus leaving only Akeno, Terrence and Ganda the only animals whom they must still take out in order to end the battle. Then, the other young okapis also helped by tricking Ganda into chasing after each and every one of them by fooling her to chase after a different young okapi before the first one tires out, and this eventually resulted in Ganda eventually running blindly and crashing with her face and horns into a tree trunk, thus getting defeated, and leaving only Terrence and Akeno the only animals whom they must still take out in order to end the battle.

Then, however, everyone stopped when they all saw Akeno and Asha facing and challenging each other to a duel, and so they all crowded around them to see which okapi will come out the winner - elderly matriarch or the banished traitor. Akeno made the first move when he charged towards Asha, but then the okapi matriarch dodged and got out of the way in time, but then Akeno ran up into her and then he started to bite her on the back of the neck to take her down, but Asha cleverly kicked him in the chest and torso with a hind leg and fought back, but while fighting each other, Asha said to Akeno "Until just a full year ago, I trusted you like a son!", but then Akeno yelled "You, asha, as well as all of your family, were friends, WITH PONIES AND HUMANS!", he raised his voice in anger and kicked her in the butt with a foreleg, before he then added evilly "I fight for all okapis' survival in all of Equestria!", and then he tried to snap at the back of her neck, but she quickly got away and said back "You fight for only yourself, Akeno!", but then Akeno screamed angrily at her, but then she added as she tried to defend herself from his attacks "You deserve to be sent to live in Tartarus, Akeno! You belong in a cage!", but after defending herself several times, Akeno finally managed to throw himself at Asha and then he managed to push her forcefully and then he angrily slammed her against a tree, thus almost knocking her out cold, but she tried to keep standing up to him, even if Akeno is younger and stronger than her, and even if he's also a male.

However, though she did everything she could to give him a fair beating, Akeno finally managed to knock her out cold and then he cried and yelled victoriously, and everyone else (except for Terrence) cried in unison "NOOOOOOOOO!", but then Terrence said "Oh, yes!" as an evil smile crept on his face begore he then slowly approached Asha's unconscious body, and then he checked on her by touching at her body with his trunk and determine if she's already dead or still alive, and after checking her for about two minutes, Terrence went up to Akeno and said to him "Akeno, Ash is still alive!", and then Akeno said to him "Just kill her, Terrence! What elephants like you are for?", and then Terrence remembered he's an elephant himself and said "Oh, right!", and then he went back to Asha so he can finish her off for good.

However, a young male okapi suddenly cried "Oh no, you don't!", and then all the young okapis ran up to Asha's unconscious body and then they started to attack Terrence from all directions to take him out, but even together, they're still no match for his massive size, as well as his remaining right tusk, and so he managed to throw them all back to their parents with his trunk and forelegs and he also managed to seize the one young female who befriended Bluebell by the neck and then he started to choke and squeeze at her windpipe to death as he tightened his grip on her neck with each second passing, but before he can take her out, Lin Raju came from the side and started to attack Terrence, thus prompting him to let go his grip and throw the young female okapi back down to the ground, before he then turned to face the Mammophant, who seemed very determined to take him out.

Then, Lin Raju and Terrence both started to charge at each other and then they both started to fight each other, and the young okapis encouraged him by calling and yelling to him "You can do this, Lin Raju! You're stronger than him! Show him what you're made of!", and the encouragement was enough to help Lin Raju in his fight against Terrence, and eventually, he gained the upper hand (or trunk), and then he used all the strength he had to throw the one-tusked African bush elephant at Akeno, but the evil okapi managed to get out of the way before he can get crashed by his larger pachyderm friend, thus getting Terrence knocked out, but not Akeno, who is still standing up to everyone all by himself.

However, Akeno had one last move up to his sleeve, which may still save him and his friends from further harm, and so he used his evil magic on all the adult okapis (except for the unconscious Asha) and he ended brainwashing them all and turning them into his slaves, and at the same time, he managed to use his magic to heal his four friends and help them stand back up on their feet again, and then he laughed evilly and said "You thought you can all stop me and my friends, don't you?! Well, guess what - there is no Asha no more! From now on, I'M the leader of the okapis, and nothing, NOTHING CAN STOP ME!", he raised his voice before he and his friends all laughed evilly.

Then, Twilight tried to use her magic to free them from Akeno's magic, but it turned out to be futile, and all the adult okapis gathered around Akeno and his friends, thus leaving all the young (and unaffected) okapis to watch helplessly as all their parents and elders were now Akeno's personal slaves, and this made Lin Raju glare at him angrily before he suddenly spoke up and said and demanded "You let the adults go, right now!", but then Terrence yelled at him "Will you shut your mouth, half mammoth!", and then Ganda added "Face it, you idiots! Now all the okapis were under our total control!", and then Sayla added as she gave everyone (including all the young okapis) "And now all their children have NOTHING!" and then Lysander continued "And NO ONE to care for them and for their young lives no more!", and then Akeno finished and said "With Asha is now gone, the children (young okapis) have no one to care for any of them anymore!", and then Terrence suddenly lit up his forehead in the same red aura as Lysander, Sayla and Akeno's, thus showing that now he can finally use the same evil magic they can, and then he said evilly "See ya all never!", and then he teleported and transported himself alongside Akeno, Sayla, Lysander, Ganda and all the brainwashed adult okapis to somewhere else far away from the Everfree Forest, thus disappearing from everyone's eyesights and leaving them, particularly all the young okapis, all alone.

Then, all the young okapis started to cry over having their parents and elders taken away from them by the adult male who was once one of them but is now a traitor to become his personal slaves, and so Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell, the mane seven, Ember, Spike and Lin Raju all worked together and they all attempted to calm down all the okapi children and reassure them that they will have their parents and elders returning back for them to reunite with them someday, and Lin Raju even let two of the young okapis to cry into the side of his body and feel his thick, half mammoth-like, half-woolly body, to help them calm down, and then Asha slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see everyone, who then noticed and gathered around her weak and dying body, and since Asha have no more strength to stand and get back up on her feet, she said and begged as she took her final breathes "Please, everyone...do me a last favor...please, take care of all of my family's youngsters...until...until you find a way to get their parents and elders back to them...", but then Lin Raju said to her and begged "Come on, Asha! Don't say that! You're going to be fine and nothing bad is going to happen to you! Please, you gotta stand back up on your feet! Show all of your grandchildren that you're strong! Please, Asha! You can't die! Please!".

However, Asha said while passing away from her wounds "I...I'm sorry, everyone, but it's too late for me now...", but then Chloe said "No!", and then Aylene added "Don't!", but then Asha weakly said "Goodbye...everyone...", and then she finally fell with her head to the ground down and then she stopped breathing, thus showing everyone that now she's gone for good. When they looked at Asha's dead body, the young okapis all cried and nuzzled against her, before Lin Raju then said to them "Shhh, please don't cry, little ones. Your grandmother may be gone, but we're still going to get your parents back to all of you someday. I promise.", and when all the young okapis heard what the Mammophant said to them, they all turned to him with tears still forming and rolling down their eyes, and then they all ran up to him and then they started to bury their faces into his thick and large half-woolly body, and everyone were so overjoyed to see Lin Raju actually comforting and acting very kindly to all the young okapis after their beloved grandmother died, and even Applejack and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but to shed tears of joy at the extremely beautiful sight, which may probably happen only once, if not twice in a lifetime.

However, when all the young okapis finally stepped aback from Lin Raju to give him some personal space, then Rarity asked "Where should we take all these poor little okapis to now?", and then Starlight asked "Should we bring them all to Ponyville?", and then Fluttershy added "Or to my animal sanctuary?", but then two familiar but good male voices suddenly said out loud together "We have a better idea!", and when everyone heard the two voices and what did they both said, they turned to see Shujaa and Kenai running towards them, with all the herds (the gorillas, the Indian elephants, the Sumatran rhinos and the tapirs) and even Shadie and Kumba the good crocodiles were all following them close behind.

When they all stopped in front of Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the others, Twilight then asked them in shock "What are you all doing here?", and then Queen Tukta said "We came here to say we're all sorry to know of Asha's death, but we also came here to say that we will mix our herds together to take care of all the young okapis until the adults will be reformed and a new good and wise leader will take place and succeed in where Asha have failed!", and then Mekong said "We've heard of what her so-called nephew Akeno did, and we all want you to know that we will care for all the young okapis! Together!", and then Angalifu added and vowed "When we see Akeno and his so-called friends, we will give them all the right punishment they all deserve!", and then Sariah added "That Akeno and his friends will eventually get exactly what they all deserve, and we all promise we'll crash them all for what they did to Asha!", and then Shadie said "That Akeno seems to have the nerve to kill his own aunt to become the new leader of her family against nature's laws!", and then Kumba added "But we promise you all that these five ferocious beasts won't stand up a chance the next time they will show up!".

When Lin Raju heard everything they all said, he said "I'm so grateful you all came here to help! If I would've tried to take care for all the young okapi children all by myself, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart surely would've found out and they would've killed them for their meat, and also would've fed them all to their Big cats they have! I'm happy to be helpful for only this once, but I promise I will sneak away and visit you all from time to time when I can!", and then Chloe said "Yes, I think it's time for us to go back home! Take care of all the young okapi children for us!", and then Kumba said "We will!", but then Bluebell asked the young female okapi whom she befriended one last thing before they're about to part ways - what's her name.

Then, the young female okapi said "I'm Opey, and I'm one of Asha's most beloved granddaughters! I'm truly loved and liked for the good okapi I am, and I will never be like that monster Akeno, or like any of his non-okapi friends!", and then Bluebell said to her "I'm so happy to hear that, Opey! But now It's time for us to part ways and go back to our respective homes!", and then Opey said to her "Goodbye, Bluebell! I will never forget you!", and then Bluebell said back "I will never forget you either, Opey! Goodbye!", and so Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell, Shujaa, Kenai, the mane seven and Spike all said goodbye to Lin Raju and to all the other animals, and then they all went back to the royal castle, where Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all said goodbye to Ember, who flew back to the Dragon Lands where she officially lives and rules as the dragon lord.

When nighttime came, everyone returned back to their respective homes, and Chloe and Aylene went to eat some dinner before they both went to their bed and fell asleep, and while sleeping, they both (especially Chloe) hoped that one day they will meet Ember again and have a good time with her, and maybe even find where Akeno and the other evil animals took all the adult okapis to, or then maybe even spy on them until they will be all eventually captured and sent to serve a bunch of life sentences in Tartarus for everything bad they've all done. But for now, Chloe and Aylene were both enjoying sleeping together and also have each other for the sisterly friendship and family bonds and the support they always need for the most.


	81. Chapter 80:Akeno kidnaps the CMC

A month have passed since Ember's visit in Canterlot and Asha's death at the hands (or even-toed hooves) of Akeno, who then brainwashed all the adult okapis and turned them all to his slaves, and as for the young okapis, including one female whose name was Opey, they're all doing fine because they're living with all the other animal herds, who mixed together to protect and keep all the young okapis safe until all the adults and elders will be released from Akeno's evil magic, and then an elder okapi (either male or female) will be chosen to replace the now deceased Asha.

Anyway, it was now 57 months (4 years and 9 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 45 months (3 years and 9 months) since Aylene became her beloved Pegasus pony sister, and the two often go to visit the herds in the Everfree Forest, who are all caring for and protecting the young okapis from any source of harm, and as for Opey, she became best friends with Kyra the Indian elephant, Albert the Sumatran rhinoceros and Milton the tapir, and they all ended up making friends with a male gorilla youngster from Angalifu's troop whose name is Georgie, and he's not older or younger but is just around their own age, and the five young animals formed an unlikely friendship that was unlike anything any other creature in Equestria have ever saw before with animals which are not ponies, yaks or other non-animal creatures (changelings, griffons, Hippogriffs, etc).

One day, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends went to the Everfree Forest to meet the herds and see how all the young okapis were all doing after Asha's death and their parents and elders' brainwashing and abduction (by Akeno), and upon meeting them all again, Opey, Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie all ran towards them to meet them, and the five young animals also wanted to show them all how they're been doing and getting along well with the other herds for over the last month since Asha's death and their parents and elders' brainwashing and abduction (by Akeno).

Opey showed Chloe and her friends how she managed to find and make new friends with Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie, despite none of them were okapis like her, but the five still like to have each other like anything nopony and no other creatures have ever seen before, and then Opey said "One day, we will find that Akeno, and then we'll teach him a lesson for messing up with my family and for destroying grandma Asha! Together we're strong and we won't let Akeno win ever again like he already did against poor grandma Asha!", and then Kyra said "He have the nerve to kill someone older than him just to seize and gain control on everything he wants!", and then Albert added "But he will pay for underestimating good animals and for his cruel and heartless behavior towards everyone but these four non-okapi best friends of his he have!", and then Milton added "He will pay for taking all the dearest adults and elders away from Opey and all her siblings and cousins, just to use them all as his and his evil friends' personal slaves!", and then Georgie spoke up and said "When we find that monster okapi and his four friends, we would like to give them all a taste of their own medicine! And also to have them all send to Tartarus for all of their inexcusable crimes, before and after they all met each other!".

Then, they all heard Lin Raju's voice calling "Hey! Hi there, everyone! Hello!", and when they all turned to the right, they saw Lin Raju coming towards them before he then stopped right in front of all of them (and in front of all the herds as well), and then Opey and all the other young okapis ran and raced up to meet him before they ended up trying to hug at his massive and half-woolly frame and size with their forelegs, much to Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends' joy to see the Mammophant whom the young okapis all loved so much for he was the one who comforted them all ever since Asha was killed by Akeno.

Then, when they all let go of Lin Raju and stepped aback to let him have some personal space, Opey said out of all the young okapis "I'm so happy you're back, Lin Raju! Out of all of us, I'm the one who truly missed you so much for the most!", and then Lin Raju said back giving her a kind smile "Thank you, little one.", and then he turned to the herds and asked "How is it going? Did any of you found any traces of Akeno which may lead to him or to his evil friends?", but then Queen Tukta said to him "No, not yet. But we're still trying though.", and then Mekong added "We know we still have to try and track them down or at least learn of their whereabouts so we can find and save all the adult and elder okapis, and then we'll take them all away from that despicable Akeno and from his friends!".

Then, Lin Raju said "For now, none of us really knows about Akeno and his friends' whereabouts, but we'll find out sooner or later where they went and where they currently are!", and then Stephan said to him "I think you have a point!", and then Chloe added "You've got it!", and then Aylene added "We'll eventually find Akeno and his friends and we'll teach them all a lesson for what they all did to poor Asha!", and then Bluebell said in agreement "And we will!" and then she added "We can't and we won't forgive for that inexcusable crime Akeno have done when he destroyed Asha like he did! We're going to find him and his friends and banish them all to Tartarus!", and then everyone cheered for what the human, Pegasus, two centaurs and Mammophant all said, and they all knew that Akeno, Lysander, Sayla, Ganda and Terrence cannot hide away in the shadows forever, and that sooner or later, the five will all be eventually caught for their crimes and will be sent and banished all together to Tartarus for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, in a big cave in the Badlands, Akeno, his friends and the brainwashed adult okapis (and the three last jackals) were all planning to use a young foal, a baby animal or any other young creature as a bait for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and so Akeno decided to send three of the brainwashed okapis to bring him and his friends someone whom they can use as the necessary bait (or if more - so baits) for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and so the three brainwashed okapis went out of the cave on a mission to kidnap someone young and bring him/her or them back to Akeno and his friends and use them as baits for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and after searching for the perfect place where they can exact and start with their plan, the three brainwashed okapis ended up reaching to Ponyville, and so they decided to go there and search for a colt or a filly they can kidnap and bring back to cave and use as a bait.

Eventually, the three brainwashed okapis stumbled upon four young foals whom they decided to kidnap and bring back to the cave to use as baits, and these four were none other than the CMC - Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Randall, the only main member of the CMC who is a colt and not a filly. The okapis decided to follow them and then they decided to snatch them all one by one, starting with Sweetie Belle. The okapis managed to slowly and carefully bite and grab Sweetie Belle by her tail, and then they threw her into a sack and then they closed and tied it up to prevent the Unicorn filly from having any way to escape.

Then, the okapis decided to take Randall next, and so they started to follow him from behind and while he's not even noticing them, one of them successfully snatched him by the tail and threw him into another sack and then they closed and tied it up to prevent the Earth pony colt from having any way to escape. Then, the okapis decided to take Apple Bloom next, and so they started to follow her from behind without she even noticing them, and while she's not looking back, one of the okapis seized her by her tail and threw her into a third sack and then they closed and tied it up to prevent the Earth pony filly from having any way to escape. Then, the okapis decided to kidnap Scootaloo as the last thing they will do before they will leave Ponyville and go all the way back to the cave, and so they all decided to follow behind Scootaloo and they waited for the right movement where they can abduct her as well, and once they got close enough to her while she's still completely unaware that they're right behind her, the okapis then grabbed and snatched her by the tail and then they threw her into a fourth sack and then they closed and tied it up to prevent the Pegasus filly from having any way to escape, thus having all four young foals captured.

Then, the three brainwashed okapis turned tail and started to run away and leave Ponyville with their four young hostages, and so they went all their way back to the cave in the Badlands, and upon finally arriving back there, the three brainwashed okapis untied and opened the sacks and showed the four young and terrified foals to Akeno and to his friends, and when Akeno saw the CMC, he said evilly "What a four-time surprise!" and then he laughed evilly before he then said to the three okapis who abducted "You may leave us be so my friends and I can speak to these four stupid stripeless little zebras!", and the brainwashed okapis obeyed, and so not only the three who abducted the CMC went deeper and darker into another part of the big cave, but also the rest of the brainwashed okapis all did the same thing their three friends did, thus leaving the CMC alone with Akeno, Lysander, Sayla, Ganda and Terrence.

Then, the five evil animals smiled and laughed evilly at the four terrified foals before Akeno stepped forward and said to them "Welcome to our cave, stripeless little zebras!", but then Scootaloo asked him "Why did you brought us here?", and then Terrence said "So we can use you four for our own benefits, of course!", but then Sweetie Belle asked "Like what?", and then Sayla came close to her and said evilly "Like help us capture and destroy Chloe, Aylene and their centaur friend Stephan, of course!", and then she gave the Unicorn filly a lowly chuckle, which did managed to scare her as she looked up at the adult female gorilla and recognized her by her evil face.

However, Randall said "Well, we're not staying here, and we're not going to help you either!", and then Apple Bloom cried "We're leaving!", but before they can turn to go, Lysander blocked their path and stopped them and said "I don't think so, my sweet little treats!", and then Ganda came and got right behind them and then she poked at their butts with her front horn and said evilly "You're all going to serve us and help us get our job done as soon as possible!", and then Terrence grabbed Apple Bloom by the waist with his trunk so not to choke and/or to kill her and then he said "You're going to be our cute and sweet little baits!", and then he wildly threw her into a cage, thus knocking her out cold.

When Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Randall all saw their unconscious friend lying down inside the cage, Sweetie Belle cried and yelled "How dare you?!", but then Ganda said evilly "You're next, Unicorn filly!", and then she grabbed Sweetie Belle by the tail with her mouth and then she tossed her and threw her into the cage, and she got knocked out cold as well. When Scootaloo and Randall saw their two unconscious friends lying down inside the cage, Scootaloo yelled "That's it! You five asked for it!", and then she charged at Sayla, but the gorilla moved out of the way and then she managed to grab Scootaloo by the right hind leg and hoof, and then she tossed her and threw her into the cage, and she got knocked out cold as well, thus leaving only Randall the only one who is not knocked out cold and/or thrown into the cage.

However, this made Randall angry to see his three friends being knocked out cold and inside the cage, and so he jumped on Akeno, climbed up on his neck and yelled at his in the face "You jerk!", and then he added "You let me and my friends go!", and then he started to bite hard onto the center of Akeno's snout just between the nostrils and above the upper lip, mouth and jaw, thus causing the okapi to scream in pain as he tried to shake Randall off himself, but the Earth pony colt still held tightly onto the okapi's face with his forelegs and hooves to prevent Akeno from throwing him off and into the cage, but then Terrence used his trunk to grab Randall by the tail and pull and get his grip off Akeno's face, before he then shook the colt wildly and then he threw him into the cage and knocked him out cold as well, before he then locked the cage to prevent the four foals from having any way or any chance to escape.

Then, Terrence turned to look at Akeno, but then he and the three other evil animals had shocked expressions on their faces when they saw what Randall actually did to Akeno's face - there was a painful bite mark from a colt's teeth on the center of Akeno's snout just between the nostrils and above the upper lip, mouth and jaw, and then Terrence asked in shock but also in horror "What did that monster for a stupid colt did to your face, Akeno?!", and then Akeno asked "What do you mean? What did he do to me?", and then Ganda cried "There's a scar running down the center of your snout, just between your nostrils and above your upper lip, mouth and jaw!", and then Sayla added "And I think it's starting to bleed!", and when Akeno heard what three of his friends said, he asked "A scar?!", and then Terrence used his new magic to make his forehead glow red and then he made a mirror appear out of thin air and then he levitated it and then placed it down in front of Akeno's face so he can see for himself that he indeed has a new scar right on his face.

When Akeno saw himself in the mirror, he screamed in horror when he saw the bleeding scar running down the center of his snout, and then he yelled "Doom on that stupid colt!" and then added "He will pay for giving me that scar on my face!", and just then, the CMC slowly got back to their consciousness and stood back up on their hooves, but then Akeno lowered his head down to the caged foals and yelled at them in anger, particularly at Randall in the face "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!", but then Randall asked him "What are you talking about?", and then Akeno yelled "You bit me and scarred my beautiful face!", and then he showed the four foals the new scar running down the center of his snout, before he then used his magic to clean all the blood from his new scar and then he said "As a punishment, you four are going to help us have our revenge on Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, stripeless zebras!", and then he turned tail and stormed off in anger, leaving the four foals shocked and also a bit confused.

Then, Lysander, Sayla and Ganda followed in the direction Akeno went and they wanted to find him and cheer him up, and Terrence was about to come with them too, but before he did so, he turned back and then he looked down at the CMC and said to them with evil eyes "When we destroy Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, my friends and I will have four pony skins hanging on our cave's walls!", but then Scootaloo warned "Don't you dare!" and then Sweetie Belle cried "You're a monster!", and then Apple Bloom yelled "You leave them alone!", and then Randall spoke last and said "And we're not going to help you draw them here to you, you manipulative jerks!", but then Terrence yelled at them all in the faces "YOU WILL! YOU ALL WILL!", and then he finally turned tail and stormed off in anger and followed his friends, thus leaving Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Randall all behind, and the four foals were all locked in a cage all alone (and they have just each other for support). However, the four still hoped their friends and sisters will come to rescue them all.


	82. Chapter 81:A mother's redemption

Meanwhile, back in the Everfree Forest, the herds were all happy and enjoying having fun with the baby okapis whom they all now care for the time being, and Opey is happy to be with her non-okapi friends - Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie. However, the herds still knew that they must find Akeno and his friends, capture them and help Celestia, Luna and the other rulers remove and take away their evil magic and then send the five to Tartarus.

However, back in Ponyville, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were all searching for their little sisters and brother, and then Applejack called "Apple Bloom! Where are you?!", and then Rarity joined her and cried "Sweetie Belle! Where did you gone?!", and then Rainbow Dash joined in and yelled "Scootaloo! Where are you hiding?!", and then joined in as well and Pinkie Pie screamed "Randall! This is no time to play hide-and-seek!", but the four foals didn't answered their respective older sisters, and there is a good reason why - the four were now Akeno's prisoners.

Back in Akeno's cave, the CMC were still trapped inside their cage, and then Sweetie Belle asked "How do we get out of here?", and then Randall said "I'm not sure how, but I think our only hope is to simply just wait for our big sisters to come looking for us.", and when she heard him saying that, Apple Bloom said "I hope so, Randall. I hope they'll eventually come here to find us.", but then a female voice said to them "Your big sisters aren't coming to look for any of you filthy foals!", and when the CMC all heard the evil voice talking to them about their sisters, they all turned to see Ganda looking at them with an evil smile creeping on her face, and then she added "Face it, stupid little ones - no one will come here to find you!".

When the heard what the evil female rhinoceros said, Scootaloo then asked her "Then what you suggest we should do?", and then Ganda said evilly "Oh, that choice is pretty simple - join our side, help us exact our revenge, and then you're free to go!", and then she asked "How does that sounds?", and then she lowered down onto her stomach and waited for the foals to give her an answer, but then Apple Bloom said "The answer is no!", and then Scootaloo added "We'll never join your side, you monster!", and then Randall yelled "We'll never let you use the four of us against our families and friends!", and then Sweetie Belle cried "Now get us out of here or else you will pay!".

However, Ganda just laughed evilly at them and said "Just as I thought! You four are such stubborn foals who doesn't want to help us! That's a shame, because that means we'll never let you go!", but then Randall yelled at her "You set me and my friends free or else we'll ask Twilight and the other princesses to cut off your horns and then burn them to ash!", and then he asked "Is this what you want?!", and when Ganda heard what the Earth pony colt said, she froze in place and looked at him and at his three filly friends in shock, but then she quickly shook her head and snapped out of her shocked state before she then said "Why should I even care! Female rhinos can live much more better without horns and still survive longer than females who still have their horns!", and then Scootaloo asked "Oh yeah?! And how or why is that?", and then Ganda explained "Because rhinos with horns are more vulnerable than rhinos which had their horns cut without getting killed, because poachers always target rhinos for their horns! But if you cut a rhino's horn while keeping it alive throughout the process and ending up successful, poachers will be much LESS interested in the hornless rhino!".

Then, Ganda said evilly "Now, if you four excuse me, I have to go back to my friends! And don't bother try to escape, because there's no way out of this cage! See you all later!", and then she finally turned tail and ran away and went back to her friends, thus leaving the CMC trapped and locked in the cage all alone once again. While still trapped and locked inside the cage, Randall said as he felt almost hopeless about getting rescued "I wish Pinkie Pie and her friends were all here to save us.", but then Scootaloo said to him "We shouldn't listen to what that crazy female rhino said about our big sisters not coming to look for us!", and then Sweetie Belle cried "I'm sure Rarity is worried sick about us, and especially about me!", and then Apple Bloom said in agreement "You may be right, our big sisters may be trying looking for us, and I bet they won't stop until they finally find us!", and when Randall heard everything they all said, tears of hope formed and rolled down his eyes and then he said to his three filly friends "Thank you!", and then the four foals went up to each other and then they gave each other a group hug, and they all hoped that their big sisters whom they love so much will eventually come to their rescue.

Meanwhile, in White Tail woods (or Whitetail woods), Trixie Lulamoon was been waiting for her friend, Starlight, to come and meet her again, since the two were good friends, and in fact, Starlight is Trixie's assistant in her magic shows, since Trixie was in fact a magician pony (though she still needs Starlight's help and assistance to master her own magic), but upon seeing that Starlight isn't coming, the magician Unicorn pony said "I wonder why it's taking so long for Starlight to come here to meet me again.", and then she added and asked herself "Maybe she went to have some fun with Twilight and with her friends? Or maybe she's working in the School of Friendship as its guidance counselor?", and then Trixie let out a sigh as she thought something really bad might've happened to Starlight.

Then, after a few minutes of thinking to herself, Trixie finally made it up in her mind and decided she should probably go look for Starlight, and so she said as she started to walk away from her wagon "I'm coming for you, my friend and assistant, Starlight.", and later on, she added as she left Whitetail woods and went on her way towards Ponyville "I'm coming to meet you again, Starlight, to make sure to let you know that I'm always okay.", but what Trixie didn't know is that Starlight went with Twilight and with the others to look for the CMC after the four were kidnapped (or foal-napped) by Akeno's brainwashed okapis in order to use the foals as baits for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.

Meanwhile, the mane seven were all searching for the missing CMC, but they're still no closer to finding them, and then Rainbow Dash asked "Where did they gone?", and then Rarity added dramatically "Where's my little sister?", but then Twilight said to them "It's okay, calm down! We'll find them!", and then Starlight added "Yes! They may have gone far away, but I'm sure we can still find them if we keep working together!", and then Applejack said in agreement "That's right! Apple Bloom and her friends were all probably waiting for us at some unknown place, waiting for us to come here and take them back home with us!", and then he she added "I just hope Akeno and his friends aren't the ones who are pulling the strings in this case!", and then Pinkie Pie said "If Akeno and his friends indeed foal-napped Randall and the fillies, then I'll be glad to shoot that no good okapi out of my party cannon!", and then Fluttershy added "And I will use my stare on him and on his evil friends and scare them all to death with it for foal-napping such sweet little fillies and colt!", and then Twilight said "In that case, we all must go and find where did that Akeno and his evil friends took Randall and the fillies to!", and then the six other mares said in both agreement and in unison "Right!", and then the mane seven continued together to search for the missing foals, and they new one thing is certain - when they will find the CMC, they will find Akeno and his friends too.

Meanwhile, back in the Everfree Forest, Opey and her friends were playing with each other, and so they decided to go and play together away from the herds to have some time with only each other, but before they knew what's going on, they all got lost. The five wild animal friends started to search for their way back to the herds, but they failed finding their way back to them, and instead, they all ended up leaving the Everfree Forest and going to the Badlands, where Akeno and his friends live with all the brainwashed okapis, and the mane seven were all heading there too. As for Trixie, she too went to the Badlands after the mane seven to search for them, and particularly for Starlight, but what she, the mane seven and the five young wild animals (who are all traveling to the same place) don't know is that once they will find and enter Akeno's cave one after another, they're all heading into a trap.

Opey and her four non-okapi friends continued to travel through the Badlands until they all ended up reaching and entering Akeno's cave, and inside the cave, Georgie the gorilla asked his friends "Guys, where are we?", and then Albert said "I don't know, but I definitely don't like it.", and then Kyra added "Me neither.", but then Opey stopped dead in her tracks and shushed her friends when she suddenly heard an awfully familiar grown up male voice crying, and then she told her friends to follow her lead but be very careful with each step they're making, since she knew this crying voice very well - it was Akeno, and he's crying over having the new scar on the center of his snout (and right on his face).

When Opey reached behind a rocky wall which also a corner with her friends following in tow, she was the first of them all who slowly took a peek and she was shocked to see Akeno sitting down onto his haunches and crying like he never did before, and she was even more shocked to see the new scar he had on the center of his snout and right on his face, and then she quickly hid herself back behind the rocky wall to prevent Akeno from spotting her, and just after she managed to hide herself behind the rocky wall, Akeno stood up on his feet once again and cried with anger can be seen as tears formed in his eyes "That stripeless zebra colt with the spiky mane and tail, he ruined my beautiful face!", and when Opey and her friends all heard what he said, they all became curious and they wanted to know what he's talking about, but then Opey suddenly felt an elephant's trunk suddenly touching roughly at the back of her neck, and at first she thought it was Kyra, and so she said to her "Don't touch me like that, Kyra!", but then Kyra the elephant cried and said back "It wasn't me!".

Then, an adult male voice said evilly "No, it wasn't her at all! It was ME!", and Opey heard the adult male voice coming from behind her, she swallowed nervously and then she slowly turned around to see Terrence roughly touching and stroking at her back with his trunk, and then he said to her and to her friends, who are now terrified by his massive size and intimidating appearance "I see have here some new guests, haven't we?", and then he laughed evilly, thus causing the five young animals to scream and start to run away for their lives, but Terrence started to chase after them and he tried and attempted to catch up with them so he can imprison them all and put them in the cage (alongside the CMC).

Opey, Kyra, Albert, Milton and Gerogie all tried to outrun Terrence, who kept catching up with them (due to an adult African bush elephant being able to run in a fast burst of speed of up to 40 miles per hour), and they tried to get to the rock walls and hide behind them and wait for Terrence to just pass by, but Terrence knew their trick and so he pulled out his own trick ahead of them, and so he decided to pretend to be leaving them alone by just running by when they tried to hide away from him, and when Opey and her friends sloly came out of hide after he left, he suddenly appeared in front of them and started to chase after them once again, thus showing them he's not an animal which they can pull their tricks on that easily, due to African bush elephants being one of the three most smartest mammalian animals who still lives today, the other two were the Bottlenose dolphins and the humans (who are still certainly considered animals because humans are primates).

Then, Lysander and Sayla came out of nowhere and helped Terrence ambush Opey and her friends, thus capturing Kyra and Georgie, and also prompting Opey, Albert and Milton to continue to run together for their lives in an attempt to lose their much larger enemies, but then Ganda came out of nowhere and helped her friends capturing Albert and Milton, thus leaving Opey to continue to run away for her own life, and eventually, she ended up reaching to the cage where the CMC were locked up, and so she decided to open the cage and set the four foals free and out of it, but then she's suddenly got pinned down to the floor by Akeno, who managed to catch and trap her in and between his legs before he looked down at her with evil eyes and said to her evilly "Going somewhere?", and then he knocked her out cold with a kick to the head, and then he used his magic to open up the cage and throw Opey inside it, but before he can close and lock the cage again, his own friends came while leading Opey's friends to the cage so he can put them inside it and imprison them all as well, and so Akeno used his magic to levitate up and then throw Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie into the cage, and then he closed and locked it to prevent the five young animals from having any way to escape, thus now having nine young hostages which he (Akeno) and his evil friends (Terrence, Lysander, Sayla and Ganda) can all use to destroy Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.

When Opey and her friends recovered and got back up on their feet, they found themselves locked together with the CMC in the same cage, before Randall and Scootaloo approached them with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle following in tow, and then Randall asked "Hello, what are you five doing here?", but then Opey stepped aback and begged from the light green Earth pony colt "Please, don't hurt me! I may be an okapi, but I'm not like Akeno! I'm just a kid!", but then Scootaloo asked "Why should we hurt you?", and then Apple Bloom added and said "It's okay, okapi. We mean you and your friends no harm.", and then Sweetie Belle said to the five young animals "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!", and then she introduced herself and said "I'm Sweetie Belle! Rarity's younger sister!", and then Apple Bloom added "I'm Apple Bloom! Applejack's younger sister!", and then Randall continued "I'm Randall! Pinkie Pie's younger brother! I'm also the only official main member of our team to be a colt!", and then Scootaloo finished "And I'm Scootaloo! Rainbow Dash's younger sister!", and then she added and said "And together we are...", and then the four foals jumped up and yelled happily in unison "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!", but then they saw this caused Opey and the other animals to shake in a bit of fear due to hearing them yelling out loud while introducing themselves, and this caused Scootaloo to say "Oops!", and then Randall stepped forward and gave his right foreleg and hoof to Opey and to the other animals and said to them "We're sorry! We didn't meant to yell in front of you all like this!".

Then, when Opey and the other animals saw Randall giving his right forehoof to them and giving them a smile to reassure them that he and his three filly friends won't hurt them, Opey slowly stepped forward and gave her right foreleg and even-toed hoof to shake the colt's hoof with her own, and once the two shook each other's hooves, Opey said though in a bit timid voice tone "W-well, I'm Opey! I-it's nice to meet you too, Randall!", and then she turned around and motioned with an even-toed forehoof of hers at each of the young animals who stood behind her and then she said to the CMC as she slowly got more confidence in her voice "These are my four best friends! Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie!", and then Georgie raised his left hand up and said to the CMC "Hi there! It's nice to meet you all!", and then Scootaloo said to him back "Likewise!".

However, they all suddenly heard someone stomping his foot on the cave's floor, and so when they all turned, they saw Akeno, who have stomped his even-toed hoof on the cave's floor in front of their cage, but then they also saw the adult male okapi's evil eyes looking right at them all, before he then yelled angrily at the nine young hostages "SHUT UP!", but then Opey asked "Excuse us?", and then Akeno yelled "YOU NINE MAY HAVE BECOME FRIENDS THIS EASILY, BUT NONE OF YOU ARE GOING ANYWHERE! YOU WILL BE LIVING IN THIS CAGE AS MY HOSTAGES, AND WHEN THE TIME COMES, MY FRIENDS AND I WILL SURELY COME HERE AND DESTROY YOU ALL!", and then he called for one of his brainwashed adult okapis to come and help by guarding the cage for his friends and him, and soon enough, an adult female okapi ran up towards Akeno and stopped right in front of him and the nine young hostages.

When Opey saw the adult female okapi who stood in front of her and her friends, she quickly recognized and knew who that adult female was - it was none other than Opey's mother. Akeno then said to Opey's brainwashed mother "You stay here, guard the cage and keep an eye on the prisoners, okay?", and then Opey's mother nodded and said "As you wish, your highness.", and then Akeno said to her "Good! Now I gotta go and be with my friends! And you stay here and keep an eye on the prisoners and make sure they don't escape!", and then Opey's mother said "Yes, King Akeno.", and when they all heard what she said, everyone, particularly Opey, gasped in shock, but Akeno, on the other hand, just smiled at her and then he smirked evilly and said to her "I always liked to be called a king, darling! Now have fun with the prisoners and make sure they don't escape!", and then he turned tail and started to run away and leave Opey's brainwashed mother alone with the young hostages, including her own daughter (Opey herself).

Then, Opey cried for her brainwashed mother "Mommy!", but then Randall asked her "You know that adult female okapi, Opey?", and then Opey said and explained "Yes, she's my mother!", and when everyone heard what she said, the CMC and Opey's non-okapi friends all gasped in shock before they said out loud in unison "WHAT?!", and then Opey cried again for her brainwashed mother and said "Mommy! It's me, your daughter, Opey!", and even though the brainwashed adult female okapi did heard what she said and then turned around and looked down at her daughter in the eyes, she still didn't recognized her at all.

However, Opey didn't gave up and so she cried "Mommy, it's me!", but then the brainwashed adult female okapi asked her "Who are you?", and then Opey cried "Mommy! Don't you remember me? I'm your own daughter! I'm Opey!", but then Opey's brainwashed mother said back to her "That name means nothing to me, prisoner! I don't even have any children! Tell me what you really want!", and when Opey heard what her own mother just said to her, she gasped in shock and then she cried "Mommy! I can't believe you completely forgotten me! I'm your daughter! And I love you!", but then her brainwashed mother yelled at her in the face "Shut up your mouth, prisoner! I don't even have a daughter! Akeno is my husband! We don't yet have any children!", but then Opey cried and yelled to her mother as tears of sadness started to form in her eyes "No! Akeno is not your husband! He's a vicious traitor who betrayed our family!", and then she added "Don't you see that, Mommy? Akeno has brainwashed you and all the adults and elders, and he's fooling you all to make you think that he's the rightful leader of our family!".

However, Opey's mother said to her daughter "What are you even saying, prisoner?! Akeno is our family's rightful leader!", but then Opey cried "No! You're wrong! Asha is our family's rightful leader! She may be gone, but we should never forget all the good things she have done to us before what Akeno did to her! Don't you see, mommy! Akeno destroyed Asha and then he took you all under his lead against your own will!", and then she cried out loud "YOU DON'T KNOW ME ANYMORE, MOMMY!", and then she finally burst into tears and the CMC and her four non-okapi friends all went up to her and hugged her all around her body to comfort her.

However, after no more than just two minutes, something started to happen to Opey's mother - she suddenly started to recall and remember all the good memories she had with her daughter so far, from the moment she (Opey) was born to just before Asha's death, and at first Opey's mother struggled and didn't know who she should trust and believe and/or what to choose, but after having an inner struggle for a few moments, she finally made it up in her own mind and then she managed to snap out of Akeno's evil magic and redeem herself back to normal, thus finally setting herself free from Akeno's evilness.

Then, Opey's mother shook her head from side to side to shake away the dizziness she got when she snapped out of her brainwashing for a few moments, and once she got her vision and eyesight cleared from the dizziness, she looked down and saw her own daughter crying with her friends and the CMC all around her and trying to comfort her, and this made the okapi mother gasp in shock before she quickly lowered down onto her haunches and then tears started to form in her own eyes to see her own daughter this very sad, and then she softly and kindly asked "Opey?", and when Opey heard her mother's soft and kind voice speaking to her again for the first time since before Asha's death, Opey sniffled before she looked up to see her mother sitting down and looking at her with some tears forming in her own eyes, and when she saw and realized her mother is no longer under Akeno's vicious influence, Opey quickly got up on her feet and then she ran towards the the cage's iron bars and then she stuck her own head and neck between the iron bars to get much of herself out of the cage as possible and then she cried "Mommy!", and then her mother responded by lowering her own head down to her and then she started to nuzzle Opey's face and she tried to calm her down by saying "Shhh, it's okay, Opey. It's alright, everything's fine. Your Mommy's back.", and then Opey cried to her mother "Mommy! I truly missed you! I thought you don't love me anymore!", but then the okapi mother tried to calm her down and said "But I do love you, and I always will. You're my daughter, and I love you with all my heart.".

When the CMC and Opey's friends all saw the touching moment between Opey and her own mother, they all couldn't help but cry tears of joy, and when Opey calmed down thanks to her now redeemed-back-to-normal mother, the mother okapi then asked her daughter "What is this horrible place?", and then Opey said "It's Akeno's cave, he brainwashed you and all the adults and elders, and then he and his friends took you all here, but thanks to me, you're now free from his influence.". However, when Opey's mother heard what her own daughter said, she gasped in shock and asked "Where's Asha? Is she okay?", but then Opey cried "She's gone! Akeno destroyed her!".

When the mother okapi heard what her daughter Opey said, she gasped in shock, before she then growled in anger and said "How dare he?! That traitor dared to kill my family's leader! How he could've done such thing?! How could he turn us adults and elders on our own children and make us leave them all alone and join him just like that?! He's so barbaric!", and then Opey said to her mother "Please, Mommy! Help us get out of here!", and when she heard what her own daughter said, Opey's mother said "Oh, yes! Or course! I will get you and all of your friends out of here in no time!", and then Opey said back to her mother with a smile "That's my mom!".

Then, Opey's mother thought about a plan to get her own daughter, her friends and the CMC out of their cage so she can set them free and then escape from Akeno's cave with all of them, and just then, Terrence the elephant came by to check on her and on the young prisoners, and so Opey's mother decided to pretend to be scolding her own daughter and her friends in front of him in an attempt to fool him into thinking that she's still brainwashed, but then Terrence cleverly looked very close into her eyes and saw that Akeno's influence doesn't have any effect on her anymore, thus causing him to yell "You snapped out of control! You're back to normal! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!", and this caused Opey, her mother, her friends and the CMC to gasp in shock all together when they realized that Terrence is not fooled by the okapi mother's trick at all and that he found out that she snapped back to normal, thus prompting Opey's mother to then push and force him to charge into the cage and destroy apart of it without having anyone getting hurt in the process, thus finally setting Opey, her friends and the CMC free and they all got out from the broken cage, seconds before Opey's mother then tripped the big male African bush elephant with an even-toed hoof of hers, which causes Terrence to lose his balance and fall down onto his side, thus getting knocked out cold and unconscious.

With Terrence knocked out cold and unable to move, Opey, her mother, her friends and the CMC all saw this as their chance to escape from Akeno's cave, and so Kyra the Indian elephant cried "We can finally escape from the cave!", and then Opey's mother said to everyone "Come with me, little ones! Let's get out of here!", and then everyone nodded in agreement before they all started to run away together and they all started to search for their way out of Akeno's cave, but they all knew that they must do so quickly, or else Akeno and his friends will capture them again, and this time - they will imprison Opey's mother as well alongside the children (including her own daughter, Opey) for snapping out of her brainwashing and for betraying Akeno.


	83. Chapter 82:Trixie to the rescue

Back with the mane seven, they all already reached the Badlands, and they also managed to reach all the way and arrive at the opening of Akeno's cave, but before they can enter, they all suddenly heard a familiar female voice who suddenly called for Starlight by calling her name, thus causing Starlight and the six other mares to turn around and see Trixie trotting and galloping fast towards them, and eventually she ended up stopping right in front of them and started to breath in and out heavily from running this so much fast to catch up with Starlight, Twilight and their friends.

When they all saw Trixie in front of them (since they all turned around to face her), Starlight said "Trixie! It's you!", but then she also asked "What are you doing out here in the Badlands?", and then Trixieis slowly recovered herself after she galloped so much fast like she just did and so she then said "I went to Ponyville to meet you, but then I found out that you have gone with Twilight and her friends so I went looking for you!", and when Stralight and the others all heard what she said, Starlight placed her hoof on Trixie's shoulder and said to her "I'm happy you came to meet me again, Trixie, though you didn't really had to go after us to the Badlands to meet me. You could've just simply waited until I return with my friends back to Ponyville and then we would've told you why did we went here in the first place.".

Then, Trixie said back to her "I know, but I was so worried that something bad might've happened to you while you're gone with Twilight and her friends!", but then Twilight interrupted and said "It's alright, Trixie. Starlight is fine and so were us too. You have nothing to worry about any of us.", and then Trixie said to her "Thanks, Twilight.", but then she asked "Anyway, what is this place in the middle of the Badlands? And why we're all this very close to a big cave?", and then Twilight explained "This is Akeno's cave, and we're all going inside there to save my friends' sisters and brother!", and when Trixie heard Twilight saying and mentioning Akeno's name, the magician Unicorn pony then asked "Akeno? Who's he?", and then Twilight explained "He's a mad okapi who hates both humans like Chloe and also us ponies because some from both of our kinds have killed his own brother and son at two different times before Chloe even arrived in Equestria!".

When Trixie heard what Twilight said about Akeno, she then asked her "Does he knows about Chloe?", but then Rainbow Dash said "He doesn't only knows Chloe, but he also know Aylene as well, and he truly hates both of them to the point he wishes them both to die for both being a human and a pony, though he's the one who started harassing them, and not them harassing him! To make matters worse, he continued abusing and tormenting them both and he showed no mercy at all! He's one of the worst animal villains we know who dares to bring and mean lots of harm to both Chloe and Aylene repeatedly, and I'm afraid he may never stop until he eventually collapses and dies when he gets too old to even stand up!".

When Trixie heard what the rainbow-maned Pegasus mare said, she and the mane seven all suddenly heard Akeno's voice roaring in anger from inside the cave "YOU ALL GET BACK HERE, YOU STRIPELESS LITTLE ZEBRAS! YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS YOU'RE ALL IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!", and then Trixie asked with a bit of fear in her voice "Is that Akeno?", and then Twilight said "Yes, it's him!", and then she said to her friends "Let's go girls!", and Starlight was about to come and help too, but then Twilight said to her "Trixie, you stay at the cave's entrance and wait for us all to come back with Randall and the fillies! We can handle things on our own without your help!", but then Trixie said "But I want to come and help too! After all, I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie!" and then she reared up onto her hinder legs and hooves and gave a smile.

However, Twilight said to her "Trixie, I know you want to come and help, but if you follow us into the cave, Akeno and his friends will rip you to shreds! You must stay here and wait for us all to return!", and Trixie knew that Twilight will not allow her to join and go into Akeno's cave so not to let her get herself killed, and so Trixie finally sighed and bowed her head in defeat and said "Fine, I will stay outside and wait for all of you to come back together.", and when Twilight heard what she said, the Alicorn said "Good, now I promise you it won't take us very long. We will be back with Randall and the fillies before you know it. I promise.", and so once Twilight was done talking to Trixie and giving her a fair warning about why she shouldn't go after her and her friends and enter Akeno's cave, Twilight turned tail and went inside the cave after her friends to save the CMC, the young animals and the now redeemed Opey's mother from Akeno and from his evil friends, thus leaving the disappointed Trixie to stay and wait at the entrance of the cave all alone.

Meanwhile, Opey, her mother, her friends and the CMC were all trying to escape and avoid being captured by Akeno and his friends all together, but Akeno had another trick up to his sleeve which can actually do - he's a shape-shifting okapi (after he got and received the same evil magic powers as Lysander, Sayla and even Terrence), and therefore he can transform to whatever he can to get exactly what he and his friends wants, which was in this case - Opey, her mother, her friends and the CMC. Then, Akeno used his evil magic to transform himself into Thorax so he can fly and catch up with the young prisoners and with the mother okapi and capture them all much quicker than expected, and so he then started to fly fast (in his Thorax form) towards Opey, her mother, her friends and the CMC, and he seemed to be able to catch up to them and seize them all in his grasp as with each passing moment, he got closer and closer to his targets and he almost got close enough to all of them at once.

However, just before he can snatch Opey first with his magic, Akeno was suddenly hit by two magic blasts, which came from Twilight and Starlight, who came with their friends in time to save the CMC, Opey, her mother and her friends, and thus causing Akeno to transform back to his true and normal okapi form and look at the mane seven with anger burning in his eyes, before he then said to them all in pure anger "How dare you all come here! This is my cave!", but then Twilight said to him "You're out of control, Akeno!", and then Starlight added "And we're all going to stop you and your friends from achieving your evil goals!", but then Akeno shock his head in disagreement and evilly asked "Is that what you really think?!", and then suddenly, Lysander, Sayla, Terrence and Ganda all came out of nowhere and they all started to surround the mane seven, the CMC, Opey, her mother and her friends, and then Lysander, Sayla and Terrence all transformed themselves into Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and King Pharynx, respectively, and then they used their magic to turn them all into stone statues, and it didn't took long before everyone started to feel their legs, hooves or even their toes (in Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie's cases) cannot move, and so when they looked down, they saw they're all slowly turning into stone statues, much to Akeno's enjoyment before he then transformed himself into King Thorax once again and then he used his own magic to help his friends make the petrifying process go even faster and get it done quicker than expected.

However, Akeno and his friends then decided to stop the petrifying process once the mane seven, the CMC, Opey, her mother and her friends were all petrified up to their necks, thus leaving all their heads unpetrified, but in the process, Akeno also managed to steal Twilight, Starlight and Rarity's magic and then he said particularly to the three of them "Now you and your friends surely cannot escape us anymore!", and then he and his friends burst into an evil laughter all together, before he, Lysander, Sayla and Terrence all transformed back to their normal animal forms, and then Ganda the rhinoceros pointed with a foreleg and foot and said evilly as she looked down at all the four foals and five young animals "There's no escape, stupid little ones!", and then she alone cackled evilly in their faces, thus causing Opey to start crying in fear because the female rhinoceros managed to scare her with her massive size, intimidating appearance, but most likely - her heartless nature, and even Kyra, Albert, Milton, Georgie and the CMC all had tears of fear forming in their eyes as Ganda's evil words clearly managed to both insult and threaten them all.

However, then, everyone suddenly heard a familiar voice calling and yelling "Leave my friends alone!", and when everyone heard what the voice said, and all turned to see Trixie coming towards them and then stopping in front of the five evil animals, and out of them all - right in front of Akeno himself. When they all saw Trixie facing Akeno, Starlight asked in shock "Trixie?! What are you doing?!", and the Trixie said back as she looked up at Akeno with determined eyes "I'm here to save all of you!", but then Twilight yelled "No! Don't do this, Trixie! Akeno will turn you into stone if you make him really angry!", but then Trixie said to her back "Don't worry, girls! I got a plan in mind! Let me handle this!", but just then, Akeno lowered his head down to look at her in the eyes and then he asked evilly "And who are you, horned stripeless zebra?!", and this made Trixie gasp in shock at first, but then she took a deep breath and said "Hi there.", and then she asked "Who are you?", and then Akeno yelled "I'm Akeno, Asha's nephew, but I ended up destroying her for not listening to my scarred mind!", and when Trixie heard what he said, she then said to him back as she gave the evil okapi a smile "So you must be that Akeno the okapi my friends told me about, don't you, Sir?".

However, when Akeno heard what the magician Unicorn mare just said to him, he gasped in shock as he kept looking down at her in the eyes, before she then said "I'm waiting.", but then Akeno quickly snapped out of his shocked state and then he said to her evilly "Yes! I'm Akeno! And soon enough, my friends and I will turn you into stone!", but then Trixie said and asked "Oh my! You wouldn't want to hurt a lady, would you?", but then Akeno said "I will hurt anyone who is not an okapi! Except for my four best friends - Lysander, Sayla, Terrence and Ganda! But two creatures, or in fact may I say species I hate so much were hairless apes like Chloe and stripeless zebras like you and most of your friends!". However, Trixie gasped in shock and then she said and asked "Akeno! I can't believe you just said that, Sir! You shouldn't pick on ladies! Neither on cute little innocent children! Where did you learned to become so disrespectful to almost everyone you see or meet for the first time?", and then she gave the okapi a smile as she asked "Were you once a father who lost his only son?".

However, when Akeno heard Trixie mentioning his own son in his presence, this made him start shaking in anger as he looked down at the magician Unicorn mare with a scowl quickly forming on his evil face, before he then yelled at her "How dare you mention my late son in my presence, you filthy stripeless zebra!", but then Trixie pretended to be sad and she said "Oops, I didn't meant to hurt your feelings, Akeno. But I still have some point in my words - these two okapis standing right there who are both petrified up to their necks were a mother and her child.", and then she asked him "Wouldn't you show them mercy and set them free from your spell?", but then Akeno yelled at her "Why should I?! I don't want to set them free! They're both my enemies, and so were all these stripeless zebras and other stupid little animals right there!", but then Opey interrupted and then she said and asked "Yes, she does have a point - wouldn't you have any mercy in your heart and set me and my mommy free?", and then her mother added and asked "Yes, Akeno, what do you say?".

However, Akeno was stubborn and he was hard to break down, and so he yelled angrily "NO!", and then he added "I'M NOT GOING TO SET ANY OF YOU FREE! NEITHER ANY OF MY FRIENDS WILL DO THE SAME THING!", but then Trixie said to him "I think it's time for me to tell you who I am - I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie!", and then she blasted at Akeno with her magic and managed to set Opey free from the petrifying effects in the process, thus turning her back to normal and setting her free from Akeno and his friends' magic, much to the evil animals' shock to know that what Trixie actually did was enough to rescue Opey from their evil magic.

Then, when Akeno recovered and stood back up again, he then saw Opey was free from his and his friends' magic, and then he gasped in shock before he quickly turned to look back at Trixie with an angry face, and then yelled and cried evilly "That's it! I will destroy you now!", but before Akeno can attack Trixie, Opey quickly ran towards him and then she kicked and bucked him in the crotch with both of her hind legs, thus making him scream and also setting Georgie free from the evil animals' magic at the same time, and thus also returning him back to normal, thus destroying the petrifying effects on him and setting him free as well, before he then ran towards Akeno to join both Trixie and Opey and help them beat Akeno until all their friends were all set free from his and his friends' evil magic, as well as returning Twilight, Starlight and Rarity's stolen magic back to them before they can and will escape and leave Akeno's cave all together.

However, then, Akeno called and yelled to his four friends "Don't just stand here, guys! Get them! The more they beat me - the more they destroy the effects of our magic - and setting their friends free!", and when they all heard what their okapi friend said, Lysander, Sayla, Terrence and Ganda all started to run and charge towards Trixie, Opey and Georgie, but the three cleverly used their teamwork and also thought together of a quick plan to set all their friends free, and to do so - they must outsmart Akeno's friends to get to Akeno himself and then beat him repeatedly until his and his friends' evil magic loses all its effects on everyone else and will result in them all returning back to normal and getting set free.

Then, Lysander made the first move by jumping in front of Trixie and the two young animals and blocking their path to Akeno by using his jaws and tail to keep them away, but then Opey just turned tail and kicked and bucked him in the face and threw him back, thus allowing both Trixie and Georgie to run towards Akeno, but before they can get to him, Sayla stopped them and tried to chase them away, only to end up getting attacked and bitten by Georgie, thus allowing Trixie alone to continue to trot and gallop until she finally reached and got close enough to Akeno and then she jumped up and slapped him across the face, thus turning Milton back to normal and setting him free from Akeno and his friends' magic (and thus also allowing him to run back and join up with the others and help setting the rest of their friends free).

Trixie led everyone into a fight against Akeno and his friends and during the fight, Kyra, Albert, Opey's mother and even Starlight were all set free and Starlight got her magic back, thus allowing her to help Trixie and the others continue to attack and defeat Akeno (and also his friends). However, Akeno and his friends did everything they all can to outsmart Trixie (and also everyone else), and this is to prevent them all from setting Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and the CMC from their magic effects.

However, after a long fight with the animal villains and after attacking Akeno so many times, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and the CMC were all turned back to normal and they were all set free from Akeno and from his friends' magic effects (with Twilight and Rarity getting their own magic back to themselves), and with all the five villainous animals were all now lying down and were all too weak to fight, this is the chance everyone waited to, and so they all started to run away and eventually got out and escaped from Akeno's cave, and after traveling all the way back to the Everfree Forest to give Kyra, Albert, Milton, Gerogie back to the herds, but also to show to all the young okapis that Opey's mother have redeemed herself from Akeno's influence and managed to escape from him, Twilight and her friends told the herds how Trixie actually dared to risk her life and helped leading an attack on Akeno and his friends to save everyone from them and escape their cave, and for Trixie, it was one of the most happiest days of her life, because she dared to stand up to and even took on one of the worst animal villains known in all of Equestria.


	84. Chapter 83:Yigal's new child (part 1)

Two weeks have passed since Akeno and his friends kidnapped the CMC to use them as a bait for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, only for them (the CMC) end up getting rescued from them (Akeno and his friends), alongside Opey, her friends, her mother and the mane seven by Trixie, who dared to mess with Akeno and drive him mad, but she came out the winner when she rescued everyone else from him and from his four evil friends (Lysander, Sayla, Terrence and Ganda), thus showing that Trixie is the second who dared to mess up with Akeno (Stephan was the first, when he gave fair beatings to Akeno), and for now, everyone were all safe and sound from harm.

One day, in a dark part of the Everfree Forest, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their evil animals were all enjoying eating their meals inside their second, huge and current house, but when Tony Black the tiger remained hungry even after eating meat, he turned to his human owner and then he asked him to go outside and hunt for him a wild boar to eat, but at first, Yigal refused since the pure black tiger just finished eating his meal, but then he let himself give in and so he decided to go outside and hunt some wild boars for food, and then Yigal left his house to hunt for food all alone and all by himself.

Yigal searched for wild boars so he can hunt some and bring them back home with him to make food for not only his most beloved pure black tiger, but also to the other carnivorous animals in his family's team, and even for his own older brothers, and after traveling far away from his home, Yigal finally found a herd of wild boars, and so he prepared himself as he was also about to use his own weapons, such as his small but sharp pocket knife, as well as his bow and arrows, and then he started to crouch down and he slowly began to move towards the wild boars without startling any of them, and he did so behind some nearby bushes, and when the moment he waited for came in the right time, Yigal burst out of the bushes and used his weapons to hunt and kill the nearest wild boar, but the other wild boars saw him hunting and killing their friend, and so two wild boars charged towards Yigal and they started to attack him to avenge their friend, while all the other wild boars ran away.

However, Yigal managed to shake the two other wild boars' attack off himself and then he started to fight back, and he ended up shooting three arrows at one of the wild boars right on the back, thus hunting and killing it for food, before he used his pocket knife to hunt and kill the third wild boar for food as well, and once he got the three wild boars to make food for his brothers and for the carnivorous animals of their animal team, Yigal decided to carry the three wild boars all the way back to his home to feed his still hungry tiger.

Then, Yigal started to travel all the way back to his home while carrying the three wild boars he just hunted and killed for food, but before he could've realized what's going on, he then found out that he got lost and that he's unable to find his way back home to his family, thus making him start on a dangerous journey to get back home alive, and so he started to travel deeper into a dark and unknown part of the Everfree Forest in order to find his way back home while carrying the wild boars he hunted for food along with him.

While searching for his way back home, Yigal suddenly smelled the air and the smell he just smelled in the air smelled really bad, and Yigal knew what is the meaning of this - there are Timberwolves nearby, and just then he started to hear Timberwolf growls and snarls, but instead of running away in the opposite direction (back to where he came from), Yigal decided to face the Timberwolves and see what they're actually doing, since not a single Timberwolf came to attack him yet, and so Yigal went towards the source of the bad smell and found a pack of three Timberwolves who appeared to be surrounding, growling and snarling down at what appeared to be a crib, and even though Yigal didn't appeared shocked on the outside, he was still surprised on the inside to see something he haven't seen ever since he and his brothers were just young children - the crib the three Timberwolves are surrounding.

At first, Yigal wasn't sure if he should go interfere and fight and/or chase the Timberwolves away, but then something inside him told him to go for the crib and also fight the Timberwolves, and so Yigal used his weapons and he started to attack the three Timberwolves and he ended up destroying them one after the other, and once all the three Timberwolves were all destroyed, Yigal then went towards the crib, stopped, lowered down onto his knees and looked down into the crib to see something he and his brothers haven't seen for decades since their younger sister Irit - it was a human baby.

When he saw the human baby in the crib, Yigal at first gasped in shock, but then he started to check if the baby is still alive, as he didn't know it was just sleeping, and then he suddenly felt he's touching a piece of paper, and so Yigal pulled it to himself and picked it up, and it turned out to be a letter which says ' _Please take care of me. My name is Dan Ashmor, I'm just six months old, and I need your help and care to survive and thrive.'_. When Yigal finished reading the letter which explains about the baby, he took a good look at the name 'Dan Ashmor', and so he suggested by the name that the baby's gender is a boy, and he was right - Dan Ashmor (the baby) is indeed a boy, or in other words - a male, just like Yigal, Gilad and Ezra.

Then, Yigal started to hear a loud noise which was crying, and so he decided to go and look into the crib once again and he saw Dan Ashmor (the baby) crying, and the reason to his crying it's because he was hungry, but unfortunately, Yigal don't have any bottle of milk fit for a baby with the necessary formula which the baby needs to feed in order to survive, and so this placed Yigal in a serious problem. At just six months old, Dan Ashmor is slowly starving to death from not having his milk, but then Yigal's problem was soon solved when he suddenly found a bottle full of milk with the necessary formula which Dan can feed in order to survive, and so Yigal picked up the bottle and tested it on Dan and he wanted to see if he will be able to feed from the bottle, and much to his shock, the baby started suckling and feeding from the bottle, and this made Yigal so excited to see a baby feeding from a bottle for the first time in decades.

Later, when Dan stopped feeding from the bottle, he yawned in a very cute little baby voice before he closed his eyes and fell asleep again, much to Yigal's joy to see he managed to care for the little baby boy, but then he suddenly remembered he have to go back home to his brothers, Pegasus pony friend (Black Heart) and animal team, but before Yigal was about to go, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked back down at the baby and asked himself "Wait a second, what should I do with the baby?", and then he said and added "I can't take him back home with me, my brothers and Black Heart will kill him if I show him to them. But if I leave him here all alone, he might die.", and then Yigal asked himself "What should I do?".

However, after struggling to choose for about no more than three minutes, Yigal finally made it up in his mind and so he decided to take baby Dan along with him, though one thing was still making Yigal unsettled and even a bit afraid - how his two older brothers and Black Heart will all react when Yigal will show baby Dan Ashmor to all of them? Will they attack and kill him right away? Or will they accept him as one of them? Yigal hoped that his brothers and Black Heart will understand and will accept baby Dan into the villainous family, and so he slowly picked up the crib containing Dan and he started to walk away while carrying him along in his arms and hands, but at the same time - having no choice but to dump the three dead wild boars which he hunted for food behind him.

Yigal continued and went on his dangerous journey back home, but now he's not alone - Dan Ashmor (the baby he found) is now with him and the two are now on their way back to Yigal's home (and also to get Dan introduced and accepted into Yigal's family by Gilad and Ezra), but a few hours later, it started to get dark as evening and nighttime came, thus leaving Yigal no choice but to make up a campfire and provide food for himself so he can keep himself strong enough to protect baby Dan from harm, and when Yigal finished building and making his campfire, he then entered his newly-built shelter and fell asleep with baby Dan cradled in his arms and hands. For now, the two may be all alone, but they still have each other, and they're both safe from all the predators of the Everfree Forest.


	85. Chapter 84:Yigal's new child (part 2)

The next morning, Yigal woke up and left the campfire with baby Dan, whom he found yesterday being surrounded by Timberwolves, and so Yigal decided to pick him up and take him along with him back to his home to show him to his brothers and Black Heart and see how will they react and if they will accept the baby as the newest member of their villainous family, but in midway, Dan started to cry once again, and Yigal thought that he may be hungry again, but then he felt the baby's diaper is wet, thus telling him that he needs to get changed, but unfortunately, Yigal don't have any diapers to change baby Dan with, but then a big box full of diapers appeared out of thin air, thus giving Yigal his chance to get his hand into the box and pull out a new fresh diaper to change Dan with, but the hard part for him is to remove the baby's old and wet diaper.

Then, once he removed the old and wet diaper away from Dan, Yigal saw the baby's naked body, which showed and told him that Dan Ashmor is indeed a boy, but this suddenly made him burst into a laughter, since Yigal never saw a naked baby boy before, but then he also tried to stop himself from laughing so hard so not to scare the baby boy and he tried to control himself, as it was indeed the very first time Yigal is trying to change a baby's diaper in his entire life, ever since he saw his own mother changing Irit's (his younger sister's) diapers from time to time when he and his brothers where young children, but there are differences between changing a baby girl's diaper to changing a baby boy's diaper, and it's more difficult to change a baby boy's diaper than a baby girl's diaper (because male babies can occasionally pee directly on both teenagers and adults when they try to change their diapers).

However, Yigal managed to make himself able to clean baby Dan's butt before giving him the new diaper, and cleaning a baby's butt is always necessary in case the baby popped some poop as well, and in Dan's case - he also popped as well, and that's exactly why Yigal had to clean his (Dan's) butt before putting the new diaper on him, and once he was done changing Dan's diaper (and for the first time in his entire life), Yigal put baby Dan back in his crib before he continued to travel on his way back home while taking the little baby boy along with him, and over the course of the day, Yigal and baby Dan grew closer to each other in a way no one could ever imagine, and the baby boy even started to depend on Yigal for survival, and in return - Yigal was willing to make baby Dan his new successor in case he (Yigal himself), his older brothers (Gilad and Ezra) and Black Heart all fail in the future.

However, after wandering around in the Everfree Forest, Ganda the rhinoceros came out of nowhere and started to harass Yigal all by herself, but when she saw baby Dan being cradled tightly in his arms and hands, she decided to come up with a plan to knock Yigal out cold and then take away, harass and torment the baby boy whom he cares for and even loves and likes with all his heart (which was something he and his brothers never showed to any human child, until Dan Ashmor became the first who successfully managed to persuade Yigal to take care of him).

Then, Ganda charged towards Yigal and his newly adopted baby boy, thus causing Yigal to quickly turned around and start to run away for his life while still carrying the baby in his arms and hands, but no matter what he tried, Yigal couldn't escape Ganda, and so the big female rhinoceros got near him, and even more near him, catching up with him, and suddenly Ganda caught Yigal, and with one push of her own head she managed to knock him out cold, thus also knocking baby Dan away from his hands, but the baby landed safely just a distance away, but the evil female rhinoceros soon turned her attention to him, and so she started to approach the crib and then she stopped and looked down to see the baby boy looking up at her with his awake and open eyes, before he cooed and giggled and tried to reach up with his arms and hands to touch at her face.

However, Ganda was unwilling to allow any baby boy or any young male animal, including any baby colt touch her face, so she angrily snorted at baby Dan when his tiny hands got close enough to touch at her huge snout, and then she thought about a way to harass and torment the poor little baby boy - she then moved with her mouth and teeth into the crib, and then she grabbed and bit on Dan's left hand, and then she tried to mercilessly break his arm, as she's shown to be hating the baby boy on first sight, and Dan cried in distress as Ganda wanted to kill him for she hated the helpless little human on first sight (which some of you may call it H.F.F.S - Hate From First Sight).

However, Tony Black suddenly came out of nowhere and then he started to attack Ganda, thus forcing her to let go of the baby and turn her attention to him (Tony Black) instead, and so the pure black tiger and the evil female rhinoceros were soon engaged in a fight, but eventually, after fighting for about between tne and fifteen minutes, Tony Black came out the winner and he managed to chase Ganda away, thus forcing her to leave him alone with Yigal and the baby. Just then, Yigal gained back his consciousness and so he woke up and slowly got back up onto his feet to see Tony Black slowly approaching the crib and looking into it to see baby Dan.

However, Yigal wasn't sure how his own black tiger is going to react to the baby, but before he thought things may turn out really badly like they did with Ganda, the baby started to stroke and tickle at Tony Black's face and short cheek mane, thus causing the tiger to blush and smile before he then collapsed to the ground to allow the baby stroke and tickle him some more, because the baby boy just touched him in his most sensitive point, which was in Tony's case - below his chin.

When Yigal saw the good interaction between his black tiger and baby Dan, he soon approached them both, thus causing Tony Black to quickly stand back up on his feet and look up at his owner, and then the black tiger said "Yigal! My master and precious owner! It's good to see you again!", but then Yigal asked him "Tony Black, what are you doing here?", and then Tony Black explained "Well, since you've been missing since yesterday, I went out all by myself looking for you. I ended up finding you here, but you were unconscious, and I saw a rhinoceros attacking the poor little baby just a distance away from you, and so I decided to come to rescue you two and get in the rhino's way and fight it and chase it away.", and then he asked "And about that little baby, how and where did you find him?", and then Yigal explained "He was surrounded by a pack of Timberwolves, but I destroyed the Timberwolves and saved the cute little child from harm.".

Then, Tony Black asked Yigal while trying to show up puppy eyes "Can we take him back home with us and make him my new playmate? Please?!", and Yigal said "Of course, and in fact, I'm willing to show the baby to the rest of our family, Black Heart and animal team, and then we'll officially make him our future successor! How does that sounds to you, Tony?", and then Tony Black jumped up and down and said "Yes! Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes! I want this cute little baby to be one of us! He showed me he's useful and necessary by stroking and tickling me just below my chin, and that made me collapse because it's my most sensitive point, and I wanted him to stroke and tickle me there and on the rest of my big black and handsome body some more!", and then Yigal said to his black tiger "I'm happy to hear that! So that means that you want me to bring the baby back home with us, don't you?", and Tony Black said "Of course I do!", and then Yigal said to him back "Then let's go!", and so Yigal, Tony Black and baby Dan continued together on their journey to find their way back home.

Eventually, after the three traveled together for hours, they finally arrived back at their home, where everyone else were been waiting for them with their patience is wearing thin, but once Yigal and Tony Black entered their home, they're both greeted and welcomed back by Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and the rest of the animal team, but when they all saw and noticed the baby boy in Yigal's arms and hands, they're all shocked at first to see another human being in Equestria, especially one who is indeed a real human and not a centaur, and Gilad and Ezra asked Yigal where did he even found him, and when Yigal explained everything to everyone, they accepted letting baby Dan stay and become one of them, and so Yigal decided to act and be Dan's adoptive father, while Gilad and Ezra decided to act and be the baby boy's adoptive uncles (since Yigal apparently didn't seemed to have any children of his own, and neither either of his older brothers appeared to have any children of their own), and as for Black Heart, she willingly accepted acting as a supporting adoptive pony aunt, because she wanted to replace her own daughter (Aylene) and forget about her as her own family (and her own flesh and blood), by helping the brothers care for the new baby boy and help them raise him and make him their future successor.

For the first time in his entire life, Yigal became a foster father and caretaker of a new baby (Dan Ashmor), and who could've guessed it wouldn't ever happened? Yigal is going to enjoy raising his now foster son, and Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart were all going to be there for him and act and be the foster uncles and pony aunt the baby boy will need for the most, alongside Yigal for his foster father, and even the brothers and Black Heart's animals will be there to help caring for the baby, especially Tony Black, who is now so happy to have a new human owner who will be caring for him in the future when Yigal and his brothers will grow too old to care for him, or even be there for him and will eventually pass away. Dan Ashmor (the baby boy) have found the perfect family he needed for the most - a family of villains, in which he is the newest, sweetest and youngest member of all.


	86. Chapter 85:meeting the hyenas and bears

Two weeks have passed since Yigal found and adopted Dan Ashmor as his son, but even though it was so hard for him to care for the baby boy, he wasn't the only one who is watching over the baby for him - his older brothers, Gilad and Ezra, who are both baby Dan's adoptive uncles, were also helping Yigal to care for his new adopted baby boy, and even though Black Heart was a pony, she too helped them by playing an important role as the pony aunt for Dan Ashmor, and with three adult humans males and one adult Pegasus pony mare to care for him, baby Dan have all the attention he needs, but when the time will pass, he will rise up to become the four villainous leaders' future successor, but for now, Dan Ashmor is still a six months-old baby boy and there are still lots of years for him to live right in front of him.

Anyway, it was now 58 months (4 years and 10 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 46 months (3 years and 10 months) since Aylene became her sister, and they and their best friend, Stephan the centaur, were all doing fine all together as the three became inseparable from each other, but Stephan, however, still refused to move and live with Chloe and Aylene in the royal castle, but he also explained why - for as long as his father is trying to hunt him down and take him back home to the Badlands with him, Stephan can't allow himself live in Canterlot for as long as his own evil father is on the loose, and he also explained that he will eventually come to live in the royal castle only when his evil father will be caught and thrown to the dungeons to serve his sentence as a prisoner for all his crimes he have done so far, especially when he abused his very own son (Stephan) to the point he temporarily turned on his friends and ran away from home, though Stephan later returned with three new friends (Zach, Layla and Timmy the Zebrataurs) and got himself redeemed and reformed back to the good side.

One day, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan went to play and fun in the meadow together, and after playing they all went under the tree to rest down after they all got tired, and then Stephan asked Chloe and Aylene "I surely will come to be living with you two in the royal castle someday, just need to wait until my father is caught and thrown in the dungeons, or even sent to Tartarus where Lord Tirek is located and imprisoned.", and Chloe sighed and said "We've been together for so long, and I want this to continue and just stay the same way it was then and still is now.", and then Aylene added "If anything will change for bad, we won't be with each other anymore, especially because we have so many enemies all around us, waiting to just snap at us and destroy us all.", and when Stephan heard what they both said, the centaur then said back to his human and Pegasus pony friends "The only thing that I want to change around here between us is that I want us three to stick together as one and never leave each other's side, and never let anyone bad who wants to hunt us down win against us and force us to go separate ways from each other and never come back to see each other ever again.".

When Aylene heard what Stephan said, she turned with her head to look at him and said to him "We'll never leave each other's side, no matter what! Even Akeno and his friends don't have enough power to destroy us! Even your own father may seem tough, but I assure you, Stephan, that your evil father manipulates and fights others like a little kid!", and then Chloe added "That's right! There's no way for that evil and merciless father of yours to take Mother Celestia, Father Thorax, Aunt Luna and Uncle Pharynx down without getting himself caught and defeated!", and then she added "We gotta stay strong and work together to crash all our enemies who wants us all down!", and then the three called and yelled in unison "TOGETHER WE'RE STRONG! TOGETHER WE'RE POWERFUL! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE STAY AND STICK TOGETHER AS ONE!", and then the three smiled to each other to reassure one another that no matter what happens, they're staying together as one.

However, then, they all heard a familiar trumpeting roar, and so Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all turned and looked up to see Lin Raju standing a distance away from them, and he appeared to be looking at them all directly in the eyes, and then they saw the Mammophant motioning for them to follow him by moving his trunk to show them that he wants them all to follow and come with him on a new adventure, but first, before they decided to go with Lin Raju, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all asked each other if they should trust Lin Raju again, and when they decided and agreed with each other that they should go, the three decided to go with Lin Raju, and once he saw that the three friends were approaching him, Lin Raju turned tail and started to slowly walk away and lead Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to the Everfree Forest once again, and there he's going to show and introduce them to two packs of animals who are good neighbors who live very close to each other - the Spotted hyenas pack and the Atlas bears pack, who both live quite happily alongside each other, despite, and unlike all the other herds, who were all herbivorous animals, the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears were both carnivorous animals, and back on planet earth, Atlas bears are an extinct subspecies of the brown bear and the only bear species (or subspecies) known to have survived in Africa to modern times before it went extinct, and Atlas bears officially declared extinct in 1890.

Upon arriving and entering the Everfree Forest, Chloe asked "What kind of new adventure is waiting for us in the Everfree Forest?", and then Aylene asked and added "Who we're going to meet this time?", and then Stephan added "Whatever it's going to be, it'd better be lots of fun!", and as they continued to travel deeper into the Everfree Forest after Lin Raju, the Mammophant slowly led all three of them to the area in the forest where the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears were all living in peace and harmony with each other.

Once the four reached and arrived at the right place where the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears live, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan started to look around and see where Lin Raju have taken them all to, as none of them recognized this part of the Everfree Forest to which the Mammophant have led them all to, and just then, they started to hear a hyena laughing and a bear growling, and when the three recognized what animals there are close and nearby, Chloe said to her sister and their best friend "It sounds like a hyena and a bear.", and then Aylene added "I don't like this.", and then Sephan finished and said "This is going to be scary and dangerous.".

Just then, a female Spotted hyena jumped out from behind the bushes and said and asked "Stop! Who goes there?", and then a male Atlas bear jumped out from behind the bushes as well and stopped by the female Spotted hyena's side and then he added and asked "Who are you three, and what are you doing here?", but the two animals caused Chloe and Aylene to jump back in fear, while Stephan just took a step back from the hyena and bear who stood in front of him and his friends.

However, Lin Raju then came to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's aid and then he placed himself between the three and also between the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear, before the Mammophant then spoke up and said "It's okay, they're with me.", but then the Spotted hyena asked him "Who are these three?", and then the Atlas bear added "Are these three dangerous?", but then Lin Raju said to them "No, they're not.", and then he turned to look back at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and then he told them all to step forward and show themselves to the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear, and the three reluctantly did as the Mammophant asked and wanted them to do and they stepped forward to show themselves to the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear.

Then, the Spotted hyena asked them "Who are you three?", and then Chloe introduced herself and said "I'm Chloe, and as you both can see, I'm a human.", and when they heard what she said, the Atlas bear said to her in return "It's nice to meet you, Chloe.", and then it was Aylene's turn to introduce herself and then she said "I'm Aylene, and as you both can see, I'm a Pegasus pony.", and then she added "And even though Chloe and I we're from two entirely different species, we're sisters and we stick together, no matter what happens.", and then it was Stephan's turn to introduce himself and then he said "And I'm Stephan, and as you both can see, I'm a centaur.", and then he added and explained "You know - half-human/half-horse? Anyway, even though I'm a centaur, I'm Chloe and Aylene's best friend, and the three of us we're inseparable!".

When the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear heard from Stephan that he, Chloe and Aylene were inseparable, the two animals looked at each other for a moment before they turned back to the trio and then the Atlas bear said "What a wonderful trio! You three are extraordinary! You're a human, a pony and a centaur, and you're inseparable from each other!", and then the Spotted hyena said "Follow us! Our packs and families would like to meet you and hear about you! A LOT about you!", and then she and her Atlas bear friend both turned tails before she then said "Please, come with us!", and then the Atlas bear added "Our packs and families almost never saw an odd trio like you three before, and seeing such an odd trio as you three, which consists a human, a pony and a centaur all together is something extraordinary that can be seen by all others maybe once in a lifetime!".

However, before Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were about to go with the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear, they turned back to see Lin Raju, who gave them all a warm and reassuring smile which told the inseparable trio that they can trust the two animals, and so Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all waved for the Mammophant for a goodbye, and then Lin Raju trumpeted and roared back to them before he turned tail and started to slowly walk away, and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all turned around and started to follow the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear, who are both leading them to where their packs and families were all living.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all arrived at the exact right place where all the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears were all living, the three saw lots of adult hyenas and bears, and also lots of cubs playing around, even with the other species, but when the hyenas and the bears all turned, saw and spotted Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, they all stopped doing everything they all did just a moment ago, and even the cubs from each species were shocked but also very curious to see the three, strange-looking guests who arrived at their home and living area, before the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear who took Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to their packs and families' place stepped forward and put themselves between their packs and families and the three new guests.

Then, the Spotted hyena said "It's okay, our packs and beloved families!", and then the Atlas bear added "These three new guests bring and mean you no harm!", and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan started to introduce themselves to the hyenas and to the bears, with Chloe being the first when she said "Hi there, I'm Chloe! I may be a human, but I promise you all I mean you no harm!", and then Aylene was second when she said "I'm Aylene! I may be a pony, but Chloe and I we're sisters, despite we're from different species!", and then Stephan was third and last when he said to the hyenas and to the bears "And I'm Stephan! I may be a centaur, but I'm good and kind and I will never harm anyone, unless my friends and I we're threatened and provoked first! We three are inseparable, and we never leave each other's side!", and when the hyenas and the bears all heard what their three new guests said, all the adults were shocked and surprised, while all the cubs were excited to meet the odd and inseparable trio.

Then, the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear turned back to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and then they introduced themselves to them and said, with the Spotted hyena is the first when she said "I'm Queen Thandi! Leader of the Spotted hyenas!", and then the Atlas bear said "And I'm king Upali! Leader of the Atlas bears!", and then the two said in unison "It's an honor for the both of us to introduce you three to our packs and beloved families!", and then Stephan said back to them "Likewise, your majesties!", and then he, Chloe and Aylene all lowered down and bowed their heads to Queen Thandi and King Upali, but then Queen Thandi said "You may raise up, you three!", and then King Upali added "There is no reason for you to be formal with us! You don't have to bow your heads down to us! We don't require our guests to do so!", and when the three heard what the two animal leaders said to them, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all stood back up, and then Aylene asked "Why don't show us how your home and living area and environment looks like?", and then she added "We'd really like to see everything you all have here to show us!", and then Queen Thandi said "Then follow us!", and then King Upali added "And be our guests!", and then the Spotted hyena and Atlas bear leaders started to lead Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and show them everything they need to see and know about their home, living area and environment.

Later, after showing Chloe, Aylene and Stephan everything they (Queen Thandi and King Upali) and their packs and families have in their environment, the Spotted hyena and Atlas bear leaders allowed their three guests play around with their packs and families' cubs and have with them so they can make friends with young carnivores, just like they (Chloe, Aylene and Stephan) already are with young herbivores, but first, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan asked the adult Spotted hyenas and Atlas bears if it's okay for them to play with all their children (cubs), and they all said they can go and play with their youngsters as much as they want, and that's when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan went to play with all the Spotted hyena cubs and with all the Atlas bear cubs, and since the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears were also tolerant to others, much like all the herbivores, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all knew that they can trust them, but even though these carnivores were also good like all the herbivores, two of these animals, one from each kind (one Spotted hyena and one Atlas bear, respectively) were already nailing evil eyes on the teenage, inseparable trio.

These two animals were a female Spotted hyena and a male Atlas bear, the hyena's name was Zenobia and the bear's name was Clayton, and they both seemed to have hated Chloe, Aylene and Stephan on first sight, but the inseparable trio didn't noticed them. Later, after playing and making friends with all the Spotted hyena and Atlas bear cubs, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan returned back to the adults with the youngsters and gave them (the youngsters) back to them (the adults), and then Queen Thandi and King Upali asked Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to tell them, their packs and their families about themselves, and then Chloe said "Okay, fine, we'll tell you everything you all need to know about us.", but then Aylene added "But we must warn you all though - our life stories and our pasts aren't as good as you all might think they were.", and then Stephan added and said "We three went through a lot of trauma in our pasts, and we're not sure if all of you can have enough power to hold yourselves when you're going to be hearing our life stories.", but then Queen Thandi said "It's okay, we'll try to hold ourselves and we'll try our best not to cry.", and then King Upali added "We promise we won't tear up when you tell us about each of your pasts and about each of your life stories. We all promise.", and when they heard what the two animal leaders said, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all took a deep breath all together and then they started to tell and explain about each of their traumatic pasts and painful life stories - first with Chloe's, second with Aylene's, and last with Stephan's.

Later, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all finished telling about each of their pasts and about each of their life stories to the Spotted hyenas and to the Atlas bears, all the animals were so sad that all the cubs from both species were crying out loud, all the adult females were shedding tears, and all the adult males were struggling to hold back their tears, and upon hearing about each and every one of the odd trio's traumatic pasts and painful life stories each of them have been through before, Queen Thandi said to them as she wiped away the tears forming in her own eyes "Oh, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan! I'm so sorry to hear that you've all been through such traumatic pain!", and then King Upali added "These three life stories were all among the most saddest and painful I've ever heard of in my entire life!", and then a male spotted hyena from Queen Thandi's pack and family said "I'm so sorry for how you three felt before!", and then a female Atlas bear from King Upali's pack and family added "We're all sorry for the ways your own biological families have all treated you three!", but then Stephan said "It's okay, because what's important to us now is that the three of us we're all together!", and then he added "And together we're inseparable!".

Then, some of the hyena cubs and some of the bear cubs all approached Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and looked up at all three of them, and then a female Spotted hyena cub said "If you like, we'd like to be best friends with you three!", and then a female Atlas bear cub added "We surely like you three for who you really are!", and then a male Spotted hyena cub said and explained "You showed us that you three are good creatures with loving heart who will do everything to keep all the bad things away from yourselves, and also away from each other and from others as well!", and then a male Atlas bear cub added "You've been through lots of harm, but you three all deserve better!", and then he raised a forepaw and added "I'd like to be your friend!", and then the female Spotted hyena cub raised her forepaw and added "Me too!", and then the female Atlas bear cub raised her forepaw and continued and said "Me three!", and then the male Spotted hyena cub also raised his forepaw and added "Me four!", but then an adult female voice called "We would not be doing that if we were you!".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard the female voice calling to them, they all turned to see Zenobia and Clayton slowly approaching them and looking at them with evil eyes, with a hint of hatred lurking inside them, and then Chloe asked them "Excuse us?", and then Stephan added "What did you two just said?", and then Clayton repeated his hyena partner's words and said "We said 'we would not be doing that if we were you'!", but then Aylene took a step back and then she asked the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear "Who are you two? What's your problem?", and then Queen Thandi said and explained as she and King Upali stepped forward, approached and then put themselves between the three guests and Zenobia and Clayton "These are Zenobia and Clayton, and they're both parts of each of our families and packs.", and then King Upali added "But unlike most of us, they don't tolerate other creatures, especially humans, ponies and centaurs.", and when the three heard what the two animal leaders said about Zenobia and Clayton, Stephan then said "I guess their common flavor just turned sour.".

However, then, a female Spotted hyena cub said as she looked up at Stephan and at the girls "It's okay, guys! Don't mind them! They may not like you, but the rest of us do like you three, even if you're a human, a pony and a centaur!", and then a male Atlas bear cub added "Yes! You three were awesome, no matter what species each of you are!", and when they heard what the two cubs said, Aylene said to them back "Thank you two.", and then she, Chloe and Stephan turned tail and walked away with the cubs to keep their distance away from Zenobia and Clayton, though the two animals weren't yet done with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and in fact, they have barely begun.

Later on, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan got to have some more fun with the adult Spotted hyenas and with the adult Atlas bears as well, but then they're suddenly interrupted by Zenobia and Clayton once again, and Stephan muttered upon seeing the two approaching him and the girls "Oh, great. Here they are now.", and then Aylene added "I think we should get out of here.", and then Chloe said "Yes, let's go before they cause us some troubles.", but then Clayton called "Hey, Two Legs (Chloe)! Hey, Four Toes (Aylene)! Hey, Six Limbs (Stephan)!", and when the three heard him calling and insulting them by calling them unflattering names, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan turned back to face him and Zenobia and then Stephan asked "Who are they? Us?", but then Zenobia said in a quite insulting and bullying tone "No, your great-grannies! Yes, you three!".

Then, Stephan asked "Two Legs? Four Toes? Six Limbs? Is that the best you two have got?", but then Zenobia said "Just because you're a human, a pony and a centaur, that doesn't means you're friends, aren't you?", but then Aylene said to her "Of course we're friends!", but then Zenobia said back in a quite insulting tone "Great, you three may be friends, but none of you are special!", and then Chloe said to her "Thought you never occurred to us.". However, then, Clayton evilly said "You three may look good on the outside, but you're all nothing but pure evil on the inside!", but then Stephan said to him "Please, don't say that!", and then Chloe added "I may be a human, but I will not harm a fly!", but then Clayton said evilly "We believe it when we SEE it!", but then a male Spotted hyena cub called to him and to Zenobia "Hey, you two! Leave Chloe, Aylene and Stephan alone!", and then a male Atlas bear cub added "They didn't did anything to the both of you!", but then Zenobia said as she pointed out "Yet!", and then Clayton added "I suggest these three should be sold and should also be taken away from each other, and I also suggest they should be prevented and forbidden from seeing each other ever again!".

"Excuse us?" Aylene asked as she, Chloe and Stephan were all shocked by what the Atlas bear just said about them, before Chloe then asked "Whar were you two thinking should be done with each of us?", and then Zenobia turned to her and said evilly "I suggest you should be taked away and sold as a slave, just like what all humans like you deserve to be - slaves for the rest of their lives!", and when Chloe heard what the Spotted hyena said, she gasped in shock and asked as she took a step back "Excuse me?", and then Aylene asked "And what about me?", and then Zenobia turned to her and said evilly "You should probably be sold for your meat, pony! I've heard ponies like the ones who live back on planet earth were killed for their meat to feed hungry and starving humans, cats and dogs!", and when the teenage Pegasus mare heard what she said, she gasped in shock and said "How can you say that?!", before Stephan then asked "And what about me?", and then Zenobia turned to him and said evilly "I think you should be chained up forever in Tartarus, centaur! After all, Lord Tirek lives there, and obviously, everyone knows there is no such thing as a good, nice or kind centaur!", and when Stephan heard what she said, the teenage centaur scowled at the evil Spotted hyena and at her Atlas bear friend and said with a hint of anger in his tone "What did you just said?!", and he started feeling ready and willing to just charge towards the two carnivorous and mammalian animals for saying such bad things on not only him but also on his two best friends.

Then, Clayton said evilly "Face it, Two Legs (Chloe), Four Toes (Aylene) and Six Limbs (Stephan)! None of you deserves to be loved or even liked by anyone or anything in this world! And if you three want us to maul you, we'll both be glad to apply!", and then without hesitation, he and Zenobia started to charge together towards Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and they ended up attacking them and knocking them off their feet and hooves, and then Zenobia climbed on Stephan and placed her paws and claws on his upper human chest and torso, while her friend Clayton trapped both Chloe and Aylene between his forelegs, and then Zenobia said evilly "If you three want to be mauled..." and then Clayton finished for her and said "...We'll both be glad to apply!".

However, Stephan then got and moved his right hirse foreleg and hoof underneath Zenobia's stomach and underbelly, and then he kicked her off himself by kicking her hard in the underbelly, thus causing Zenobia to scream in pain as Stephan managed to throw her off himself, thus causing Clayton to turn with his to see his Spotted hyena friend laying on the ground injured, but this is also when Chloe and Aylene did their move together, and then the two raised up a leg and a hind hoof and then they brought them up together at the same time and gave a double kick to the Atlas bear's crotch, thus causing him to scream, before Stephan then came right behind him, grabbed him by the left hind leg and foot with both of his human hands, and then he threw him away from Chloe and Aylene, and the Atlas bear ended up landing right on Zenobia, thus getting himself injured from the trio's fighting back attacks as well.

Then, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all turned to each other and nodded in agreement, and then they approached the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear who both dared to bully them and mess up with all three of them for no reason other than just because they're a human, a pony and a centaur, and then each of the three raised an arm and hand (or a foreleg and forehoof in Aylene's case), and then they all brought it down together at the same time, and so they ended up slapping and giving together a triple slap to both Zenobia and Clayton on and across each and both of their faces, thus causing them both to cry in pain and shake their heads in an attempt to shake off the trio's last fighting back attack, before they turned to see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all looking at the both of them with tears of sadness which were also mixed with anger forming in each of their eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all yelled in unison at Zenobia and Clayton, thus surprising all the other Spotted hyenas and Atlas bears, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" the three hurt friends all yelled in unison before Chloe said with tears threatening to escape her eyes "You two don't even know anything any of the three of us! So don't you two dare think you both have the rights to bully us for no good reason at all!", and then Aylene added as tears threatened to escape her eyes as well "We're all abused by our own biological families, and we managed to escape and find the happiness and care we need by finding adoptive families whom are good to us all!", and then Stephan continued and added as he struggled to hold back his own tears as well "And we all surely don't want you two to just come out of nowhere and crash us all for being a human, a pony and a centaur and shun as for being individual specimens belong to the three species we are, you two no good stinky, ugly and horrible beasts!".

Then, after the three lashed out and yelled together at Zenobia and Clayton, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are quickly turned around and then they all started to trot, gallop and run away together while trying to hide and wipe away the tears threatening to escape each of their eyes, and when all the Spotted hyenas and all the Atlas bears saw the three of them leaving away in tears, one of the Spotted hyenas and one of the Atlas bears, both of whom are females, called for the three to come back, but Chloe, Aylene and Stephan just ignored them and they kept trotting, galloping and running away together in great pain, and then the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears all decided to go together after them and try to find and comfort them, but not before a male Spotted hyena cub and a female Atlas bear cub turned their heads to look back at Zenobia and Clayton, who both just stood back up on their feet, and then the two young animals yelled together at the two abusive and disrespectful adults "Zenobia, Clayton, you're both nothing but a couple of big freaks!", and then they both turned tail and started to run away after all the other Spotted hyenas and Atlas bears to help look for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, thus leaving both Zenobia and Clayton standing and freezing in place, before the two shook off Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's great lash out, and then Clayton said "Whatever, who even cares?" and then Zenobia added "We're both out of here.", and then the two evil animals turned around and were both about to walk away together, only to bump to Queen Thandi and King Upali, who both looked at their two subjects and family members with stern looks and with angry eyes.

When Zenobia and Clayton both looked at their respective leaders in the eyes, they both tried to act innocently and then Zenobia said and asked "Hey, what's up?", and then Clayton added "How are you both were doing?", but then King Upali said to them as he and Queen Thandi were both aware of the fake innocence of their two respective subjects "Don't try to act and play innocent with Queen Thandi and me, Zenobia and Clayton! We both saw everything you did and we both heard everything bad you both said to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan!", and then Queen Thandi added "You two caused and forced our guests to run away without even letting them say goodbye to all of us! You two should be ashamed of yourselves!", but then Zenobia whined and said "But Queen Thandi, we can explain!", and then Clayton joined her and added "King Upali, we didn't meant to do this to them!", but then King Upali yelled at the both of them "Silence, you two! We both know you're lying!", and then Queen Thandi added "And we both had enough of all of your nonsense and useless excuses! And everyone else also grew tired of your stupid lies as well!", and then King Upali said and warned "The next time you two will do such things to others, Queen Thandi and I we're both warning and we also promise you two - you will be forced to leave our packs and families and neither of you won't be able to return home ever again!", and then the Spotted hyena and Atlas bear leader stormed away and went to join their respective packs and families in order to help the, and all search for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, thus leaving both Zenobia and Clayton shocked, bewildered and confused as the two evil animals just stood there alone and did nothing for a few long moments, before Zenobia and Clayton both snapped together out of their shocked and bewildered states, and then Zenobia said evilly "Oh no, this isn't over yet.", and then Clayton added in the same evil tone as his Spotted hyena friend "In fact, this is only beginning.", and then the two evil animals went together to search for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan so they can find them and finish what they both started.


	87. Chapter 86:meeting baby Dan

In one of the most deepest parts of the Everfree Forest, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan (who all managed to escape the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas Bears) sat down close to a lake they found and they all looked down at their reflections in the water, and then Chloe asked "Why did we all did such a damn mistake?", and then Aylene added "It was good at first, but then these two, Zenobia and Clayton, came and bullied all of us for the three species we are - a human, a pony and a centaur!", and then Stephan added "Yeah, we had to attack them and fight back against them before we all lashed out at the both of them right in front of both of their families!", and then the centaur turned to see a small stone, and so he quickly picked it up in his hand and angrily threw it into the water, before he then added "We should've not followed Lin Raju to the Everfree Forest again! Now we've got and met two more enemies who both wants us gone for good!".

Then, Aylene cried "I wish I could've just slapped my hoof across that Spotted hyena's face repeatedly until her face turns red from getting too many beatings!", and then Chloe added "And I wish I could've just punched her and her Atlas bear friend in the eyes for messing with the three of us!", and then Stephan stomped his right horse foreleg and hoof on the ground near his two friends and yelled "And I wish I could've just jumped on that Atlas bear and would've just choked him with both of my hands until he dies from suffocation!".

Then, Chloe asked Aylene and Stephan "What should we three do now?", and then Stephan said back to her "I don't know, and I don't yet have any ideas for what we should do now!", but just then, they all suddenly heard something moving in the large bushes, and out of nowhere, Gilad burst out through the bushes and turned to face Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, who all quickly stood up and they all readied themselves to fight him, before Stephan asked the evil middle brother in shock but also in anger "Gilad?! What are you doing here?!", but then Gilad said with a fake smile "Oh, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan! It's nice to meet you three again! It's been long since we've seen each other!", but then Chloe asked him as she readied herself and was about to charge and punch him in the face "What are you even saying, Gilad?!", and then Aylene added and asked as she smashed her own forehooves against each other "Why are you even here, Gilad?! Did you came here to cause us more troubles?!", but then Gilad said "Not at all, kids! In fact, my brothers, our Pegasus friend and I we all want to show you three a surprise that we've recently found!".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what the evil middle brother just said, Chloe asked guessed "What would it be now, Gilad? Another Crocophant?", and then Aylene added "Or another poisonous cake?", and then Stephan asked "Can you please just tell us?", but then Gilad said "No! You three must come with me first! Then, my brothers, Black Heart and I we'll all show you what we've recently found and took in!", and when the three friends all heard what the evil middle brother said, they decided to give in before Stephan said "Fine! We're in! Now show us what you vicious villains have found!", and then Gilad said to them all "Follow me!", and then he turned around and started to walk away, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all started to follow behind him, towards his, his brothers and Black Heart's second (and current) house (and home), which is now also the home for baby Dan Ashmor, whom Yigal have found and took in just two weeks ago.

Later, when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Gilad all arrived at the villains' house, Gilad went to the door and knocked on it with his right hand and then he called for Ezra to open the door, and just then, the door opened to reveal Ezra, who then turned and eyed Chloe, Aylene and Stephan before he said to them "Come in! We have a shocking surprise for you three to see!", and then Gilad turned back to the three and said to them "Did you heard what Ezra just said? The surprise is in our house and we all would like you three to see what kind of something, or may I say someone new we have here in our home!", and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan heard what he said, and then they reluctantly entered and went inside the villains' house with Gilad following behind them, and so they started to walk around as they followed Ezra until they found and met the brothers and Black Heart's animals, and when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Gilad and Ezra all went past them, they saw Yigal and Black Heart, but what they saw the two villains have with them brought the three friends to a great shock, and Chloe was the one who is especially shocked and is the most surprised to see what she never saw in years - when she saw Dan Ashmor the baby human boy being held and cradled in Yigal's arms and hands.

Then, when Yigal and Black Heart turned and noticed Chloe, Aylene and Stephan looking down at baby Dan, Yigal then said in a rather unusually calm tone (so not to scare baby Dan) "Well, hello again, kids. I see you're all looking down at my cute little boy, aren't you?", but when they heard what Yigal said about the being his 'son', Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all gasped in shock, before Chloe then said and asked out loud "Oh my gosh! Is that a real baby boy?! I thought I'm the youngest human being living in Equestria!", but then Black Heart said "Surprise! Meet Dan Ashmor! He's the newest member of our joined family, and he's also the youngest human being living in Equestria!", but then Aylene asked her former (yet also birth) mother "Dan Ashmor? Who's he?", and then Black said to her former daughter "I was talking about the little baby boy in Yigal's hands! He's just six months old when Yigal found him and brought him home to raise him as his new adopted son!".

However, when they heard what she said, Stephan then asked with a still shocked expression on his face "Did you just said that your human friend Yigal took this baby boy in as his new son?!", and then Black Heart said "Yes!" and then she added "And I'm truly proud to be the baby human boy's pony auntie, for now Aylene is no longer my daughter! To me, she's now just an enemy instead!", but then Aylene yelled at her "Hey! I heard that!", but then Dan Ashmor started to cry from hearing Aylene yelling at Black Heart near him, and so Yigal then said "Oh my goodness! Dan must be hungry!", but then Chloe asked him and then added "Are you sure he's hungry? He heard Aylene's yelling!", but then they all heard Dan's stomach rumbling, which immediately told everyone that he's indeed hungry.

Then, Yigal walked over to Stephan and once he got close enough, he moved his arms and said to the teenage male centaur "Please, hold him for me while I'm going to make some baby food for Danny, okay?", but at first, Stephan was unsure if he should hold the baby for a while, and especially after knowing that the baby human boy was Yigal's new and adopted child, but then he moved his arms towards Yigal and then he felt his own hands eventually touching right below baby Dan's armpits, and once the teenage centaur gripped and held tightly at Dan's armpits, this is when Yigal let go his own grip of the baby, and then he said to Stephan "Hold him for a minute! I'll be right back!" before he than turned around and started to walk away from the centaur, and he went to the kitchen to make some baby food for Dan while leaving Stephan to be in charge and responsible for the baby human boy.

When baby Dan looked at Stephan in the face, Stephan said nervously "W-well...I wasn't expecting this to be turning out to be like this.", but then he quickly added "But even if your adoptive father is a villain and is also pretty much evil, that doesn't mean that you're evil too. You're just a cute little baby, and babies can't be evil, well, expect for only a few certain species, of course.", but then Dan started giggling and then he suddenly showed Stephan an evil baby smile, which caused the teenage centaur to yelp and turn his head and face away from the baby, but then Chloe asked "Stephan, what's wrong?", but then Stephan said back "I think this cute little baby boy here is actually really evil!", but the girls didn't seemed to believe him, before Aylene then said and asked "You're scared of the baby for no reason, aren't you?", but then Stephan said "No, I'm not! Just look at his face! He just showed me an evil baby smile!", and then he handed and gave baby Dan over to Aylene so she can see for herself that he's telling the truth.

When Aylene held baby Dan in her forelegs and forehooves, she saw that at first the baby seemed innocent, but then she soon realized that the baby boy is deceiving her with his cute appearance, because when he smiled at her, he showed his evil baby smile creeping on his face once again, thus shocking and scaring Aylene, who then turned to Chloe and asked her to hold the baby next and look carefully at his cute little face so she too can see for herself that baby Dan is actually evil, despite the fact that he's only six months old, and when Aylene handed baby Dan Ashmor to Chloe, she too looked at the baby boy, who seemed to look innocent by his cute and lovable appearance, but then he smiled evilly at Chloe as well, thus causing the teenage human girl to nearly drop him down to the floor in great fear, but luckily she didn't did so, as she didn't wanted to hurt the baby boy, even if he is actually evil like the brothers and like Black Heart as well.

After seeing baby Dan's true colors creeping on his cute and lovable looking face, Chloe slowly lowered down on her knees and carefully placed the baby down on the floor, and once the baby was lying down on his belly and on the floor, Chloe turned to Aylene and Steohan and then she said and asked "You're right! This baby boy IS evil, just like the brothers and Black Heart as well!", and then Aylene asked her "What should we do?", but then Stephan said to the girls "I know there's just one thing we should do - run away for our dear lives!" he raised his voice, before the three friends all started to run away and leave the baby boy behind as now they all already know that even though he's just six months old, Dan Ashmor is still evil and therefore he cannot be trusted and must be avoided at all costs.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all reached the entrance door which leads outside, Chloe tried to open the door, but then she, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend realized much to their shock and horror that the door was locked, and therefore they're all trapped inside the villains' house, with no way to escape. However, Stephan then decided and tried to pry the door open to save himself and the girls before it's too late, but then he, Chloe and Aylene were all knocked out cold by Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart, who all knocked them out cold using frying pans, and thus giving themselves and each other the chance they all have waited for - to destroy Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all together at once.


	88. Chapter 87:the inseparable four

Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all fooled and tricked Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and used baby Dan Ashmor as a bait to trap all three friends in their house, and when Stephan tried to pry the door open, he and the girls got knocked out cold by the four villains, who used frying pans to hit them on the backs of the heads each, and now the evil brothers and Black Heart were taking the three unconscious friends with them out of their house, but the inseparable trio are now tied up in ropes to make sure they cannot escape from what the four villains have planned for them - taking the three to the great water pit to drown them all to death.

Later, when the four villains finally reached the great water pit, they all put their evil plan into action and so Yigal, Gilad and Ezra all jumped into the water while carrying the tied up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan along with them and then they started to swim, with Black Heart assisting the evil humans by flying above their heads and also to make sure they all manage to tie the three friends to the large rock which stood in the middle of the great water pit, and also aiding the evil humans by helping them all carry Stephan's heavy body (for him being a centaur), and once they all reached the large rock in the middle of the great water pit, the four villains used other ropes they carried along with them to tie up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to the large rock, to better ensure that they all slowly drown when the water level will slowly rise up and the large rock will eventually disappear below the water surface, with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan going to drown all together while being tied up to the large rock.

Once they were done, the evil brothers all swam away from the large rock and back to safety, and then they and Black Heart (who flew above them and assisted them in order to help them get rid of the inseparable trio) all left the great water pit while leaving Chloe, Aylene and Stephan tied up to the large rock all together to drown, and just then, the water level slowly started to rise up, and at the same time - the rock slowly started to disappear below the water surface, and there's nothing Chloe, Aylene and Stephan can do to save each other or themselves from drowning.

However, after Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all left the great water pit and went all the way back to their house (and to their home), none of them noticed an adult woman, who was been watching everything the four villains did to the three poor, tied up and apparently helpless friends, who are now going to face drowning in the great water pit. The adult woman appeared to have long brown hair, brown eyes, but what was weird with her is that she also had two long horns growing on her head, the larger front one on the forehead and the smaller hinder one on the top of the head, just right behind the larger one, but because the woman had two eyes instead of just one on the center, it is obvious that she's definitely not a cyclops (because cyclops only have one eye which appeared on the center of the forehead, and they also have only one horn growing on the top of the head instead of two).

What's more weirder about that strange-looking adult woman is that she also had big animal ears on both sides of the head, similar to Stephan, Bluebell and other equine centaurs, and her lower body from her waist downwards appeared to be hidden in the large bushes which stood and grew near the great water pit's top edge, but when she came out of the bushes and exposed her lower animal body part, she's shown to be a kind and/or type of centaur that almost no one have seen before, because instead of having the lower body of a horse, a zebra, a bear, a lion, or a tiger, the centauress appeared to have the lower body, legs and tail of an African rhinoceros, which makes her part of an almost extinct centaur species (or race) which once existed all over Equestria for almost one million years, before being driven to extinction by both Equestrian species and other centaur kinds and races around 10,000 years ago. The adult female centaur-like creature is also none other than one of the largest centaur species which appeared, lived and existed in Equestria - she was half-human/half-rhinoceros (A.K.A - A Rhinotaur).

The adult female Rhinotaur (A.K.A - Rhinotauress) was watching the water level slowly rising up, and she also saw the large rock slowly disappearing below the water surface, but rather than leaving the three friends to drown and to die in the great water pit, the Rhinotauress decided to go down to the great water pit to save Chloe, Aylene and Stephan from drowning, and so she started to run as fast as she could towards the great water pit's edge and then she jumped off the edge and plummeted down and landed in the water below (making a big splash in the process), and then the Rhinotauress started to swim as fast as she could towards the large rock in the middle of the water pit, and then she climbed up onto the large rock and made her way up to the three tied up and still unconscious friends.

Then, she started to quickly untie Chloe, Aylene and Stephan from the large rock, and then she also untied them from the other ropes (which tied their arms, legs and hooves together, respectively), and then she picked up Stephan and placed him down on top of her own lower rhinoceros back, before she then picked Chloe and Aylene up with her arms and placed and cradled them close to her upper human chest to keep them all safe, before she quickly turned to go and got down from the large rock and started swimming back while carrying Chloe, Aylene and Stephan along with her to safety, and once she got out of the water, the Rhinotauress quickly climbed up and managed to get out of the great water pit with the three friends, whom she just saved all at once in the nick of time, before she then carried them all along with her to a safe place where they can recover from the last attack, which knocked them out cold from behind.

The Rhinotauress took Chloe, Aylene and Steohan on her arms and on her back and carried them along until she found a large empty cave where she can finally place the three friends down, and once she entered the cave and walked to a spot at the back of the cave, she gently placed Chloe and Aylene down on the cave's floor and then she took Stephan off her lower rhinoceros back and gently placed him down next to the human and Pegasus pony sisters, and then she turned tail and she started to run away from the cave in order to find some sticks, twigs and some wooden logs and she also found, made and crafted from some stones and small rocks some flint stones to better ensure that she does succeeds in making fire, and she ended up returning back to the cave while carrying lots of wooden sticks, twigs and even some large logs (which she carried on her lower rhinoceros back), and then she placed down all the wood she collected and then she used her new flint stones to make a spark of light which will set the wood on fire, and she ended up setting up some fire successfully.

Just then, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all slowly started to move their bodies, and then they slowly opened up their eyes and then they tried to slowly get back up on their feet and hooves, as they all finally recovered from the last attack which knocked them out cold when they tried to escape the villains' house, only for them to discover that they're now in the large cave the Rhinotauress carried and took them to while they all lied down unconscious, and then Chloe said "Huh?", and then Aylene asked "Where are we?", and then Stephan asked "Is this a cave? What are we doing in a cave?", and then Chloe asked "How did we ended up here?", and then Aylene said "The last thing we can all remember is that we tried to pry the door open to escape Yigal, his family and my former mother's house, but we all ended getting knocked out cold by them!", and then Stephan recalled and remembered what happened and so he said in agreement "You're right, Aylene! They knocked us out cold!", but then Chloe asked "But how did we all ended up here?", and then Stephan said "We shall thank whoever saved us from our greatest enemies!", and then Aylene added "And maybe we can make friends with him or her for what he or she did for us before!".

Just then, an adult female voice said to them "So, you three have finally awakened!", but when they heard what the voice said, Stephan asked as he, Chloe and Aylene all started to look around them to see who just talked to them "Huh? Who said that?", and then the female voice said "Over here!", and when the three turned to the opening of the cave, they saw the Rhinotauress sitting down near the fire she set up to keep warm, and they also saw that she's looking at them, before she then said "Hi!", but then Stephan yelped and stepped aback in shock and also in a bit of fear when he saw the Rhinotauress, before he then yelled "Ahhh! A Rhinotaur!", and then he added and cried "Stay back!", and even Chloe and Aylene stepped aback when they saw the Rhinotauress looking at them right in the eyes from a distance, and the human and the Pegasus pony both looked shocked and even afraid as they thought the Rhinotauress might be dangerous like an ordinary rhinoceros (like Saut and/or Ganda, for an instance), before Chloe then asked "What are you?", and then Aylene asked and added "What are you supposed to be? Some half-human/half-rhinoceros or something?".

Then, the Rhinotauress answered and explained "I'm a Rhinotaur! And I'm also a female, and so I'm called a Rhinotauress!" and then she quickly added "But there's no reason for you three to be afraid of me! I won't hurt you, I promise!", but then Stephan asked after he and the girls heard what she said "Excuse us? What did you just said?", and then the Rhinotauress repeated "There's no reason for you three to be afraid of me! I won't hurt you, I promise!", but then Stephan siad and asked "Whoa! Are you real? I thought you Rhinotaurs are extinct in Equestria!", but then the Rhinotauress said "You're wrong! My kind and race aren't extinct, though we're still an endangered species!".

Then, Aylene said to her "Whoa! You're even bigger than an adult centaur!", and then the Rhinotauress explained "That's because my kind and race we're one of the largest centaur species which have existed for almost a million years, and yet we still exist today, though in small numbers rather than in huge herds!", and then Chloe asked her "How did we ended up here in this cave?", and then the Rhinotauress explained "I saw three adult human males and an adult Pegasus mare carrying you three while you're all unconscious to a huge water pit, and I got a bit curious but also very worried, and so I decided to follow after them and see what they're going to do with you, and when I watched them swimming (and flying) towards a large rock in the middle of the water pit and tying you three up to it, and then just turning away and leaving you all to drown and die, I was shocked and angry to see how could four full grown adults like them do such thing to three teenagers like you, and so I decided to jump into the pit and I swam towards the rock, got myself onto it and climbed up until I got to you, and then I cut the ropes tying you three to the rock, but then I also cut the ropes tying your wrists, ankles and hooves together, before I placed you three on myself before I left the water pit with you!".

When the three friends all heard everything from what the Rhinotauress said, Stephan asked "Wait, so does that means you saved our lives from drowning?", and the Rhinotauress nodded her human head and said "Yes! That's correct!", but then Stephan said "But I still don't understand! Rhinotaurs are known to be hostile and dangerous creatures towards every creature they see that is not one of their own kind, even if they're from another species of centaur!", but then the Rhinotauress said "Hostile and dangerous? Oh, not me! All I ever wanted is to have some friends, but most Rhinotaurs are bad at friendship, even more than dragons!", and then Stephan asked "Really?", and then he added "Then what's with the few Rhinotaurs who are actually good at friendship?", and then the Rhinotauress said as a tear formed and threatened to escape her eye "Those who are good at friendship are hated for the most by the rest of their own kind! Therefore, because I'm a good and kind Rhinotauress, most other Rhinotaurs hate me and keep themselves and each other away from me for the adult female I am!".

"WHAT?! WHY?!", Chloe, Aylene and Stephan yelled in shock all together, and the Rhinotauress said to them "Because most Rhinotaurs see the magic of friendship like a dangerous disease which can cause and lead our entire species into extinction!", but then Aylene cried "But that's not true at all, Miss! Friendship is necessary!", and then Stephan added "That's right! To my own kind, friendship means power for a good reason which helps us and keeps us alive today - friendship helps us centaurs find the love we need and pair with a mate for life! Without the strong powers and magic of friendship, almost everything in Equestria would've become extinct, and life will be crashed forever! And that also includes all of ponykind!", and then Aylene said in agreement "That's right! If we ponies fail friendship, we won't exist anymore!", and then Chloe added "Everyone needs to have friends! Even Rhinotaurs, I suppose, actually need friendship in order to find a mate and pair for life and have children of their own to prevent extinction!".

Then, the Rhinotauress said to the three friends "But even if what you're all saying to me is true, most Rhinotaurs think otherwise! They shunned me and banished me away from our homelands for me being good at friendship, and even my very own family were all sick and tired to look at or even think about me!", and when Chloe heard what she said, the teenage human girl cried "This is so disrespectful of them to do such thing as that to you! They're even worse than my own family when they tried to feed me to the tigers at the zoo when I was only 7 years old!", and then Aylene added "And worse than my own mother when she killed my own father and made my life harmful and miserable before I met and joined Chloe!", and then Stephan added "And even worse than my own father when he started abusing me and my little siblings to make us his revenge soldiers to avenge Lord Tirek, after our mother was killed by that Beartaur on that dark and terrible day which I can never forget!".

When the Rhinotauress heard what they all said about themselves having been abused by their own and respective kinds (particularly by their own and respective families), she gasped in shock and asked "Oh, so we four have something in common, aren't we?", and then Chloe said "Yes! Of course we have!", and then Aylene added "We al went through abuse!", and then Stephan said "At the evil hands (or hooves) of our very own families!", and then the Rhinotauress said to them and asked "So that explains why you're all together, aren't you?", and then all the three friends said together and in unison "Yes!", and then Aylene said to her "And you're just like us! You too went through abuse and harassment just like the three of us did! We're all the same!".

When the Rhinotauress heard what Chloe, Aylene and Stephan said to her about herself being the same as the three of them after she too have already been through abuse by her own family, said and asked "If you three want to, maybe can we be friends?", and when the inseparable trio heard what she said, Stephan said "Of course you can! You may be an adult and not a teenager like us, but you still saved our lives before! And so we all owe you something in return!", and then Aylene cried happily as she flied up and then kept herself flying and floating in place next to Chloe and Stephan "Welcome to our team!", and then Chloe added "It is a pleasure to let you into our inseparable team!", and the Rhinotauress blushed at the last words each of them said to her, and then she said "Thank you!", and then she added "I...I don't know what to say!", but then Aylene cried "It's okay, Miss! You're welcome to our inseparable team!", and then Chloe added "And we don't even care you're from an entirely different species! We're one human, one pony and one centaur, but we're still all together no matter what!", and then she added "And now you're one of us too! Because you saved our lives! You're our newest friend!".

When the Rhinotauress heard what the three friends said, tears of joy started to form and roll down her eyes and she said back "Thank you all!", and then she covered her face in her human hands as she finally burst into tears, since she never had or even made any friends before, but then she felt something touching her on the left cheek, and when she moved her own hands away from her own face, she saw Aylene stroking at her left cheek with a forehoof, before the teenage Pegasus mare said "It's okay! there's no need for you to cry!", and then Chloe added as she too approached to comfort and calm the Rhinotauress down "Everything's gonna be fine!", and then Stephan finished as he also approached with a reassuring face "We're your new friends, or may I say you're our new friend! And we all truly accept and appreciate you for the good Rhinotauress you really are! You're not like the rest of your own kind! You have a loving heart and you care for whoever needs your help, even if they're strangers, and it's just the same I used to do myself!", and when the Rhinotauress heard what they all said, she sniffled a bit and said "Thank you all, my friends!", and then she started to hug all the three friends at once and at the same time, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan couldn't help but hug her massive body back, and thus a miraculous thing happened - the inseparable trio (three) became the inseparable squad (four).


	89. Chapter 88:Tah's story, facing bullies

Later, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the Rhinotauress (who became their newest best friend) all left the cave and then they all started to search for a way out of the Everfree Forest, and on the way, Stephan asked the Rhinotauress "What's your name?", and then the Rhinotauress said and answered back "Tah.", and when the girls heard what she said about her own name, Chloe said "Wow, what a short name you have, Tah.", and then Aylene added "But your name is still cool, I have to admit.", and when Tah the Rhinotauress heard what they said, she blushed at their comments and said "Thank you both, girls.".

Then, Stephan asked her "Well, Tah, now that we know your name, why don't you tell us about your past?", and then Tah sighed and said "Fine, allow me to explain and tell you everything you three need to know about me.", and while they're keeping walking together, Tah explained "When I was just a little baby, I lost my mother and father to poachers, who hunted them down for their horns, similar to how ordinary rhinos were hunted for their horns.", and then Aylene asked "Why?", but then Chloe and Stephan shushed her, before Tah explained "Humans believe that rhinos' horns were useful and they're used for traditional medicine.".

When the three friends heard what Tah said about rhinos' horns being used for traditional medicine, Stephan said in pure disgust "That's horrible! How could humans just kill rhinos or even Rhinotaurs for their horns and just use them for such thing as traditional medicine?!", and then Tah sighed and said "Because some people believe that rhinos' horns were capable of curing cancer, but I know that rhinos' horns were, in fact, almost completely useless in helping people when it comes to curing dangerous diseases.", but then Chloe said "I may be a human myself, but I will never, ever kill a rhinoceros for its horns! It would be simply barbaric just like the way poachers always do!", and then Aylene added "Some bad ponies who were outlaws who hate the princesses and/or the elements of harmony may also kill rhinos for their horns, as they believe that they may increase the powers of using magic in Unicorns!", and when Tah heard what the teenage Pegasus mare said, she said back "I already know that as well, as some of the poachers who kill my kind for their horns weren't only people, but also ponies as well. That's the bitter truth, and I already know this for years.".

Then, Stephan said to her "I'm so sorry to hear that, Tah, but even I know this is truth as it is both on planet earth and also here in Equestria.", and then Tah said "Do you three wanna what rhinos and Rhinotaurs' horns were made of?", and then Aylene cried "Oh, yes! Tell us, please! I always wanted to know what rhinos' horns were made of, but I never really got the answer!", and then Tah said and explained "Let me tell and explain what you three need to know - rhinos and Rhinotaurs' horns were made out of keratin, and not out of bone.", and then Chloe said "I already know that! My grandmother once told me when I was just three years old that rhinos horns are made out of keratin! This is the exact same material from which people's fingernails like mine and horses and ponies' hooves are made!".

When Aylene heard what Chloe said, she asked in shock "Did you said that your humankind's fingernails and ponykind's hooves were both made out of keratin?!", and then Chloe said "Yes! Without the keratin in our fingernails and in your hooves, none of us would have existed!", and then Tah interrupted and said "I'm not surprised either. Almost all living land animals have keratin in their fingernails, toenails, claws and even horns.", and then Stephan asked "And what happened to you next, Tah? I mean what happened after these filthy and unkind poachers killed your parents?", and then Tah explained "Well, after my parents were killed for their horns, the poachers captured me alive and sold me in the Equestrian black market so I can be bought and kept locked up in a cage until I was old enough to be shot and killed for my own horns.".

When Stephan heard what she said, he yelled "This is so barbaric thing to do to baby animals AND to baby centaurs from different species!", and then Tah explained "But I managed to escape. One night, I managed to break out and escape from my cage, and then I started to run away for my life, but some bad ponies chased after me and their Unicorn partners and friends even tried to shoot me, and they ended up blasting, striking and hitting me in the right hind rhinoceros leg. Luckily, I wasn't scarred, but I was only wounded by the Unicorns' blasting magic, and I kept running away as fast as still could, before I finally collapsed a few miles away, near a Rhinotaur sanctuary, where good humans and ponies who coexist together in the same sanctuary were working together in order to prevent Rhinotaurs from going extinct.".

"I was found by two humans and two ponies, who then carried me together into the Rhinotaur sanctuary, and this is where I was raised alongside some other baby Rhinotaurs who also lost their parents to poachers, and my injuries were treated properly and my right hind rhinoceros leg eventually healed. Years later, when I grew up and became a healthy juvenile with a short horn growing on my forehead and a second, much shorter one just starting to grow on the top of my head, I was taught about the meanings of friendship, and much unlike the rest of the juvenile Rhinotaurs I grew up with in the sanctuary, I listened and paid attention to everything the humans and ponies told us about friendship, but in doing so, I was turned away by all the other juvenile Rhinotaurs I grew up with in the sanctuary.".

When Aylene heard what Tah said about that part in her own past, the teenage turquoise Pegasus mare cried "This is so outrageous! How could your own kind turn you away for listening and paying attention to the meanings of friendship?! This makes me so mad!", and then Tah said in agreement "Yes, I was horribly mistreated by the rest of my own kind with also lived with me in the same sanctuary.", but then she added "But years later, things got better when I grew up and eventually became a mature adolescent, because this is when I was released back to the wild alongside all the other mature adolescent Rhinotaurs, whom I grew up with since I was just an orphaned baby.".

But then she added "The bad news, however, came and struck and hit me back when I became a mature adult at last, because I wanted to find a mate whom I can pair with for life, and so I was looking for males I can mate with, but none of them came for me because I was a good and kind Rhinotauress, and my perfect and proper knowledge of friendship and of its meanings only disgusted them for the most, and so every male I wanted to pair with only rejected when I came and got near, thus leaving me mateless and lonely.".

When Chloe heard that part of Tah's past life story, she said with anger burning in her eyes "I can't believe all males from your own kind would dare to reject and avoid you so randomly only because of your perfect and proper knowledge of friendship and of its meanings! It's just sickening and unforgivable, and Stephan, Aylene and I would like to give some beatings to each and every male who turned you away for no good reason at all!", but then Tah said "But when it looked like things were going bleak for me, I finally found and paired with a male Rhinotaur who also liked friendship and its meanings, because he too was been raised and taught about friendship when he was young, and like me, he too paid a lot of attention, and this is why he and I chose each other for mates, much to all the other Rhinotaurs' pure disgust, and all the males and all the females (from both genders) were sickened by our love for friendship and also for each other, and so they all wanted to kill the both of us for choosing to be good Rhinotaurs, but luckily for the both of us, we both managed to escape with our lives, and then we successfully paired for life without any more interference.".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what she said, Stephan said to Tah "Woah! I can't believe that even after all the males turned you away and kept avoiding you, you found one adult male from your own kind who is actually good and kind like you to pair with! Now your past life story gets good at this point!", and then Tah said "Yes, it is, but it's not always the way I thought it would be.", and when the three friends all heard what she said, Aylene asked "What do you mean, Tah? What happened to you and to your husband after you paired with each other?", and then tears started to form and threatened to escape Tah's eyes as she knew she had no choice but to continue and tell what happened to both her husband and to herself.

Then, Tah continued and explained "One day, when my husband and I we're going on a long walk together, my husband was suddenly shot in the back by poachers, and this is when I turned around and saw them aiming their guns at him, but rather than running away for my life, I angrily went up to them and charged at them and destroyed their weapons, and then I angrily screamed andthe yelled at them all to go away, and then I reared up and trampled one of the evil poachers under my lower rhinoceros body and killed him, thus shocking and scaring the other poachers, who quickly turned to go and quickly ran away and left me alone with my injured husband, but when I came back to him, my husband was gone.".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what she said about her husband being shot and killed by the poachers, Chloe and Aylene gasped in shock and fright, while Stephan, on the other hand, was angered by what he just heard, before he then yelled "Those poachers, I would like to buck them very hard and teach them all lessons! Hard lessons!", and then Tah finally stopped dead in her tracks and then she herself started to shed tears and said tearfully "They took my husband away from me! They ruined and destroyed my life! They made me feel miserable again!", but then Chloe asked her "And what happened to you next?", and then Tah the Rhinotauress sniffled and then she tried to calm herself down and then she continued and tell the last part in her past life story.

"However, even after my husband was shot, I realized that not everything is gone from my life for good. I still had myself, and soon I realized I'm going to face a wonderful surprise that will change my life forever.", and then Stephan asked her "What kind of surprise is going to change your life forever? What are you hiding from us that we don't yet know?", and then Tah gave them all a smile and said "I'm pregnant!", and when the three friends all heard these two last words she just said, they all gasped in shock before they all yelled in a surprised tone all together (and in unison) "YOU'RE WHAT?!", and then Tah said and answered "I'm pregnant.", and then she added "I was just afraid you three might hate me too if I told you that before we left that cave, but I beg you, please don't hate me and/or turn on me for me being pregnant and for me going to have my own child!", and then she shook a little bit as she thought the three teenage friends would randomly turn against her and will attack her for telling them that she's pregnant.

However, instead of attacking her, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all jumped on Tah and started to hug her tightly around her massive body, and then Chloe said "Weren't angry at you for you being pregnant, Tah!", and then Aylene added "We would like to make friends with your new child too, when you give birth to her or him, of course!", and then Stephan "Your baby's gonna be so cute! I bet even more than my own younger twin siblings!", and then he quickly added "But I'm still sure that they and the rest of the little ones would like to meet her or him once she or he is born!", and then Tah said to her three new friends "Thank you all, my friends!", as Aylene was trying to use her forehooves to wipe away the tears forming in the Rhinotauress' eyes, and once the four friends broke their hug, they all continued to walk together and after walking for what seemed like a few hours, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Tah all finally saw the way out of the Everfree Forest, and so they all started to run together as fast as they could towards the opening which leads in and out of the Everfree Forest.

However, before they can all leave the Everfree Forest, Zenobia the Spotted hyena and Clayton the Atlas bear both came out of nowhere and then they both jumped and blocked the four friends' path, and then Zenobia said in an evil tone "Going somewhere?", and then Clayton added in a similar, quite mocking tone "You lost, little kids?", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all saw their two newest enemies once again, Chloe cried "Please, leave us alone!", and then Aylene added in the same tone as Chloe's "And leave us alone!", and then Stephan yelled "Go away, you two no good big bad bullies!", but then Zenobia yelled at them all "Silence!", and then Clayton added evilly "We're both going to teach you three stupid kids to respect and worship us!", and then Zenobia said evilly "You three must learn how to respect your elders!", but then Stephan said "We respect good elders, but we'll never, ever respect bad elders who don't even know how to behave themselves when they come across new children and teenagers!".

However, Zenobia yelled evilly "If you won't shut up, filthy centaur, we promise that you three will be chained up chain together, and then we'll send you all to serve life sentences in Tartarus!", and then Clayton added as he stood smugly next to Zenobia "Face it, you three - you're not going back to your homes until you all learn to worship the both of us!". However, before the two mammalian carnivores can start attacking Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once again, Tah the Rhinotauress suddenly stepped forward, came in the way and she put herself between the three friends and the two enemies, and then she asked "What is going on?", but then Zenobia asked "Huh? And who are you?", and then Clayton added "You look fat and more tastier than these three stupid kids behind your back!", but when Tah heard the Atlas bear's unflattering insult, she then asked with anger rising in her eyes "Who are you calling 'fat'? Me?", but then Clayton said "No, your Grandpa! Yes, you!", and then he and Zenobia laughed together at the Rhinotauress.

However, then, Tah said, explained and asked "First of all, I'm pregnant, okay?! Second, who are you two and what do you want from my new friends?!", but then Clayton said in a mocking tone "'Your' friends? These three teenagers were all nothing but messing up scumbags!", but then the Rhinotauress said sternly to the two carnivorans "Don't you two dare talk to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan like that, you mean, heartless bullies!", and then she added "They're not scumbags at all! But YOU TWO are!", but then Zenobia asked "Excuse us?", and then Clayton added "Listen to us, you pregnant beast! Get out of our way or you and your unborn child will both get hurt!", but then Tah said back firmly "Even so, I'm not letting you two do what you want to do!", and then she added "Who do you two even think you are that you both have the rights to pick on teenagers?! I will not let you two do any harm to my new friends!", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what Tah just said to Zenobia and Clayton, the three friends smiled up at her when they saw her daring and willing to stand up to the two animal bullies, just to save them all from their wrath, even if she's pregnant.

Then, Zenobia makes the first move when she started to run and then she charged towards Tah, with Clayton following in tow, but even their teamwork and partnership is not strong enough to take her down, and she was yet more clever than the both of them together, and much like other centaur species, she has six limbs (two arms of a human and four legs of an animal (in her case - the four legs of a rhinoceros)), two hearts (one of a human and one of a rhinoceros, and one brain of a human inside her head. Just then, Tah moved out of the way, but then she grabbed Zenobia by the tail and then she picked up the female Spotted hyena and then she gave her an angry rhinoceros snort rit to the face, before she then punched Zenobia and threw her right at Clayton, when the male Atlas bear jumped up in an attempt to strike and maul at the Rhinotauress, thus sending both Zenobia and Clayton back down to the ground, and then she charged towards them in order to finish them off, but then Zenobia and Clayton both stood back up and then each used a forepaw to trip Tah and cause her to lose her balance and end up getting stuck in a tree with her rhinoceros horns.

Then, Zenobia and Clayton both turned around to face Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and then they charged together towards the three friends, but then Stephan put himself in front of both Chloe and Aylene, turned tail and bucked the two animal bullies square in the faces and sent them back towards Tah, who reacted back by kicking the two mammalian carnivores in the butts with her hind rhinoceros legs, before she then broke free from the tree and then she turned around to face Zenobia and Clayton once again, and when they saw Tah is free and ready to attack them some more, they both turned to escape, but then she grabbed them both by the backs of their necks and then she lifted them up to look at them right in the eyes, before she then gave them both another angry rhinoceros snort.

Then, she said to them in a firm and angry tone "I give you two a fair warning - you mess with my friends, you mess up with me, you two no good lousy jerks!", and then she violently threw them back down to the ground, before she then turned tail and kicked them square in the faces with both of her hind rhinoceros legs, thus sending the two flying up in the air and hitting the same tree Tah got stuck in with their heads, thus sending them both falling down with the tree and hitting the ground, thus getting knocked unconscious and they're soon defeated.

With Zenobia and Clayton were both knocked out cold, Tah turned to face Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, who all trotted and ran up to her and then they higged her tightly once again and then Chloe cried "Thank you for saving us, Tah!", and then Aylene added "We truly appreciate what you did for us when you stood up to these Zenobia and Clayton!", and then Stephan finished and said "These Spotted hyena and Atlas wouldn't be leaving us alone if it weren't for you to stand up against them and give them a fair beating before sending them both to be knocked against a tree, and sending them and tree falling down and causing these two get knocked out cold and defeated!", and then Aylene cried "You're indeed a good friend we can truly trust, Tah!", and when Tah heard what they said, she gave up a warm and kind smile to the three teenage friends and said "Thank you all!".

Then, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all broke their hug away from Tah, Chloe said "Thank you, Tah!", and then Aylene added "We owe you something good in return for saving our lives twice on the same day!", and then Stephan finished and said "We promise you that what gift we will give you will be great!", but then Tah said "You three better get out of this forest and get back to your homes now! It's getting late, so you three must go!", and when the three heard what she said, they all said back to the Rhinosauress in unison "Goodbye, Tah! Thank you for everything you've done for us so far by now!", and then she said back to the three friends "Goodbye, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan! I promise you I will come at any given opportunity to meet you all again!", and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all called and waved for her for a final goodbye before they finally left the Everfree Forest, while Tah called and waved for them back for a goodbye as well before she turned around and started to slowly walk away and back into the Everfree Forest.

Later, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all finally reached and arrived back at their respective homes, they're greeted and welcomed back by Celestia, Luna, Andy and Zoey, respectively, and when evening came, the three ate dinners at their respective homes, before they all finally went to their respective bedrooms to sleep when nighttime came and Luna's moon was now rising up and glowing in the night skies alongside the stars, and while they're all sleeping in their respective beds, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all hoped that one day, they will all meet again their newest best friend who saved their lives twice on the same day - Tah, the good, friendly and kind Rhinotauress.


	90. Chapter 89:the threatening letters

A week have passed since Chloe, Aylene and Stephan went to Everfree Forest to befriend the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears, only for them to be bullied, threatened and chased away by two specific animals named Zenobia (a female Spotted hyena) and Clayton (a male Atlas bear), and later to be taken by Gilad to his family's home to meet baby Dan Ashmor, who quickly turned out to be evil for a six months old baby boy, and thus causing Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to try to escape, only to be knocked out cold by the evil brothers and Black Heart, who quickly took the three friends to the great water pit to drown them, only for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to be saved and rescued all together by an unlikely savior who later became their newest best friend - an adult Rhinotauress named Tah, who is also pregnant and is expecting to give birth to her own first child anytime soon.

She (Tah) also saved the inseparable trio once again when Zenobia and Clayton blocked their path out of the Everfree Forest and bullied and threatened them some more and tried to force the human, Pegasus and centaur to respect and worship them both, only to be stopped by Tah, who willingly fought them both and eventually managed to knock them out cold, thus saving Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once again on that same day, just a mere week ago, and following what she have done, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan willingly formed a friendly bond with her, and the 'three' best friends extended their number and became the 'four' friends, and they (Chloe, Aylene and Stephan) too are expecting Tah to give birth to her own first child so Chloe, Aylene and Stephan can make friends with him, and maybe even introduce the future baby to the rest of the babies and children they, their families and their friends and allies all have.

One day, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all went to meet each other, and upon meeting each other again, the three went together to play and fun in the meadow all together, and when they got tired, they sat down under the tree, and then Chloe asked as she thought to herself "So, what about Tah?", and then Aylene added as she too thought to herself "Did she gave birth to have new baby or not yet?", and then Stephan said as he thought to himself as well "I don't think so, but I do still think she's trying to keep it a surprise. After all, pregnant females, no matter if they're humans, animals or even legendary or mythological creatures need privacy in order to deliver their own children to the fresh air and to the open world.", and then Chloe said in agreement "I guess you're right, Stephan.", and then Aylene added "That's why Tah haven't showed up with her new baby yet.", and then Stephan said "But I still hope she will come to meet us and will show us her new baby anytime soon.".

Then, Chloe said "I wish and hope the baby Tah will give birth to will be born cute, like most babies from lots of different species, including humans and ponies.", and then Aylene added "Yes, I hope so too. When I was a newborn filly, my father, Wild Berry, was so happy and was very pleased to have me as his daughter, and when I first said the word 'mama', my mother, Black Heart, before she turned evil and killed my father, said back to me that I'm 'mommy's little mare', and this was only during the first year of my life, but everything changed when she started attacking me for nonsensical reasons, and she tried everything she could've done to keep me away from non-ponies, even if they're nice and ready and willing to befriend me when I asked them for friendship, and once she knocked my non-pony friends out cold, she used to drag me back home and beat me while my father is away from home, but when he returned and saw my injuries, he was shocked and angered to realize that my mother hates me for being a good pony just like him, and she even threatened to kill me if I don't inherit Wolf Eye's evilness from her to me.", and then Aylene felt a tear threatening to escape her eye from just remembering what she so from her own past, thanks to her father's spirit - who also showed her through ghost magic how his own wife dared to kill him for being good.

When Stephan heard what she said and heard her mentioning Wolf Eye's name, the teenage centaur asked her "What do you have in common with that evil wolf-pony monster?", and then he added asked "Is he related to you or something?", and then Aylene said "Yes, he is, even though I'm a pure pony myself, I'm still related to him.", and then Stephan asked "What Wolf Eye has to do with you?", and then confessed "He's...he's...he's my grandfather.", and when Stephan heard what she said, the centaur gasped in shock and yelled "WHAT?!", and then Aylene nodded and said "My mother, Black Heart, is Wolf Eye's daughter, and therefore - I'm his granddaughter.", and then she cried "But I don't want to be like him!", and then she quickly covered her own face with her hooves and started to sob from the fact that she's related to the dreaded half-wolf/half-Pegasus stallion hybrid who was none other than one of the worst criminals known in all of Equestria.

However, just then, Aylene felt a human hand touching and stroking at her mane, and when the Pegasus slowly uncovered her face and then turned her head to the left, she saw Chloe is touching and stroking her in a manner to comfort her, since she too was there when they both saw the real reason which explained why Aylene's father died, as well as about Aylene's traumatic past and her family relationship to Wolf Eye as his granddaughter, and she also saw Chloe is smiling warmly and kindly at her before she said to her "Shhh, it's okay, Aylene. Stephan may haven't seen or been there to see everything about your past and about your father's tragic death, but I too was there and I can promise you, Aylene, that you're good and that you always will be loved by me, because even though I'm a human, we're still sisters and nothing will ever stand in our way or will prevent us from staying together as one. Together with me, we both have the heart bigger than all of Equestria, and with Stephan as our best friend, our heart is even bigger than it was before.".

When Aylene heard what he human sister said to her, she sniffled a bit before she then wiped the tears forming and threatening to escape her eyes, and then she softly said to the teenage human girl "You're right, thank you, Chloe.", and then she turned with the rest of her body to hug Chloe tightly, and the teenage human girl returned the hug as well as she too hugged the teenage Pegasus mare tightly in order to keep comforting her and help her let go of her traumatic past, and Stephan, who watched everything from very close and nearby, couldn't help but shed tears of joy when he saw his two female best friends hugging each other, and then he said "It's beautiful!" before he then joined in and started to hug Chloe and Aylene as well, and seeing him joining the hug allowed and helped Chloe calm Aylene down and help her shake away the pain she have been through in her traumatic past.

Then, when the three friends broke their hug, they all finally stood up on their feet and hooves, and then they all decided to go back to their homes, and so Chloe and Aylene said goodbye to Stephan the moment they reached and arrived at his home, before Chloe and Aylene themselves went all the way back to their own home in the royal castle, but what's going to happen next to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in both homes will take them all by shock and surprise.

When Chloe and Aylene entered their bedroom, they saw a folded letter which was being placed down on their bed, and when they both saw the letter, Chloe asked "Where this letter came from?", and then Aylene added "It wasn't here before, was it?", and then Chloe said "No, it wasn't." and then she added "How did that letter ended up in our room?", and then Aylene added "Who put that letter on our bed?", and then they decided to go unfold the letter and see and read what it says, but the moment they unfolded the letter, Chloe and Aylene were both struck with shock and horror to see who actually sent and gave them the letter while they're not at home at the time.

The letter said

 _Dear teenage human and Pegasus,_

 _We're both very disappointed in the both of you and in your centaur friend for not worshipping and/or respecting your elders! I hope you're both happy, because you and your centaur friend's shared joy and happiness won't last long! My best friend and I we both know where you both live, and we also know where your centaur friend lives too! If you thought you're all safe from us and from our shared wrath, then I promise you, we BOTH promise you, that none of you are safe for a mere moment!_

 _When the right time comes, we'll be in both of your homes to take you all along with us! We're both going to teach you all to respect the both of us for kicking us, for lashing out at us, and also for running away like three stupid cowards! Your families and friends may be treating you both too good, but under OUR rules, you and your centaur friend will all learn how to really respect your elders!_

 _None of you deserve any love, and we promise the both of you and also your centaur friend that your happy and joyful days are short!_

 _Yours truly, and sincerely,_

 _Clayton_.

When Chloe and Aylene finished reading the threatening letter Clayton have sent to them and to their bedroom behind their backs, Chloe and Aylene quickly decided to hide the threatening letter from Celestia and Luna, to make sure that they don't find out that they and Stephan were all threatened all together by their two newest enemies - Zenobia the Spotted hyena and her friend Clayton the Atlas bear, who both want to make the three friends' lives a living hell for them not respecting and/or worshipping the two villainous animals, who will do whatever it takes to destroy Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's joined, shared, joyful and happy lives.

Meanwhile, Stephan entered his own bedroom (back in his own home) and there he found a folded letter which was being placed down on his bed, and when he saw the letter, Stephan asked himself "Where this letter came from?", and then he added "It wasn't here before, was it?", and then he asked himself "How did that letter ended up in my room?", and then he added "Who put that letter on my bed?", and then he decided to go unfold the letter and see and read what it says, but the moment he unfolded the letter, Stephan was struck with shock and horror to see who actually sent and gave him the letter while he's not at home at the time.

The letter said

 _Dear teenage centaur,_

 _We're both very disappointed in you and in your human and Pegasus friends for not worshipping and/or respecting your elders! I hope you're happy, because you and your human and Pegasus friends' shared joy and happiness won't last long! My best friend and I we both where you live, and we also know where your human and Pegasus friends lives too! If you thought you're all safe from us and from our shared wrath, then I promise you, we BOTH promise you, that none of you are safe for a mere moment!_

 _When the right time comes, we'll be in both of your homes to take you all along with us! We're both going to teach you all to respect the both of us for kicking us, for lashing out at us, and also for running away like three stupid cowards! Your families and friends may be treating you too good, but under OUR rules, you and your human and Pegasus friends will all learn how to really respect your elders!_

 _None of you deserve any love, and we promise you and also your human and Pegasus friends that your happy and joyful days are short!_

 _Yours truly, and sincerely,_

 _Zenobia_.

When Stephan finished reading the threatening letter Zenobia have sent to him and to his bedroom behind his back, Stephan quickly decided to hide the threatening letter from Andy and Zoey, to make sure that they don't find out that he, Chloe and Aylene were all threatened all together by their two newest enemies - Zenobia the Spotted hyena and her friend Clayton the Atlas bear, who both want to make the three friends' lives a living hell for them not respecting and/or worshipping the two villainous animals, who will do whatever it takes to destroy Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's joined, shared, joyful and happy lives.

When nighttime came and Luna's moon was shining beautifully in the night skies, everypony and every creature all fell asleep peacefully, but for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, this isn't going to be a good and peaceful night, but the most horrible nightmare they have never experienced before.


	91. Chapter 90:the nightmare 3

This is nighttime, and everypony and every creature were all asleep, but not everyone were sleeping peacefully, and as for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, the three were all suffering together from a shared terrible nightmare, and this is all because of their two newest enemies, Zenobia the Spotted hyena and her friend Clayton the Atlas bear, who both want to make their lives a living hell for the three friends not respecting and/or worshipping the two villainous animals, who will do whatever it takes for the both of them to make Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's lives miserable to the very end.

Chloe and Aylene found themselves and each other in a dark void, and then Chloe called and asked "Hello?", and then Aylene joined and added "Is anypony there?", and just then, they saw a teenage male centaur coming in the darkness towards them, and this male is none other than Stephan himself, and when the two sisters saw their centaur best friend coming towards them, Chloe asked "Stephan?", and when Stephan recognized her voice and approached closer and closer to see if it's really her, he then saw Chloe and Aylene and then he asked "Chloe? Aylene?", and then the three asked each other "What are you doing here?", and then they all added "How did you ended up in here?", and then Stephan said "I don't like this scary place. It feels like if it's haunted. We need to find a way to get out of here.", and Chloe and Aylene nodded to him in agreement, and then they tried to search for a way out of the dark and scary void they all ended up in all together.

However, just then, the three friends all heard a crowd of sinister laughs coming from all around them, and then Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and even baby Dan all came out of nowhere and then they all approached Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, who all shook and cowered in fear, and right behind them, they're accompanied by three more people and a centaur Chloe and Stephan never to see ever again - her real father, Jeff, her real mother, Jane, her real older, Mike, and Stephan's own father, Howard.

Then, Jeff said to Chloe in an evil tone "Do you really think and believe ponykind and other creatures alike still likes you and would like you to stay and live in their world, Chloe? Well, you're dead wrong, young lady!, and then Jane added "I see that now you managed to make close and best friends with not only that Pegasus pony, but also with that teenage male centaur, but ONE pony and ONE centaur, which were TWO in total does not indicates the rule!", and then Mike said to his former younger sister "Well, sister, do you really think all ponies and other creatures alike still love you around else than just these Pegasus pony and teenage centaur or yours?! Well, I can say you totally brainwashed the both of them into your side, Chloe!", and then he and his parents laughed evilly, and Howard the evil centaur also joined in and laughed evilly alongside them.

However, Chloe snapped in anger and then she said "No! They're not even brainwashed! Neither of them are! Their names are Aylene and Stephan, and they're both truly my best sister and best friend I've EVER had in my entire life!", and then Aylene added "Chloe's right! I chose to live with her and become her sister after everything bad my own mother did to me! We even found out that you, Mr. Jeff Williams, you left your own father to die when he almost sacrificed himself to save your life!", and then Stephan added "And I'm happy I chose to save both Chloe and Aylene and become their very closest best friend of all! And as a matter of fact, we also know that you, Black Heart, you cruelly and heartlessly killed your own husband and tried to force Aylene into becoming evil like Wolf Eye! But I don't care that some members of each of their biological families were evil, because I still love and like both Chloe and Aylene for the human and Pegasus they are!".

However, Yigal laughed evilly at the three of them and then he said "Yes, that's true you're two sisters and their closest best friend, but nothing will change the fact that you managed to corrupt both Aylene and Stephan, and the fact also tells that from now on, you, your Pegasus sister and your centaur friend are now hated for the most, but not only by the entire ponykind and by all the changelings, but also by all good centaurs living in this world as well!", and then Yigal laughed evilly at the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur who all stepped aback in shock, fear and terror.

Then, Black Heart evilly said "Yeah, that's right! Nopony and no other creature will like and love you three around because you're biologically related to us! I'm very disappointed at you Aylene for deliberately disobeying me, and also for insulting my human friends like this!", and then Howard added "She's right! And as for you, Stephan, I'm deeply disappointed in you for turning down the opportunity for you to become a great centaur just like Lord Tirek!", but then Aylene snapped and cried "THAT'S NOT TRUE! I'M NOT CORRUPTED! NEITHER IS STEPHAN! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE ALL LYING TO THE THREE OF US! I CHOSE TO LIVE WITH CHLOE BECAUSE YOU ABUSED ME AND BLAMED ME FOR MY FATHER'S DEATH! BUT NOW WE ALL ALREADY KNOW WHO REALLY STOOD BEHIND THIS! IT WAS YOU, MOTHER! YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!", and then Stephan added "AND I CHOSE TO SAVE BOTH CHLOE AND AYLENE AND BECOME THEIR CLOSEST BEST FRIEND BECAUSE YOU ABUSED ME AND EVEN THE TWINS AND FORCED US INTO BECOMING EVIL JUST LIKE YOU AND LIKE THAT DISGRACEFUL LORD TIREK!".

However, just then, Ezra came forward and then he slapped both Chloe and Aylene across the faces twice, and then he also kicked Stephan in the left horse foreleg very hard, and then he evilly said "It's true that your friendship to one another is strong and un-breakable, but now you three are in even bigger troubles you three never considered before!", and then he laughed evilly at the teenage human girl, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend. Then, Black Heart said evilly and reminded "I'm actually the pony who helped Yigal and his brothers to take down Celestia, because I also hated her so much, but she defeated me and my friends, and she used her magic to erase our memories before we managed to escape, but now we remember everything, and this makes me know and understand why I'm a bad pony who doesn't respects Celestia or obeys her rules!", and then she laughed evilly.

Then, Gilad and Howard both came forward and then Gilad said first to the teenage human girl, to her Pegasus sister and to their centaur friend "You three want to see some proof which will tell you three you're not accepted in this wretched world after all?!", and then Howard added "That way, you three will all see and learn that we're the ones who are right here!", but Chloe cried "I don't wanna see any proofs! Leave me, my sister and our best friend alone!", and then Aylene added "Yeah, we don't even wanna listen to you all after everything bad you've done to us!", and then Stephan said "I have listened to you and ended up getting tricked and fooled by your evilness once before! I will not listen to you ever again!", but Gilad said to them as he and Howard both suddenly held two smoke bombs in his (Gilad's) right hand and his (Howard's) left human hand "You three are going to see and understand that nopony and no other creature always hated you for the most!", and then he and Howard said and added together and in unison "Now, guys! Behold when you all see THIS!" and then they both threw the two smoke bombs and they both hit the ground in front of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and when the two bombs exploded, they released a huge cloud of smoke which caused Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to choke as Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart, baby Dan, Chloe's real family and Howard the centaur (Stephan's evil father) all disappeared in the huge cloud of smoke.

When the cloud of smoke cleared, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan found themselves together just near the Everfree Forest, but it was nighttime, and back in Ponyville, everypony were all asleep. However, when they all turned around, the three found themselves that they're in front of Fluttershy's cottage, and so they decided to knock on the door and see if Fluttershy will answer and will let them all inside, and just after the three friends knocked on the door, Fluttershy opened the door and faced them, but then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all saw that she's having a rather angry face instead of her usual happy one, and when the teenage human girl, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend all saw the coldness in Fluttershy's angry eyes, they all sensed that something was wrong.

Then, Chloe asked "Fluttershy?", and then Aylene added "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?", and then Stephan asked and said "What's going on here, Fluttershy? You look angry. Really angry.", but then Fluttershy cruelly punched both Chloe and Aylene in the faces with her forehooves, and then she flew up to look Stephan in the eyes before she punched him too in the face and then she shouted at them "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU THREE COME TO MY HOME AFTER WHAT YOUR MOTHER, YOUR FATHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE ALREADY DONE TO US AND TO OUR WORLD?!", and then she growled at them all in anger as she looked down at the teenage human girl and at her Pegasus sister, who both cowered and whimpered in fear as they both trembled like leaves, before she then looked up at the teenage centaur, who also shook in fear a little bit before he then asked "Fluttershy, what are you doing?", and then he added "Why are you using violence against us for no reason at all? We all just came here to say hello!".

However, Fluttershy angrily shouted at them "YOU THREE ARE JUST LIKE YIGAL AND HIS EVIL BROTHERS, AS WELL AS THE TRAITOROUS PEGASUS MARE, BLACK HEART, WHO ALL TRIED TO KILL OUR MOST BELOVED RULER, CELESTIA, SO THEY CAN TAKE OVER OUR WORLD FOR THEMSELVES! AS FOR HOWARD, HE'S TOO A MONSTER WHO LIKES FOLLOWING IN LORD TIREK'S HOOFPRINTS, AND YOU, STEPHAN, YOU'RE JUST THE SAME THING AS YOUR FATHER IS, AND THEREFORE YOU DON'T DESERVE TO HAVE A MATE OR WIFE AND CONTINUE AND MAKE YOUR OWN FAMILY, YOU EVIL CENTAUR! NOW LEAVE US ALONE OR MY FRIENDS AND I WILL MAKE SURE YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR THE CRIMES YOUR MOTHER, YOUR FATHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE DONE TO US AND TO OUR WORLD!", and when she said all those hateful words at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, the three knew that they have to run away while they still can, and so the three quickly turned around and quickly got away from Fluttershy and they all ran away from her, but then she started to chase after them as she became determined to harm all three of them.

However, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all managed to lose Fluttershy, but she still shouted in anger and searched for the three of them everywhere, and the three knew that they have to find some place to hide in and wait until Fluttershy calms down from her sudden wrath, and eventually the two arrived in Ponyville and entered the town in order to find a safe place where they can all hide in from Fluttershy, and eventually the three arrived all together in front of Sugarcube Corner, and they hoped that Pinkie Pie will let them inside and will deal with Fluttershy in case she comes to get them all.

However, before they knocked on the door, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all suddenly heard someone crying and sniffling, and soon the three recognized and understood from who the cries and sniffles came - the cries and sniffles came from Pinkie Pie, who is inside Sugarcube Corner. When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan came even closer to the front door, they all suddenly heard Mr. Cake talking behind the door to Pinkie Pie. Mr. Cake said "Oh, Pinkie Pie, we knew that human girl, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend were all nothing but trouble to all of us after what their traitorous mother, cruel and heartless father and kind have done to us and to our world.", and then Pinkie Pie said to him while she still sniffled "You're right, Mr. Cake, these three were all trouble to us all, and even though that Pegasus (Aylene) is one of our kind, she's still the daughter of that traitorous mare who helped Yigal and his brothers and tried to kill our ruler, Celestia, and take over our world, and even though that young centaur (Stephan) appears to be good, gentle and kind on the outside, he's nothing but pure evil on the inside, just like his old man (Stephan's father, Howard) was!".

Then, Mrs. Cake also spoke up and she said to Pinkie Pie "How about I'll fix you something to eat, Pinkie?", and then Pinkie Pie nodded as she still cried and sniffled, and then Mrs. Cake went to the kitchen and left Pinkie Pie, and then Mr. Cake said to the pink party mare "You'll feel a lot more better when we'll fix you something to eat, and just forget these three traitorous scams. We'll make sure Randall and his friends won't make any good contact with these teenage human girl, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend after what their mother, father and kind have done.", before he also went to the kitchen after Mrs. Cake and left Pinkie Pie alone.

Then, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan knocked on the door in hopes Pinkie Pie will hear them and she'll open the door for them and will let them go inside, and when Pinkie Pie heard them knocking on the door, she went to the door and opened it and then she looked down (and up) at them, but her mane and tail were flattened and her coat, mane and tail were all grayish instead of pink, and she didn't looked very happy to see the teenage human girl, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend, who all sensed that something is wrong with Pinkie Pie when they saw her grayish colors and her unnatural-looking appearance.

Then, Pinkie Pie asked them "Oh, so it's you three. What are you all doing here?", and then Chloe asked her "Can you please let us go inside?", and then Aylene added "You need to help us! Fluttershy is hunting us down for no reason!", and then Stephan said and asked "I've never seen you gray like this, Pinkie Pie. What is going on?", but then Pinkie Pie angrily snapped at the three of them and then she shouted out loud "HOW DARE YOU TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU THREE MEDIUM SIZED MEAN MEANIE PANTS! YOU THREE ARE NOTHING BUT TRAITORS! I ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOUR MOTHER, YOUR FATHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE DONE TO US ALL! LEAVE US ALONE AND NEVER COME BACK!", and this caused Chloe and Aylene to fall backwards and hit Stephan's horse forelegs, thus sending all three falling backwards and hitting the ground all together, and then tears started to form and threatened to escape their eyes as they're all shocked and horrified by Pinkie Pie's sudden outburst on them.

Then, Chloe asked while she, Aylene and Stephan fought back the tears threatening to escape their eyes "Pinkie Pie, you too? Why are you yelling and shrieking angrily at us like this? What have we done that made you angry at us?", and then Pinkie Pie growled angrily at them all and then she shouted at all three of them in the faces "YOU THREE ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TO US AND TO ALL OF OUR WORLD! NOW LEAVE BEFORE I'LL SHOOT YOU ALL OUT OF MY PARTY CANNON!", and this caused Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to quickly get up on their feet and hooves, and soon they all ran away from Pinkie Pie while they're all trying to wipe away the tears forming and threatening to escape their eyes, but then she also started to chase after them as she too became determined to harm all three of them.

However, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all managed to lose Pinkie Pie, but she still shouted in anger and searched for the three of them everywhere, and the three knew that they have to find some other place to hide in and wait until both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie calms down from their sudden wrath, and eventually, they all looked up and saw a cloud floating in the sky above their heads, but then they also saw Rainbow Dash sleeping on top of it, and so the three decided to call for her to wake her up so she can help them deal with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in case they come to get all three of them.

When Rainbow Dash heard the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur all calling for her, she soon woke up and then she turned and looked down to see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan calling for her, and so she flew down and descended from the cloud until she landed on the ground below, and then she started to approach Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, but like Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, she also looked at them with a rather angry face as she got closer to the three of them.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all noticed the sudden change in Rainbow Dash, Chloe asked her "Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?", and then Aylene added "Why are you too angry at us?", and then Stephan asked "What's going on with you, Rainbow Dash? What's up? Why are you so angry at us?", and then Rainbow Dash angrily snapped at them and then she violently punched and shoved both Chloe and Aylene backwards, and then she flew up and kicked and punched Stephan in the face, thus making them all fall on their backs and hit the ground, and then Rainbow came towards them and then she trapped Chloe and Aylene between her forelegs, while Stephan was shaking his head from side to side in order to shake off the attack, and then he turned to see Rainbow Dash as she looked down at Chloe and Aylene with an angry face.

Then, Chloe tried to speak and then she said "Please, Rainbow Dash! You gotta help us! Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie have gone completely insane on us and they're both trying to hunt us down!" but then Rainbow Dash angrily shouted at both her and Aylene in the faces "HOW DARE YOU TALKING TO ME ABOUT MY FRIENDS LIKE THIS, YOU THREE YOUNG IDIOTS?! WHERE DID YOU ALL GOT SUCH BAD EDUCATION?! FROM YIGAL AND FROM HIS BROTHERS, FROM BLACK HEART, OR FROM THAT MONSTER CENTAUR HOWARD?! TELL ME RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL BEAT UP THE THREE OF YOU FOR NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS!", and this made the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur shocked and horrified all together, and Chloe and Aylene were in fear and terror as they looked at Rainbow Dash's angry face and eyes, as she also started to bear her teeth at the both of them, while Stephan looked at her with shock and horror in his eyes.

Then, Aylene spoke up and asked "What's gone into you, Rainbow Dash? Don't you know who we are? Have you suddenly forgotten us?", but then Rainbow Dash angrily slapped both Chloe and Aylene across their faces with her hooves and then she shouted angrily at them "DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU THREE YOUNG IDIOTS! I ALREADY KNOW THAT YOU'RE ALL FOLLOWING YIGAL AND HIS BROTHERS, AS WELL AS THAT TRAITOROUS BLACK HEART, AND THAT MONSTER CENTAUR HOWARD! DON'T YOU THREE?!", and this made both Chloe and Aylene to start to cry in pain as they begged for mercy, but then Rainbow Dash angrily roared at them "ANSWER ME!", and this made Chloe to say "We don't follow Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and we don't follow Black Heart either!", and then Aylene added "And we definitely don't follow Howard as well! Why don't you believe us?", and this made Rainbow Dash shout at them "YOU THREE ARE LIARS! LEAVE US AND OUR WORLD ALONE, YOU TRAITORS!", and this made Stephan to slowly clench his left human hand into a fist and then he started to shake with anger burning in his eyes to see Rainbow Dash harassing his two female best friends for no reason at all, and then he angrily yelled at the adult rainbow-maned Pegasus mare "HEY YOU! RAINBOW DASH! YOU LEAVE MY TWO BEST FRIENDS ALONE!", and then he got up and charged towards her and then he delivered a powerful punch and hit Rainbow Dash square in the face and knocked her off Chloe and Aylene, thus allowing the two to get up on their feet and hooves, and then they all started to run away from Rainbow Dash, but then she quickly recovered from the attack and then she started to chase after them as she too became determined to harm all three of them.

However, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all managed to lose Rainbow Dash, but she still shouted in anger and searched for the three of them everywhere, and the three knew that they must some other place to hide in and wait until Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash calms down from their sudden wrath, and so they all went together to Sweet Apple Acres to ask Applejack to help them deal with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and when they all finally arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, the three knocked on the door in hopes Applejack will answer and will open the door for them, and after a short moment, Applejack finally opened the door and came out to see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, but she too looked angry when she saw them.

Then, Chloe begged from Applejack "Please, Applejack! help us! Three of your friends are hunting us down! They gone completely insane on us, and they want to harm us!", but then Applejack shoved both Chloe and Aylene to the ground, and then she turned and roughly shoved Stephan to the ground as well, and when the three turned back, they all saw Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash all looking down at them with evil smirks and with evil smiling faces, causing Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to swallow nervously all together as they're now trapped between the four mares.

Then, Applejack approached the teenage human girl, her Pegasus sister and their centaur friend, and then she stopped and looked down (and up) at them and then she said to them "I'm not going to help you three for what your mother, your father and your kind have done to us and to our world! You three are a disgrace to Equestria, and everypony and every other creature knows it! My friends and I we're going to teach you three a lesson!", and then she turned and said to her friends "Hold these three still so I can rope them and tie them up so they won't be able to escape!", and the three mares obeyed, and so Fluttershy managed to trap Aylene under her hooves, Pinkie Pie managed to trap Chloe under her own hooves, but Rainbow Dash struggled to hold Stephan in place, as the teenage male centaur fought back against her and finally managed to throw her away from himself, only to get suddenly bucked in the crotch by Big Mac, who came behind the centaur in order to help the mares capture him too and help them hold him in place to prevent the three of them from escaping them.

Then, Applejack went inside the barn and then she came back out and returned with two long and strong ropes, and then she began to lasso and rope both Chloe and Aylene around their necks, wrists, ankles and hooves, and then Big Mac did the same his sister did to Stephan by pulling out a third long and strong rope and then he started to lasso and rope Stephan around his human neck and wrists, and also around his lower horse legs and hooves in order to prevent the centaur from having any way to escape, and then Applejack told her friends and her brother to let go of the captive teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur, because now they're all tied up and they can't and will not be able to escape.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all found themselves being roped and tied up, they turned to Applejack and they cried "Applejack, get these ropes away from us! You can't leave us all being tied up like this! Please, set us all free!", but then Applejack shouted at them all in the ears "SHUT UP, YOU THREE LITTLE VARMINTS!", and then she turned to her friends and to her brother and then she said "Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Big Mac, help me take these three traitorous scams with us!", and then Rainbow Dash placed the now tied-up Aylene on Fluttershy's back, while Pinkie Pie placed the now tied-up Chloe on Applejack's back, and then Rainbow Dash used all the strength she had to help placing the now tied-up Stephan on Big Mac's back, before she then helped the Earth pony stallion to support the centaur's weight on his back by hovering and placing both of her forelegs and hooves on Stephan's upper human back so he wouldn't be falling off Big Mac's back, and then Applejack said to her friends and to her brother "Now we go! Next stop - the Castle of Friendship!", and then the four mares and the stallion took and carried the tied-up teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur with them all the way to the Castle of Friendship, where Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and even Cadance were all waiting for them.

When the four mares and the stallion all finally arrived at the Castle of Friendship, Applejack called for Twilight to open the door for them so they can all come inside, and Twilight answered and opened the door for them to allow them all to go inside, and when Twilight saw the tied-up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan on Fluttershy, Big Mac and Applejack's backs, she said as she smiled evilly "Well, I see you brought here some three special guests!", and then she laughed evilly, as Applejack and Fluttershy kicked the teenage human girl and the teenage Pegasus mare off their backs and they hit the floor, and then Rainbow Dash let go of teenage male centaur's upper human back, thus letting him to finally fall of Big Mac's back and hit the floor with his head, before the stallion then bucked the lower horse half of his large body off his own back and caused the teenage male centaur to fall and hit the floor again (this time with his lower horse back).

Then, Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Cadance and their friends all surrounded the tied-up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan who all swallowed nervously as they looked at the eight mares and the stallion, who all smiled at them evilly, before Twilight came forward, and then she used her magic to surround Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in a purple aura and then she lifted them up to look at them all in the eyes, and then she wickedly said to the three of them "Now you three listen to me and to whatI have to say to you all and don't speak, understand?", and then she used her magic to squeeze at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, making them all whimper in pain as they all sadly nodded to Twilight, and then the Alicorn said to th three of them "Good. Now, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, we're all very disappointed in you three for believing we're your friends after what your mother, your father and your kind have done to us. Not to mention, you're not welcome and you don't even belong in our world anymore, you filthy, hairless, ape-like monster, a traitor who dared to betray her own kind and Lord Tirek's future successor!".

"No! I'm not a monster! Please, listen to me!", Chloe cried, and then Aylene added "Chloe's not a monster and I'm not a traitor! Please, listen to us!", and then Stephan said "Chloe's not a monster, Aylene's not a traitor, and I'm no such thing as Lord Tirek's future successor! Please, listen to us!", and the three begged for mercy, but Twilight squeezed at their bodies with her magic again and then she angrily shouted at the three of them "I TOLD YOU THREE NOT TO SPEAK, DIDN'T I! YOU THREE JUST SHUT UP AND DON'T CUT ME WITH YOUR NONSENSE LIKE THIS, STUPID HUMAN, A TRAITOR WHO BETRAYED ALL OF PONYKIND AND LORD TIREK'S EVIL FUTURE SUCCESSOR!", and then she took a deep breath before she said to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan "No, we don't love any of you, and we don't even want you three here either. For what these three adult males from your own kind, as well as your mother and your evil centaur for a father did to us and to our world so far, we're you three the same thing they all did to us so humankind, traitorous ponies and all centaurs will see what happens to those who dares to mess up with us and to ruin our entire world forever!".

Then, Twilight squeezed at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan with her magic one last time, before she dropped the three down to the floor violently, and then she gave Starlight the turn to torment the helpless and still tied up teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur.

Then, Starlight stepped forward and then she used her magic to surround Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in a light blue aura, and then she began to lift the three up and then she said to them evilly "I wish you three were gone forever! I should've known that even a human, a Pegasus from our very own kind and a centaur are all nothing but traitors all along!", and then she squeezed at the three of them before she raised her voice up and shouted angrily at the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur "YOU HORRIBLE BEAST, A TRAITOROUS PONY AND AN EVIL CENTAUR! YOU THREE DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE WITH US PONIES AND OTHER CREATURES ALIKE AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN WELCOME IN EQUESTRIA FOR WHAT YOUR MOTHER, YOUR FATHER AND YOUR KIND HAVE ALREADY DONE TO US BEFORE!" and then Starlight used her magic to squeeze at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once again, and then she dropped the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur to the floor violently, thus giving Rarity her turn to torment Chloe, Aylene and Stephan for pleasure.

Then, Rarity stepped forward and then she used her magic to grab at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and lift them up from behind their backs by surrounding only the tip of Chloe's cloth, Aylene's mane and also Stephan's animal ears in a blue aura, and then she said to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan with an evil tone "You three are a foolish teenage human girl, a traitorous Pegasus mare and an evil teenage male centaur, and you're all quite dumber than I thought you all are! Do you three think any of you can outsmart and fool us ponies just because you're a human, and that teenage Pegasus mare who betrayed us just because she's your friend, not to mention that teenage centaur friend of yours?! Well then, I can say about it that you three are dead wrong!".

Chloe cried and begged "Please, Rarity! Listen to me! I'm not trying to outsmart you or your friends at all! In fact, I wanna show you all how nice and gentle humans can really be!", and then Aylene added "And Chloe proved this to me when she protected me from those three bullies when they tried to attack me and steal my doll when we first met each other a long time ago! Chloe's not trying to outsmart you, and I'm not trying to do so either! Chloe showed me through being smart that she's indeed gentle and kind! There are good humans, and Chloe is one of them!", and then Stephan added in agreement and said "And there such things as good centaurs, and not only bad ones like that Lord Tirek who almost destroyed your entire home a long time ago! I even showed both Chloe and Aylene that I'm good when I saved them twice on that same day - the first time from Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart, and the second time from Akeno the okapi! There are good centaurs and I'm a proof which tells that it's all true!", but Rarity didn't listened to any of them, and then she just surrounded them all completely with her magic before she violently squeezed at their three medium and large bodies.

Then, Rarity said to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's very rude to interrupt an older lady, darlings. What's more important to say about you three, I'd like to cut your head off and mount it over the opening of my boutique to show your kind how barbaric and mindless they are when they cut animals's heads off and mount them over their fireplaces back in where you live, Chloe! And as for you, Aylene and Stephan, I'd like to put you both in cages and banish you both to Tartarus so you'll suffer forever in your cages next to Cozy Glow and Lord Tirek, a Pegasus and a centaur who both tried to steal all the magic from our world so they can become the rulers of all of Equestria in two different times!", and then she added "And I thought you three are different, but I'm sorry to say that, but unfortunately, you're not even kind or generous, Chloe! And you, Aylene and Stephan, are both evil just like these Cozy Glow and Lord Tirek! You three are a despicable beast, a traitor to all of ponykind and an evil centaur who don't even deserve to roam freely in our world!", and then she squeezed at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan once again before she finally dropped the three back to the floor, thus giving Cadance her turn to torment the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur for her own pleasure.

Then, Cadance stepped forward and then she used her magic to surround Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in a blue aura, and then she lifted them up and gave them all an evil and disturbing smile which caused the three to quickly turn with their heads and with their faces away from the Alicorn mare, but then Cadance started to squeeze at their bodies repeatedly and then she started to laugh evilly to see how much pain she's giving Chloe, Aylene and Stephan just to satisfy her own pleasure, before she then said with an evil tone "Ha! Now you three you're all getting exactly what you all deserve! There's no telling what you three could've done to my precious daughter Flurry Heart if Applejack and her brother didn't roped and tied you up and taking you all the way here to the Castle of Friendship!", and then she raised her voice and yelled at them "I SHOULD'VE HAVE KNOWN THAT YOU THREE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF USING ABUSIVE AND TORTUROUS MAGIC AND LOTS OF HARMFUL POWER ALL TOGETHER! BUT NOW I'M GIVING YOU THREE JUST WHAT YOU ALL DESERVE, YOU UNFORGIVABLE MONSTERS!", but then Chloe cried "Cadance! Please, stop!", and then Aylene added "YOU are the one who is currently torturing us!", and then Stephan asked "Besides, why would we even dare to harm your daughter if we don't even want to do so?", and then he added "Cadance! Please, stop doing this to us! What you're doing to us is wrong!", but then Cadance said "No! YOU THREE are the enemies! Now, YOU WILL PAY!", and then she used her magic to smash Chloe, Aylene and Stephan against one of the walls, thus causing the three friends to yelp and cry in pain all together before they all fell down and back to the floor.

Then, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard a familiar voice saying "My dear subjects, what's going on?", and then Twilight said "Look what we got here! A teenage human girl, a traitorous teenage Pegasus mare and an evil teenage male centaur! Just for you three!", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all turned their heads, they saw Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell walking towards them and towards the mane seven, Big Mac and Cadance, and then Thorax suddenly said to the mane seven "I hope these three aren't much of a bother.", and then Rainbow Dash said "It was nothing! Applejack and her big brother, Big Mac, both managed to tie up these three traitorous scams by their necks, wrists, ankles and hooves so they won't be able to escape!", and then Pinkie Pie added "That was totally easy to capture and restrain these three deceptions!", and then Celestia said to them "Good, and Applejack and Big Mac, now you two can remove the ropes from around their necks so Thorax, Bluebell and I can speak to them, okay?", and Applejack said to Celestia "Sure!", and then Big Mac added and said "Eeyup!", but both said these in an evil tone, and then they both went over to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and then they finally removed the ropes from around their necks, but they still kept them all tied up by their wrists, ankles and hooves, thus preventing them all from escaping.

Then, Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell all approached towards the still tied up Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and then Celestia used her magic to surround the teenage human girl, the Pegasus mare and the teenage male centaur in a golden aura and then she lifted the three up so she, Thorax and Bluebell can all look at them in the eyes and then Celestia said to them "Hello there, Chloe sweetie. You too, Aylene.", and then Bluebell added "Well, hello there, Stephan darling.", but both said what they said with a rather low and disturbing tone. Then, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all looked at Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell in the eyes, they all saw that Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell are all looking at them with faces which looked a little evil as the Alicorn, the changeling king and the winged centauress all gave them an evil smirk.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all noticed something with Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell also seems to be wrong, and so Chloe asked "Mother? Are you okay?", and then Aylene added "Father? Is something wrong?", and then Stephan asked "Bluebell? What's going on?", but then Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell all looked at them with evil faces, and then they all slapped the three across the faces with their hooves (and hand), and then Celestia squeezed at the three of them with her magic, and then she shouted angrily at the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur in the faces "HOW DARE YOU THREE CALL ME, THORAX AND BLUEBELL YOUR MOTHER, YOUR FATHER AND YOUR FRIEND, YOU HAIRLESS BEAST, A TRAITOR AND AN EVIL CENTAUR WHO IS NONE OTHER THAN LORD TIREK'S FUTURE SUCCESSOR!", and then she added "I KNOW THREE OF YOUR KIND, YOUR REAL MOTHER AND YOUR REAL FATHER HAVE ALL CAUSED TROUBLES TO US PONIES, AS WELL AS TO THE CHANGELINGS AND TO OUR WORLD!".

Then, Thorax shouted angrily at the three "I'M SORRY I ALLOWED YOU THREE CALL ME YOUR FATHER AND FRIEND AFTER WHAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT THE THREE OF YOU! YOU'RE ALL MONSTERS AND NOPONY, NO CHANGELING AND NO OTHER CREATURE SHOULD EVEN BEFRIEND YOU THREE AFTER WHAT THESE THREE HUMANS, THAT TRAITOROUS MARE AND THAT MONSTER FOR A CENTAUR HAVE DONE TO US AND TO OUR WORLD!", and then he briefly used his magic to surround Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in a green aura, and then he took them away from Celestia before he slapped the three across their faces one-by-one, and then he squeezed hard at them, causing them all to yelp and cry in pain, as they couldn't believe their mother, their father and one of their best friend (who is also Stephan's girlfriend) would dare do that to them, before the changeling king gave them to Bluebell, who then used her own magic to surround the three in a blue aura and then she started to squeeze at them all and laughed evilly as she tormented and abused Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all together.

Then, Bluebell brought Stephan forward and then she said evilly as stroked roughly at his chin "You're such a fool, Stephan! And that's exactly what you'll always be!", and then she raised her voice and added "DID YOU REALLY THOUGHT I LOVED YOU?! OH, PLEASE! HOW COULD I EVER LOVE AN EVIL CENTAUR LIKE YOU?! I WILL NEVER CHOOSE YOU TO BE MY FUTURE HUSBAND, FOR I ALREADY KNOW YOUR FATHER IS EVIL! NOT TO MENTION, YOUR FATHER ADORES LORD TIREK SO MUCH THAT HE WANTS YOU TO BE JUST LIKE HIM WHEN YOU'RE A FULLY GROWN ADULT! I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT I'VE ACCIDENTALLY CHOSE TO BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND, STEPHAN! BUT KNOW IT'S ALL OVER! GOODBYE!", and then she slapped Stephan across the face before she then turned tail and bucked him in the chest and torso, before she then squeezed at him, Chloe and Aylene one last time, before she handed them over and gave them all back to Celestia, who then slapped the three across the faces once again, before she angrily yelled "YOU THREE WERE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TO US PONIES AND TO ALL OF OUR WORLD! YOU THREE ARE JUST A TRIO OF STUPID CRYBABIES AND YOU ALL HAVE THE NERVE AND HEARTLESSNESS TO DESTROY EVEN THE SMALLEST AND MOST DEFENSELESS CREATURES! I TRULY REGRET I TOOK YOU AND YOUR FRIEND IN, YOU THREE TRAITORS! NOW GET YOUR FLANKS OUT OF EQUESTRIA OR ELSE THORAX, BLUEBELL AND I WE'LL HAVE TO KICK YOU ALL OUT BY FORCE!", and then she squeezed at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan one last time, before she finally untied Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's wrists, ankles and hooves, respectively, and set all three of them free, but not before she dropped them all to the ground violently, causing Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to yelp and cry in pain.

Then, Thorax angrily shouted at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan as he looked down (and up) at the three of them with an angry face "I DEMAND YOU THREE TO LEAVE OUR WORLD AND NEVER RETURN! GET OUT OF HERE, RIGHT NOW!", and then he screamed angrily "GOOOOOOOOOO!", and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all barely managed to get back up on their feet and hooves, before they looked at the mane seven, Big Mac and Cadance, who all looked at the three of them with evil smiles and smirked at them evilly, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan couldn't take such harmful, meaning and insulting damage anymore as they all completely lost their trust in everypony and every creature they loved and befriended so far, and so they all ran away from the Castle of Friendship in tears, and the three ended up in the same dark void where they last met Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart, Howard the centaur, baby Dan, and Chloe's family.

Then, a blue light suddenly appeared, and then a familiar voice called out Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's names as the blue light approached towards the three, and it turned out to be Luna with Pharynx and Shining Armor walking by both of her sides, but just like the mane seven, Big Mac, Cadance, Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell, Luna, Pharynx and Shining Armor also had evil smirks on their faces, and they also looked at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan with evil eyes, before Luna bellowed down and shouted angrily at the teenage human girl, teenage Pegasus mare and teenage male centaur "DIE!", and then she and Shining Armor were about to blast at the three with their magic, but just then, the totally unexpected happened.

A male voice angrily shouted at Luna, Pharynx and Shining Armor "LEAVE THE HUMAN, PONY AND CENTAUR ALONE!", and then Tony Black suddenly appeared right in front of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and when the three saw the black tiger approaching them, Chloe cried "No! Go away!", and Aylene added "Leave us alone!", and then Stephan warned "Stay back! I'm warning you!", but then when he got close enough, Tony Black placed a paw on Chloe's shoulder and then he said to her and to Aylene and Stephan "It's okay, guys. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you three. I'll promise you three I'll keep you all safe. Trust me.", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard everything from what Tony Black just said to them, the three became confused to know he's not going to hurt them, and that instead he's actually willing to protect them all from the ponies, changelings and centauress who just betrayed them.

Then, he's joined by his adoptive sister, Agatha the white lioness, and by his best friend, Russell the red leopard (one of Black Heart's two animal minions), and then the three big felines walked away from Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and they all placed themselves side by side between the three friends and Luna, Pharynx and Shining Armor, and while facing the Alicorn mare, the changeling and the captain of the royal guards with the will to fight them three-on-three to save Chloe, Aylene and Stephan from them and from everypony and every creature who turned on the three of them.

"Let's fight, evil mare! Bring it on!" Tony Black angrily said to Luna as he was willing to fight her, and then Agatha said angrily to Pharynx "Let's see what an evil changeling like you can do to me!", as she was willing to fight him too, and then Russell spoke up and said angrily to Shining Armor "I will crush you myself with my bite force, evil stallion! Prepare to die!", as he was too willing to fight the captain of the royal guards, and the three felines knew that if they win in the fight, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan will be okay, but if Luna, Pharynx and Shining Armor win in the fight, they will be blasted by Luna and Shining Armor's magic alongside Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.

Luna, Pharynx and Shining Armor made together the first moves with Luna and Shining Armor blasting at Tony Black, Agatha and Russell with their magic and Pharynx tried to swip at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, but the three big felines managed to turn to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, snatch and lead the three of them by their cloth, mane and rear with their teeth and claws without harming any of them, and then they all jumped out of the way with them to save the three of them alongside themselves. Then, they let go of Chloe and Aylene and stopped leading Stephan, and they placed them (Chloe and Aylene) down and stopped him (Stephan), and then they turned to Luna, Pharynx and Shining Armor once again and then Tony Black said to them "This battle is three-on-three! If you all win, you can blast the three of us, the human, the Pegasus pony and the centaur off with your magic, but if we (three) all win, you'll have to leave us alone and never return!".

Then, Luna suddenly transformed into her evil form - Nightmare Moon, Pharynx transformed back to his scarred, black and evil form, and then Shining Armor suddenly transformed into King Sombra, beforee Pharynx transformed himself into the same monster he used to transform into before he became a good changeling, and then Nightmare Moon used her magic to blast at Tony Black and seriously wound him, and then Pharynx in his monster form used his enormous size to charge and maul down at Agatha, thus seriously wounding her too, and then King Sombra used his dark magic to blast at Russell and seriously wound him too, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan just stared and looked in shock as Tony Black, Agatha and Russell all got heavily by Nightmare moon's evil magic, Pharynx's ability to maul down at them in his monster form and by King Sombra's dark magic, before the three felines all fell down onto the sides of their bodies, all three are unable to continue to fight.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all saw Tony Black, Agatha and Russell all heavily wounded, the three friends suddenly went up to them and then Chloe dropped down to her knees and hugged Tony Black's black fur, Aylene jumped and landed on Agatha and then she hugged her white fur, while Stephan lowered down onto his horse haunches and then he hugged down at his red and brown fur, and then the three cried to them. "No! Please, don't go away! Why did you three tried to save us?", and Tony Black looked up at Chloe, Agatha looked up at Aylene while Russell looked up at Stephan, and then Tony Black said as he and Agatha barely moved their left forelegs and paws each one around and above Chloe and Aylene's bodies and gently placed them down around their backs without causing either of them any harm, while Russell tried to reach with his own left foreleg and paw up to Stephan to let him touch and hold at his paw, which the centaur willingly did when he grabbed and held at Russell's foreleg and paw tightly in both of his human hands and didn't let go "Because you're all our friends, but we're so sorry we couldn't protect you, guys. We all lost in this battle. Goodbye...", and then Agatha added "Goodbye, guys...", and then Russell said "Save yourselves...", and then they all finally closed their eyes and their heads fell onto their sides, and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan saw them all dying, they cried "No! Please, don't die! Please, don't leave us!", and then they all buried their faces and cried into their black, white and red (and brown) furs.

However, Nightmare Moon, Pharynx and King Sombra all laughed evilly from the tragedy, and then King Sombra said to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan "Now you three see why they're all gone! This is all your fault!", and then Pharynx added "Don't cry about these three scams though! They all got exactly what they truly deserved!", and then Nightmare Moon added "And It's time for you three to say goodbye too!", and then she and King Sombra shot together two blasts of magic at the teenage human girl, the teenage Pegasus mare, the teenage male centaur and at the now dead Tony Black, Agatha and Russell, and when they nearly hit Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, the three screamed all together "NOOOOOOOOO!", before they all finally woke up from their nightmare.

However, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan snapped awake from their shared nightmare they just had together, they all discovered that they're not on their beds and they're not in their respective homes anymore. Instead, the three found themselves in the same dark cave Akeno previously took Chloe and Aylene to, but then they also found each other nearby and so the three went towards each other and then Chloe asked "Stephan?", and then Aylene added "What are you doing here?", and then Stephan said back "That's exactly what I am trying to ask you two, girls.", and just then, the three heard two voices, a male and a female, laughing evilly together at the three of them, and then Zenobia and Clayton came out of nowhere and approached Chloe, Aylene and Stephan with evil smiles creeping on their faces.

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan saw the two mammalian carnivores who wanted to make their lives a living hell right in front of them, the three yelped and jumped back together, and then Zenobia asked in a mocking tone "What's wrong? You lost, three little kids?", and then Clayton added "Don't you three worry anymore! You're all in good hands right now!", but then Stephan asked "Zenobia? Clayton? What are you two doing here?", and then he added "And how did we all ended up in here?", and then Zenobia said "We brought you three here to give you all the rightful punishment you all deserve for not respecting and worshipping us!", and then Clayton added "And don't bother try to escape, because none of you can!".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what Zenobia and Clayton both said, Aylene asked "Why not?", and just then, not just one, but a bunch consisting five Cockatrices suddenly came out of nowhere and they all started to look, glare and stare Chloe, Aylene and Stephan down, while Zenobia and Clayton both laughed evilly at them and then the Spotted hyena said "Because you're surrounded by Cockatrices! Five of them!", and then the Atlas bear added and said "I hope you three enjoy becoming petrified! You three cannot escape these Cockatrices! You will all turn into stone!", and then he and Zenobia laughed evilly some more, and then they both turned to go, but not before Zenobia said "I warned you three that you all must respect and worship us, but because you broke our rules - it's too late!", and then Clayton added "I hope you three enjoy meeting your doom!", and then they all started to run away and leave Chloe, Aylene and Stephan alone with the five evil Cockatrices, who are all willing and determined to turn them into stone.

Then, the five Cockatrices all started to use their gorgon-like abilities to petrify Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and turn them all into stone, and so the Cockatrices all flew up and stared and looked right into Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's eyes, and even though the three friends all resisted at first, the Cockatrices gained the upper hand and they managed to start petrifying the human, Pegasus pony and centaur all together. Once the legs, feet and hooves of the three friends were petrified by the Cockatrices' gorgon abilities, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan fought back and struggled to get themselves free, but to no avail. When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all became petrified up to their shoulders, the three friends finally gave in and allowed the Cockatrices to continue and finish the petrifying process.

Once Chloe, Aylene and Stephan became petrified up to their necks, they all shed a few tears from each of their eyes before Stephan said "Maybe Zenobia and Clayton were right after all...", and then Aylene added "Maybe we should've respected and worshipped them, but now it's too late...", and then Chloe said "Goodbye, cruel world...", and then their heads also started to become petrified, and once the five evil Cockatrices finished and were done doing the petrifying process, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all nothing more than a trio of stone statues, and then the five Cockatrices cackled and laughed evilly like evil chickens at what they all have done and then they quickly turned and ran away into the darkness and into the even deeper parts of the dark cave, thus leaving the now completely petrified Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to remain a trio of stone statues for all eternity.


	92. Chapter 91:Stephan's past life story

After Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all became a trio of stone statues, the three are still alive only inside their minds, and right now they need to find someone inside their minds that will help them turn back to normal and escape the dark cave. Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are now standing together in a white and empty void, and then Stephan asked Chloe and Aylene "Chloe, Aylene, where are we now?", and Chloe answered "I'm not sure. Somewhere in a white and empty void, I guess.", and then she added "But at least we're still all together, that's what's important.", and then Aylene said "This is the second time I came here to this place, and it was also Chloe's third time she came here to this place as well.", and when Stephan heard what his two best friends said, he said back "Well, this makes it the first time I came to this unfamiliar place, isn't it?", and then he added "But we still need to find a way to get out of here.", and then Chloe said to him "Let's go.", and then Aylene added "Chloe will lead the way. She have been here twice before, so she probably knows where's the way out.", and then the three started to walk together in the white and empty void, and then at some point, the three started to wander around aimlessly while sticking close together, until they all found out the truth - they got lost.

However, just then, two male familiar voices suddenly said both Vhloe and Aylene's names and called for them, and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all turned around to the direction where the two voices came from, they saw Jack Williams (Chloe's long deceased grandfather) and Wild Berry (Aylene's long deceased father) standing next to each other and looking at them, before two kind smiles formed on and across their faces, and then Jack Williams said "It's nice to see you both again, my dear granddaughter whom I love for the most, and her Pegasus sister whom my best friend also loves for the most.", and this is when Chloe and Aylene both ran towards them and then they both jumped and hugged them, and then Chloe said "Oh, grandfather! I truly missed you too!", and then Aylene added "And I too missed you so much, my father!", and then Jack Williams gave to his granddaughter (Chloe) a kind chuckle, while Wild Berry giggled kindly to his own daughter (Aylene), before Jack Williams said "I'm happy you both came here to see both me and my friend, Wild Berry, again, because this time, we have here someone else who would like to meet your best friend of yours too.", and then both Jack Williams and Wild Berry turned and looked at Stephan for a moment and then Wild Berry said to him "Come with us, young centaur. There's someone here with us who is willing and waiting for to see you. Jack and I we both met her some time before and we three became friends.", and then Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Jack and Wild Berry all heard hoofsteps approaching, and then Wild Berry said "There she is. Our dear best friend whom we both met some time ago - Helena.".

When Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Jack and Wild Berry all turned in the direction where the hoofsteps came from, they saw an adult centauress who looked as gorgeous as Bluebell, but unlike her, she had the same red hair and tail color as Stephan's, she had beautiful blue eyes and she also had the lower body and legs of a gray mare, but she also had angel wings on her lower horse back and a golden halo above her head, which told the three friends that like Jack and Wild Berry, the centauress is also a ghost (or a spirit), but when Stephan saw how she looked like, he quickly recognized her and asked in shock "Mother?!", and then Helena (who is Stephan's mother) gave him a kind and warm smile and said back "Yes, Stephan. It's me.", and when Chloe and Aylene heard that Stephan called Helena his mother, the two sisters quickly turned to him and then Chloe asked "Did you just said that beautiful centauress is your mother?", and then Stephan said "Well, yes!", and then Aylene added "Well, I must say, that your mother looks as beautiful as Bluebell, isn't it?", and then Helena turned to look at the human and Pegasus sisters and then she asked them "Are you Chloe and Aylene?", and then Chloe said "Yes, we are!" and Aylene added "It is an honor for both of us to meet you!".

Then, Helena introduced herself and said "Hello there, I'm Helena, Stephan, Andy and Zoey's mother and Howard's husband. I've heard about you two, because my son told me about you after he snapped and ran away from you and from your other friends and adoptive families as well, back on that day.", and Chloe said "Well, it's nice to know that he had a talk with you before we found him again. You son is such a good friend, and only once his father almost tricked him into becoming evil, but he soon realized his father's deception and so he decided not to be like him anymore and not even listen to anything he has to say.", and then Aylene added "Stephan is indeed a sweetheart, and Bluebell likes him so much that she wants to be his wife in the future, and Chloe and I we'll be both very happy for both her and for your son when that will happen.", but then Stephan said "I truly like her as well, but we're still not mates yet! We're both still too young for that! And even so, I'm not sure she really wants me to be her husband in the future! There are so many males whom I'm pretty sure they want to have Bluebell!".

However, Helena said to her son "Don't say that, my dear son! Bluebell likes you more than any other male centaur she knew so far! I'm pretty sure the one centaur she chose for a future husband is you!", and when Stephan heard his mother saying that to him, he said "I don't know what to say!", but then she gave him a reassuring smile, and that was enough to help Stephan realize how much Bluebell likes him, and then Helena said "Now, my friends and I we're willing to show you everything you need to know about me, from the time Stephan was born to the time I was killed by that vicious Beartaur.", but then she quickly added "But first, I must get an answer from Stephan to know if it's okay for us to show you everything you need to know.", and then she turned back to Stephan and asked "Is it okay with you that Chloe and Aylene will be watching your past along with you and get to know what even you didn't know for all these years?", and then Stephan said willingly "Yes! Show us everything we need to know! I'm eager to know why you're gone because of that Beartaur! I think my father had something to do with it! He must be hiding a dirty secret from Andy, Zoey and I for all these years!", and then Helena said in agreement "And Howard definitely have been hiding from you something he didn't wanted to tell you and didn't wanted you to know!".

Then, Jack Williams said "And you all will! It's settled! Now let's go and see your and your mother's past life story, and then we'll all see the truth about your mother's death!", and then Wild Berry said and added "Let's go, every creature! Let's go and see everything!", and then the two and Helena all used their spirit magic and abilities to take themselves, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to see Stephan's family's past life story.

After the six were engulfed by a white light, they all ended up in a big house that wasn't Yigal and his brothers', but Stephan quickly recognized it as his original home where he was first born, and just then, he, Chloe, Aylene, Jack, Wild Berry and Helena all went inside, and there they all saw an adult centauress, which was none other than Helena herself, years before she is killed by the Beartaur, but then they (particularly Chloe, Aylene and Stephan) all looked down at her arms to see a male baby centaur sleeping peacefully in her arms, and when Stephan looked very close at the baby centaur Helena was holding, he quickly recognized the baby centaur as himself when he was just a baby centaur, and Chloe and Aylene couldn't help but say "Awww! He's so cute!", and then Chloe asked "Is that Stephan, isn't he?", and then Helena nodded and said "Yes. It was me and Stephan when I was still alive and when my son is just a little baby.", but then Stephan said "That baby centaur is ME?! I'm so surprised! I don't remember how did I looked like when I was just a baby myself!".

However, baby Stephan suddenly started to cry out loud, and this caused Chloe, Aylene and the present (teenage) Stephan to quickly cover their ears at the baby centaur's crying, but then, however, Helena softly placed the tip of her finger on baby Stephan's tiny nose and then she very softly moved her finger up and down his nose so he can feel her soft and motherly touch, and this immediately made the baby centaur stop crying, and when he stopped crying, baby Stephan giggled as he looked up at his mother's kind and beautiful face, and then Helena started to sing a lullaby to him, and this slowly made the baby centaur yawn and eventually fall asleep again.

When baby Stephan was asleep again, Helena softly said to him "I love you, my precious baby. I want you to know and remember that I love you with all my heart.", and then she moved him up towards her own head and face and then she kissed him on the forehead, and Chloe and Aylene were both touched by that lovely moment between a mother and her baby, and Stephan had tears of joy welling up in his eyes as he couldn't believe it himself that this is the first known memory of his and his family's past life story. Then, Helena said to Stephan "Now I think it's time for us all to move to another good memory which I bet you'll all like.", and then she, Jack and Wild Berry used their spirit magic and abilities to engulf themselves, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in the white light to move on to the next important memory and part in Stephan's family's past life story.

Meanwhile, back in Canterlot and in the royal castle, it was already morning, and Celestia and Luna are both already aware of Chloe and Aylene's sudden disappearance, which shocked them both before Celestia asked "Where did Chloe and Aylene go? Did they both ran away or something?", but then Luna said "I have no idea what happened to them, but I bet Akeno might've kidnapped them again!", but then Shujaa interrupted them and said "There's no okapi hoofprints in Chloe and Aylene's room, your majesties! Akeno wasn't there, and therefore he did not kidnapped the girls! They both must've had ran away from home during the night! I checked their room! I bet they both either ran away or got kidnapped together by something else that wasn't Akeno at all!".

However, just then, Andy and Zoey suddenly burst into the throne room and trotted up towards the Alicorn princesses while both baby centaurs are crying, who were both shocked to see them again, but then Celestia, Luna and Shujaa all saw that Stephan is nowhere to be seen around them, and therefore Shujaa suggested that Stephan is missing too (or got kidnapped during the night), which explains the centaur twins' sudden arrival in the royal castle (and in the throne room), and just then, Andy and Zoey jumped onto both Celestia and Luna and hugged them tightly around their necks and then buried their faces into the Alicorn mares' chest furs, thus shocking and surprising Celestia and Luna at first.

However, Celestia and Luna quickly shook their heads and snapped out of their shocked states, and then they looked down at the crying toddler centaurs, before Celestia and Luna briefly stroked at the tops of their heads and then pulled them away from themselves to look at them in the eyes, and then Celestia and Luna both saw the tears going down from Andy and Zoey's eyes, and then Celestia asked the twin centaurs "What's wrong little ones?", and she said it and spoke it in the softest of voices and waited for the toddler centaurs to give her an answer, but then Andy cried out loud "STEPHAN IS GONE!", and then Zoey added "HE RAN AWAY!", and then the toddler centaurs were about to cry again, only for Shujaa to come forward and wrap both of his arms around each of them, before he said "It's okay, little ones. We'll find your brother and the girls, they must be all together by now, it won't be easy to find them though, but if we send a message to Twilight Sparkle and to her friends (and to Kenai), as well as alert Thorax and Pharynx about the three's disappearance, I'm sure we'll be able to find them all and take them back home.".

When Andy and Zoey heard everything from what the albino orangutan just said to them, the toddler centaurs both sniffled and wiped away the tears in their eyes and they looked up at him, as he gave them both a kind and reassuring smile and then he said to them "We'll find them. All three of them.", and then Andy and Zoey hugged at each of his arms and cried together "Thank you!", and then Shujaa said "There, there, it's okay little ones. Your big brother and the girls haven't went too far away. We can still find where they are.", and then Luna interrupted and said "And we will.", and then Celestia added "Luna and I we'll send a message to Twilight Sparkle and to her friends so they will come to help us search and look for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.", and then she said to Shujaa "Shujaa, you and the twins you'll go to alert and tell Thorax and Pharynx about Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's sudden disappearance so they can come along and help us too!", and then Shujaa said "Got it!" and then he turned back to Andy and Zoey and said "Andy, Zoey, you two you're coming with me to ask Thorax and Pharynx to help us find your big brother and the girls!", and then Andy said with a cute toddler smile "Yes!", and then Zoey added while showing cute puppy eyes "Take us along with you!", and then Shujaa yelled and declared "Let's go and find your big brother and the girls!", and then Andy and Zoey cried "Yay!", and then the twin toddler centaurs and the albino orangutan turned around and they all started to trot, gallop and run away from the throne room and from the royal castle and they started to travel together as fast as they could all the way to the changeling kingdom to alert Thorax and Pharynx and ask them to come and help finding Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.

Back with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan (who are all still stone statues), the three's minds were all watching along with Jack, Wild Berry and Helena a second memory that was part of Stephan's family's past life story. In the grassy and green environment they all arrived in, they all saw young Stephan, who is now five years old at the time, and they all saw trotting and galloping around and having fun while his mother Helena was watching him playing around in a distance, and young Stephan appeared to enjoy playing and having fun in the grassy and green environment his mother took him to, and the present Stephan couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy when he saw his younger self during the happy days of his family's past.

Then, Helena said to Stephan "This is when you're just five years old, and you showed me how playful you are for your young age at the time.", and Stephan said back to his mother "Yes, mother. I know. Even now I feel I'm a bit playful.", and then Jack said to him "Now it's time for us to go into another memory of your family's past life story.", and then Wild Bery added "We'll show you and the girls some more, but the last memories we know will be sad and really bad as well.", and then Helena said "Let's go forward and move on in time.", and then she, Jack and Wild Berry all used their spirit magic and abilities to take themselves, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan along with them forward in time to see some more of Stephan's family's past life story.

When the six arrived at the third memory of Stephan and his family's past life story, this is when bad things started happening too, and Chloe, Aylene and Stephan saw a young Stephan, who is now 8 years old at the time being challenged into a battle by an enormous bull (male) Rhinotaur with a scar on his left eye and a notch in the left rhinoceros ear, and then they all heard the scarred bull Rhinotaur yelling at young Stephan "You come over here and fight me like a real centaur!", but young refused and cried back "Please, go away! Leave me alone, you big bully!", but then the Rhinotaur started to charge towards him and he lowered his own head down so his rhinoceros horns will be stabbing young Stephan when he gets close enough, but then Helena came out of nowhere and jumped on the Rhinotaur in midway, and then she started to beat it on the upper human back with all her might in order to get his attention, but then the bull Rhinotaur grabbed by the neck and threw her off himself and yelled "What are you thinking you're doing?!", and then Helena said back with determination in her eyes "Protecting my son!", but then the Rhinotaur evilly laughed at her and said "Your son doesn't need you to protect him! His father even told me he wants to be just like Lord Tirek when he'll be fully grown!".

When Stephan saw this, he said "I didn't know I even had an encounter with a Rhinotaur before! Now I'm so surprised that I completely forgotten that memory!", and then Helena said to her son "Keep watching this, son. Then you'll see what happens next.", and then young Stephan cried "No! I don't want to be a monster! I don't want to steal anyone's magic or destroy or ruin anyone's life! I don't want to be like that Lord Tirek! Please, leave me alone!", but then the Rhinotaur yelled at him "Shut up your mouth, you little crybaby! Your father chose me to teach you how to really be strong! I'm your teacher here, and you must do as I say!", but then Helena said to the bull Rhinotaur "No, you monster! You leave my son alone!".

However, when the bull Rhinotaur heard what she said, he approached her angrily and said to her as she stood up and looked at him in the eyes "Alright, you tramp! You're asking for it, and now you're gonna get it!", and then he quickly wrapped his human arms and hands around Helena's neck and then he started to choke her right in front of her young son, and young Stephan said in shock and with terror in his eyes "Stop it! Let my mommy go!", but the Rhinotaur just ignored his cries and kept harassing Helena for daring to stand in his way, and then young Stephan jumped on the Rhinotaur's right side and yelled "You leave my mommy alone, you monster!", but then the Rhinotaur just threw him off himself and then he started to laugh evilly as he looked down at Stephan and seemed to enjoy his helplessness.

However, when Helena saw her young son being hurt by the Rhinotaur, she quickly got angered by the abuse the Rhinotaur just did on her child as she struggled and eventually managed to free herself from the Rhinotaur's grip, before she then turned tail and then she bucked him up in the jaw with her hind horse legs and hooves, thus knocking him out cold. When Chloe and Aylene both watched Helena bucking the Rhinotaur in the jaw and knocking out cold, Chloe said "This is a wow to the wow!", and then Aylene added "You're really tough enough to knock a bull Rhinotaur out cold, and just to save your son's life!", and then they watched as Helena turned to her young son, approached him and then she helped him back up and then young Stephan hugged his mother tightly and cried in pain from what just happened to him, but then Helena said to young Stephan as she tried to calm him down "Shhh, it's okay, my dear son. That monster will never hurt you ever again. I promise.", and then she gave him a reassuring smile before the two slowly turned around and then they started to walk away together back to their home.

Then, Helena said to Stephan as she turned to look at him again "This is the first time I risked myself and my own life to save you when you really needed me for the most.", and when Stephan heard what she said, he turned and looked at her in the eyes and asked "There's still some more memories you need you show us?", and then Helena said "Of course there are. They're just waiting for the girls and for you to see them.", and then Aylene added "Please, show us some more, Mrs. Helena! We wanna see how did you had Andy and Zoey!", and then Chloe added in agreement "You still haven't showed us that memory yet! I'll be glad and happy to see what that memory is really like!", and then Helena said back to them "Of course you're going to see that memory. In fact, that is actually the next memory of our family's past life story you're all going to see.", and then she quickly added "But there's no need to be formal with me. Just call me Helena. That's my name, and my husband, Howard, used to call me that before he turned on me and on the rest of my family.", and then Jack said "Let's go!" and then Wild Berry added "We're going to see what the next memory and important part in Stephan's family's past life story is going to be like!", and then he, Jack and Helena all used their spirit magic and abilities to take themselves, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to the next important memory in Stephan's family's past life story.

Meanwhile, Shujaa, Andy and Zoey returned to the royal castle with Thorax and Pharynx, while the mane seven (and Kenai) all arrived at the royal castle at the same time, but they're not the only ones to come and help - Bluebell also came to the royal castle to help everypony and every creature in their searching for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and so once they're all ready to go, Celestia, Luna, Shujaa, Kenai, Bluebell, the twins, the mane seven, Thorax and Pharynx all left the royal castle and they all started to search together for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan everywhere.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all watching together and alongside Jack, Wild Berry and Helena another memory, which was in this case - the memory showing a 10 years old young Stephan watching, reacting and greeting Andy and Zoey when they're both first born (when they're just newborns), and when young Stephan saw his two new little siblings after they're born, he couldn't help but smiling down at them and trying to reach his right hand out for them so they can touch and tap at his hand, and that's exactly what happened, and Helena was joyed to see her eldest son bonding with the newborn twins shortly after they're born, and then young Stephan said "Who are two cute little babies? Oh, you two! Yes, you both are!" and then he added "And I'm glad and proud to be your big brother!", and present Stephan said "I remember that's exactly what I did when Andy and Zoey were born! I was only 10 years old at the time! I'm so happy to watch myself doing that to my little siblings whom I love and like so much ever since they're first born!".

However, a little young Stephan and Helena did knew is that Howard is watching them and the twins with an evil smile creeping on his face, before he then said to himself as he eyed both Stephan and the twins "Now I've got to train three children in order to succeed in where Lord Tirek have failed!", and then he laughed evilly to himself as the memory finished and the environment rippled back into the white and empty void. Then, Helena asked Stephan and the girls "Would you like us to stop here?", but then Stephan said "No! Show us everything! I really want to know the real reason to why you're gone!", and then Chloe added "Please, show us everything!", and then Aylene said in agreement "We're all old enough to watch horrible things! Each of us we're 13 years old! We all can definitely handle it!", and then Helena sighed heavily and said "As you all wish.", and then she, Jack and Wild Berry all used their spirit magic and abilities to take themselves, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to the last two important memories of Stephan's family's past life story.

The next environment showed Stephan's family's current home in the Badlands, and there Stephan's family (except for Howard) is shown to be feeling miserable - Helena hates her new unfavorable home in the Badlands, and young Stephan (who is now 11 years old at the time) and the twins (who are both a year old each at the time) are feeling lots of pain and harassment from their father, who is the only one who managed to adapt to his family's new unfavorable home, and he's willing to twist Stephan and the twins and force them all into becoming evil and succeed in Tirek's evilness, much to Helena's disbelief when she finally saw her husband's true colors, and so she approached her husband and said to him "Howard?", and then he turned to her and asked "What's wrong, my dear Helena?", and then Helena said "We're leaving this dreadful and unfavorable home!".

When Howard heard what she said, he suddenly yelled at her in anger "WHAT?! WHY?!", and then Helena explained "Because I cannot adapt to this almost lifeless area! Neither Stephan and the twins can!", and then she added "We're leaving this horrible and miserable place by next week! No one can adapt to live here in the Badlands!", but then Howard yelled "Nonsense! I managed to adapt to this place because I'm strong enough!", and then he added and mocked Helena in the face "You're just too weak in comparison to me!", but then Helena slapped him across the face and cried "I'm not weak! And I'm done with this unfavorable place! Even Stephan and the twins don't like it here! There's almost no food, almost no water, and too much heat in this area!", and then she declared "We cannot stay in here!", but then Howard slapped her back twice across the face and then he yelled at her "Listen to me, you tramp! Maybe I wouldn't have to take us all to live in this unfavorable place here in the Badlands if Stephan and the twins would quit loving your kind, loving and motherly nature and will start giving me some attention!".

Then, Helena raised an eyebrow while she gave Howard a scowl and then she asked him "What do you even mean 'kind, loving and motherly nature', Howard?", and then Howard explained "I will tell what do I mean by that, Helena! If they will start obeying my orders and will follow in respect in Lord Tirek's hoofprints, I would make them powerful enough to steal magic and kill a massive bull Rhinotaur all by themselves!", but then Helena said "I will not let you do that to my sweet children, you bastard! All you care is more about how you feel yourself and less about how my children and I we've been feeling currently! If you would just stop following in Lord Tirek's hoofprints and would start being nice, friendly and kind to both ponies and non-ponies, then my children and I we'll all show you some love!".

However, Howard said back to her with an equal scowl "How dare you?! How dare you tell me what I should or shouldn't do in my life?! Huh?!", but then Helena said "I just want you to be a good centaur! Lord Tirek was unhealthy when he almost destroyed all of Equestria, and therefore I'm happy he's banished to Tartarus for his inexcusable actions!", but then Howard said "Yeah! And soon enough, your children will be serving together a life sentence in Tartarus next to him! Maybe that way they will all learn to listen to their own father!", but then Helena shook her head in disbelief and said "I can't believe you just said that! How can you say such horrible on my precious Stephan and on the twins like that?", and then Howard said back "If they will respect me and follow in Lord Tirek's hoofprints, they will NOT be banished to Tartarus, but will end up becoming the greatest rulers of all of Equestria!".

Helena just crossed her arms and said to her evil husband "So that's it? You want my precious little ones to be among the greatest villains in all of Equestria, don't you?", and then she added "Well, you know what? We're leaving this horrible place WITHOUT YOU!" she raised her voice and gave Howard a warning, thus shocking but also angering him at the same time, before he then yelled "Excuse me?! What did you just said?!", and then Helena said back "You heard me right, Howard - we're leaving without you to find a better place where we can live properly, and maybe I will find a better centaur who can really make me feel safe and better than ever before, and ever since I've met you and spent the best years of my life stuck in a loveless marriage with you!".

Then, Helena turned tail and said to Howard without turning back to face him "It's all up to you now, Howard!", and then she added "If you start becoming a good centaur and start to show some love, friendship and respect to both ponies and non-ponies, I'll be glad to stay with you and continue to be your wife, but if you don't and I hear from others that you're still following in Lord Tirek's hoofprints, and that you're also still willing to force Stephan and the twins to become evil against their will, then I promise you, Howard - you won't see Stephan, the twins or me ever again!", and then Helena angrily stormed out from Howard's room and then she closed and shut the door behind herself, leaving Howard alone to let him think about what he should do that it's for his own good.

However, Howard started to get red and angry in the face before he then angrily yelled "NOOOOOOOOO!", and then he added "We'll see about that, you tramp! If I can't have your kids, neither YOU can!", and then the environment rippled back to the white and empty void once again, and then Helena turned to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and asked "Maybe you three should reconsider this? Are you sure you three want to watch this until the very end?", and then Stephan said stubbornly "Yes, mother! Please, show us all the rest!", and then Jack sighed heavily and said to him and to the girls "You're all asking for it, and now you're all going to see the last important memory and part of your family's past life story.", and then he, Helena and Wild Berry all used their spirit magic and abilities once again to take themselves, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan along with them to show them all the most tragic, saddest and latest part of Stephan's family's past life story.

Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Jack, Wild Berry and Helena all arrived at an unfamiliar environment with high cliffs, some grass around and a large cave that appeared in the background, and just then, they saw young Stephan, the twins and their mother (Helena) all traveling together through the unfamiliar area, but Howard is nowhere to be seen, but there was still a much worse danger sleeping nearby - a large adult male Beartaur, which was actually sleeping inside the large cave in the background of the environment, not too far away.

Then, young Stephan said "I'm so glad we chose to run away from dad, mom! He won't stop harassing us in order to make us useful for him, just to avenge that Lord Tirek!", and then Helena said to him "It's okay, Stephan. He'll eventually get over it and will make a new family for himself that will do as he says instead of us. I will also a good centaur as my new husband so you can a good stepfather who will be looking out for you and watching your backs for you. Everything's going to be okay, I promise.". However, a little they all knew is that Howard actually followed them not too far behind, and he came up with a cruel and heartless plan to get rid of Helena so he can have Stephan and the twins all for himself.

Then, the large adult male Beartaur suddenly woke up from his sleep and saw Helena and her children all traveling together through the area, which was in fact his territory, and when the Beartaur saw Stephan and the twins all following behind their mother and in tow, the Beartaur licked his lips and said hungrily "Breakfast!", and then he got up on his four large grizzly bear feet and then he came out of his cave and he started to run and charge towards Helena and her children. However, Helena heard him coming and so she turned around to see the Beartaur charging towards her and also towards her children, and then she turned to Stephan and to the twins and said to them "Run, my children! Run! Run for your lives! A Beartaur is coming!", and when Stephan and the twins turned around to see the Beartaur running and charging towards them, Stephan said to the twins "Andy, Zoey, we gotta run away now!", and then the four centaurs all started to trot really fast and they also galloped as fast as they all could in order to escape the Beartaur, but no matter what they did, the Beartaur kept gaining on them and he came even closer to Helena, Stephan and the twins with each passing second.

Just then, Zoey tripped over a rock and this when the Beartaur received and got his chance to kill the baby centauress with one swipe of his massive grizzly bear paws, but when Helena turned around to see her baby daughter being threatened by the Beartaur, she quickly came back alone to save Zoey from the Beartaur, and this when the Beartaur stood upright onto his hinder bear legs and then he was about to swipe and maul down at the helpless baby centauress, but then Helena quickly grabbed and threw a rock which scratched and wounded his lower bear chest and torso, thus causing the Beartaur to roar in pain, and then she quickly trotted up towards Zoey, picked her up in her arms and then she turned to trot and gallop away from the Beartaur, and then Helena started to gallop away while carrying Zoey in her arms, but then the Beartaur recovered from the attack and so he resumed his chase after the centaurs.

Then, Helena came up with a plan to save her children from getting killed by the Beartaur, and so when she got close enough to Stephan, she quickly gave and handed Zoey over to him so he can carry her, and then she said to him "Stephan, take the twins with you to safety! Go to the top of the nearest cliff! There you'll all be safe!", but then Stephan asked her "What? But what about you, mother?", and then Helena cried "You just climb up to the top of the cliff! I'll catch with you three once I deal with that monster!", and then she quickly turned around and charged back towards the Beartaur, while Stephan and the twins all started to climb up the nearest cliff.

Then, Helena and the Beartaur started to fight and attack each other, and Stephan and the twins all watched her from above and they're all shocked and horrified to see the Beartaur's massive size and grizzly bear paws, which were enough to kill Helena in just one swipe to the head, but Helena fought with all her might in order to take down and kill the Beartaur first so he won't mean her or her children any harm, but then the Beartaur managed to swipe at her flank and wound her, thus forcing her to flee before she gets even more weakened by more of the Beartaur's attacks, and then she quickly ran towards another nearby cliff and then she started to climb up on it in order to reach the top and escape the Beartaur, but once near the top, the Beartaur managed to jump on Helena and then he nailed his long and sharp claws onto both sides of her flank, but despite the sharp pain she felt, she still continued to climb up the cliff while carrying the massive male Beartaur along with her, while Stephan and the twins all watched her struggling to climb up from the cliff which the three have already climbed up and onto, before they all went to the top of the cliff to meet their mother up there.

However, when Helena managed to set and get her horse forelegs and hooves onto the top and onto the edge of the cliff while still struggling against the Beartaur's tough and firm grip, she then looked up to see Howard standing on top of the cliff right in front of her with a scowl on his face, and this made the centauress cry "Howard! My husband! Help me!", and she struggled to pull herself up because the Beartaur still held onto both sides of her flank with his massive bear forepaws, but instead of helping her, Howard angrily reached out for her and he managed to grab her by the neck with both of his arms and hands, thus choking her briefly as he then pulled Helena close to look at her in the face and eyes, before an evil smile replaced his angry scowl, and then Howard said with an evil tone "Goodbye, Helena! Your children are now mine, ALL mine! Goodbye, my traitorous pest!", and then he threw her and the Beartaur off the edge of the cliff, and then two fell back to the ground with the Beartaur landing on top of Helena's back, before he then pulled her up and finished her off by snapping her neck with his teeth, and then he stood upright onto his hind bear legs and roared triumphantly over his kill, like an ordinary bear standing upright and roaring over his kill.

When Stephan and the twins saw the Beartaur killing their mother right in front of their eyes, Stephan cried out loud and yelled "NOOOOOOOOO!", and when the Beartaur heard Stephan's screaming and yelling, he turned to look up at him and at the twins, but then he quickly turned to escape, leaving Helena's body behind on the ground and motionless. Stephan and the twins quickly descended back to the bottom of the cliff, and then they ran towards their mother, but it was too late - Helena is gone forever. Stephan couldn't believe that his mother is now gone forever, and he lowered down onto his haunches and hugged at her body as tears started to form and roll down his eyes, and for addition, the twins were also crying out loud as well, and they were both hugging at Helena's body next to Stephan, and all three centaurs cried and shed lots of tears over the loss of their mother.

Then, however, about five minutes since their mother was killed by the Beartaur, Stephan suddenly felt a hand touching roughly at his back and shoulder, and when Stephan and the twins turned, they saw their father looking down at them with a disappointed look on his face. Then, Howard said and asked in a low and disappointed tone "Andy, Zoey, Stephan, what have you all done?", but then Stephan said while still shaking with sobs "It was, it was a Beartaur, and she tried to save us. It was an accident. We didn't mean for it to happen.", and then Howard pulled Stephan to look at him in the eyes and said "Of course. Of course you didn't. No one ever means for these things to happen. But your mom is dead. And if it weren't for you three, she'd still ne alive.", and then Stephan sniffled and asked his father "What are we gonna do?", and then Howard said in an evil and scary tone "Come. Come with me, and I will make you all powerful.", and then he added "Let's go home.", and then he started to walk away, and Stephan and the twins reluctantly followed behind him, but not before Stephan said goodbye to his mother one last time, and then he finally turned to go back home with his father, and then the environment rippled back to the white and empty void as Stephan's family's past life story is finally over.

When Stephan saw the truth behind his mother's death which caused her to get herself killed by the ferocious Beartaur, the teenage male centaur had tears of pain and sadness forming and rolling down his eyes as he couldn't believe that his father was the real cause for his mother's death, and then he burst into tears and covered his own face in his hands as he started to cry in sadness and pain when he found out the truth, but then he felt a hand and a hoof touching and stroking softly and kindly at both of his shoulders, and when he uncovered his face and look to both of his sides, he saw Chloe and Aylene touching and stroking at both of his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him, while both sisters also had tears forming and rolling down their eyes, for they too have also saw everything that happened to his mother.

Then, Helena said to Stephan "Now you see the truth, my dear Stephan. My own husband was been the one who caused my death all along.", and then she added "Maybe he was right - maybe I am the reason to why you, Andy and Zoey you're all suffering for the most.", but then Stephan went up to her and hugged at her spirit and cried "No! You're not the reason why my little siblings and we're been suffering for the most! It's all father's fault! He's the one who caused and helped that Beartaur to kill you! When I tell everyone the truth and they all hear this, my father will mean us harm no more!", and then Jack said to him "And we know you will, Stephan.", and then Wild Berry added "For we three all know you're very much unlike that monster who is your father.", and then Helena said "And we all know this because you and the twins you all have big hearts. And we all love you and your friends because of the good centaur, human and Pegasus you're all are.", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what Jack, Wild Berry and Helena all said, Stephan sniffled as he pulled away from his mother and then he said to her as he wiped the tears in his eyes "Well, thanks! Thank you, mother! Thank you for showing us everything we all needed to know!".

Then, Jack said "But now, I'm afraid it's time for the three of us to go.", and then Wild Berry added "We've done our spiritual job for now.", and then Helena said in agreement "You're both right, it's time for us to go.", but then Stephan cried "What? Wait, don't go! Don't leave the three of us alone!", and then Aylene added "Yes! I don't want you to leave me alone again!", and then Chloe added "Please don't go away! We all need you!", but then Jack said back with a reassuring smile "Don't say that, young guys. You'll never be alone. We'll always be with you three.", and then he placed a hand on the center of Chloe's chest and added "Here, in your hearts.", and then Wild Berry said "Now we have to go.", and then Helena added "Take care of each other and of yourselves now. Goodbye.", and then the human male, the Pegasus stallion and the centauress all suddenly started to slowly fade away all together right in front of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's eyes.

However, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all watched their beloved human grandfather, Pegasus father and centaur mother all slowly fading away and disappearing into thin air, Chloe cried "No, wait! Grandfather! Don't leave me!", and then Aylene added "No, wait! Father! Don't leave me!", and then Stephan cried "No, wait! Mother! Please, don't leave me!", but it was too late as Jack, Wild Berry and Helena all disappeared together into thin air, thus leaving Chloe, Aylene and Stephan alone with only each other in the white and empty void, but then a few moments later, a white light started to engulf and envelope all three friends and then they all suddenly disappeared all together from the white and empty void as well.

Then, following their sudden disappearance from the white and empty void, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all found both each other and themselves under the tree in the meadow near the Everfree Forest, but then they also found out that they're no longer stone statues anymore and that they all have returned back to normal, and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan said out loud all together when they realized their shared nightmare and their journey through time were all over "Yay! We're almost home!", and then just then, the three heard lots of both female and male voices calling out for them, and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan looked away and to the horizon, the three saw Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Shujaa, Kenai, Andy and Zoey, the mane seven and even Bluebell were all calling out for them, and so Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all ran, trotted and galloped as fast as they could towards everyone they know, love and like for the most, and when everyonw saw the three of them coming towards them, they all ran, trotted, galloped and even flew to meet and reunite with them.

When they got reunited with one another, Chloe jumped on Celestia and then she hugged her around her neck and so they both cried and shed tears of joy, and so did Aylene and Thorax when the Pegasus jumped on the good changeling king and then she hugged him around his neck, and Stephan went up to Bluebell and then he ended up hugging her tightly and both teenage centaurs shed tears of joy, and Andy and Zoey were also very happy that just like Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Celestia, Thorax and Bluebell, they too shed tears of joy over the reunion of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan with them and with everyone else, but then they all knew they have to say goodbye to each other when they realized that it's for everyone to return back to their respective homes, and when everyone said goodbye to each other, Chloe, Aylene, Celestia, Luna and Shujaa all went back home to Canterlot and to the royal castle, while Stephan, Andy and Zoey all went back to their own home in Ponyville.

When nighttime came, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all fell asleep in their respective homes, and they also hoped that next day, they all will be able to tell Celestia and Luna as well as to everyone else what did they actually recently saw and learned from Stephan's family's past life story, and also about the real truth behind Helena's (Stephan's mother's) death when it turned out to be that Howard is actually the one caused her death at the hands (or paws) of the ferocious male Beartaur, and they also hoped that they will also be able to tell everyone about Zenobia and Clayton, who both started abusing and bullying them into respecting and worshipping them for no good reason, only to later become best friends with Tah the Rhinotauress, who dared to risk her own life to save theirs from harm's way, even though she's pregnant and would have to care for her own child instead of them when the child will be born. For now, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all sleeping peacefully in their beds and in their respective homes, safely.


	93. Chapter 92:double banishment

The next morning, Stephan and the twins woke up and went to eat some breakfast, and Stephan said before he started eating his breakfast "Today, Chloe, Aylene and I we're going to tell everyone we know and love for the most about what happened to us. About the shared horrible nightmare we had together, about Zenobia and Clayton kidnapping us in order to turn us all into stone, but most importantly, I want to tell what my friends and I we all found out about the real truth behind my mother's death, as well as about our new best friend, Tah, who saved our lives from drowning and from these Zenobia and Clayton.".

Later, when Stephan and the twins finished eating their breakfast, the three centaurs suddenly heard knocking on the door, and so he went up to the door to answer, but when he opened the door, Stephan was shocked and surprised to see a royal chariot from the royal castle with some Pegasi royal guards leading it from its front standing just outside his home. Then, a male Pegasus (a stallion) royal guard approached Stephan and asked "Are you Stephan the centaur?", and then Stephan said "Yes, Sir. It's me.", and then he added and asked "What's with that royal chariot standing outside my home?", and then the Pegasus royal guard gave Stephan a letter from Princess Celestia which tells the reason why the royal chariot is standing outside his home and said "Please, read this letter, Stephan. It's from Princess Celestia.".

Stephan picked the letter in his hands and unfolded it to see what it says.

The letter said

 _Dear Stephan,_

 _I want you to come here to the royal castle to hear from you your side in what exactly happened to you and to Chloe and Aylene next night. I also want to ask you a few questions about what or who is threatening and harassing you three behind your backs._

 _Please, come to the royal castle, Stephan. Luna and I we'd like to hear from you your side in what exactly happened to you three the day and night before. P.S. There are three tickets for both you and for the twins so you can pay for the ride and come to meet us._

 _By the way, Bluebell is also here with us waiting for you to come, and we all want to hear from you, as well as from Chloe and Aylene about what exactly happened to you three during both yesterday and last night. Luna and I we both promise we will help you deal with your new bad situation you, Chloe and Aylene got into._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Princess Celestia_

When Stephan finished reading the letter from Celestia, tears of joy formed in his eyes before he sniffled and then said "Our last trouble will be over soon!", and then he turned and called for Andy and Zoey (the twins) to come out of their house, and then he gave them two of the three tickets while he took the third for himself, and then all three centaurs gave the three tickets to the Pegasus stallion (who is the royal who gave Stephan the letter from Celestia) so they can oay for the ride from home to the royal castle, and once they all paid, the royal guard moved out of their way and said "Now you three can go aboard. Have a good ride.", and then he walked away from the centaurs and ended up climbing up and then sitting down in front of the royal chariot just behind the other Pegasi royal guards, and then Stephan and the twins all climbed up and managed to aboard and get inside the royal chariot, and then they all took three sits next to each other and sat down on them next to each other, and then the Pegasi royal guards all took off and they all started to fly up and away from Stephan's home, and then they all flew towards Canterlot and to the royal castle while carrying and taking Stephan and the twins along with them, and Stephan felt a sign of relief that once he tells Celestia and Luna what happened to him and to the girls, the inseparable threesome of best friends will have their two newest enemies (Zenobia and Clayton) who recently started to threaten and harass them all banished away from their own families (Queen Thandi's Spotted hyena family and King Upali's Atlas bear family) for good.

Later, when Stephan and the twins arrived at the royal castle, they went out and off the royal chariot and went inside to meet Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell and the princesses. When the three arrived at and entered the throne room, the three centaurs saw Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell, Shujaa, Kenai, the mane seven, Celestia and Luna, who are all standing (with Celestia and Luna sitting down on their thrones) ahead of them, and so Stephan and the twins all started to approach them all, and then Celestia said as she stood up from her throne and looked down at the three centaurs "Stephan, we're so glad you came here as we asked you to.", and then Luna added as she too stood up from her own throne and looked down at them "We want to ask you, Chloe and Aylene a few questions.", and then Stephan said back in response as he and the twins eventually stopped next to Chloe and Aylene "Okay, go ahead. You can start ask me, Chloe and Aylene the questions you wanted to ask us about, right now.".

Then, Celestia and Luna both climbed down from their thrones and approached Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the twins, and when they said stopped right in front of them, Celestia then said "We've all found out and learned that you three you're being threatened and harassed by some two animals.", and then Stephan asked her "Wait, how do you all know that?", and then Luna said as she used her magic to hold and bring both threatening letters forward to show to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, who all gasped together in shock, and then Luna added "We've all found out and learned that you three you're being threatened and harassed by some two animals named Zenobia and Clayton.", and then Celestia asked "Who were these two? What kinds of animals are they?", and then Bluebell asked and suggested the inseparable threesome "Were they gorillas like Sayla, or maybe baboons? Maybe they were both okapis like Akeno or something?", but then Stephan answered and explained "No, Zenobia is a female Spotted hyena from Queen Thandi's Spotted hyena family, and her best friend and partner, Clayton is a male Atlas bear from King Upali's Atlas bear family. These two dared to mean us harm and they even dared to disobey their respective rulers in front of their respective families in order to make us three respect and worship the both of them.".

When they all heard what Stephan just said about Zenobia and Clayton, Celestia, Luna, Bluebell, Shujaa, Kenai, the mane seven and even the twins all gasped in shock, and then Aylene suddenly added and explained "Lin Raju took us to meet the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas bears and that was the end result. But, however, after we ran away from the Spotted hyenas and from their neighbors, the Atlas bears, we all got approached by Gilad, and so he managed to persuade us to follow him to his and his family's home, which was also my former mother's home as well, and there we met a new baby human boy that Yigal have recently found and took in as his new adopted baby son, and the baby boy's name was Dan Ashmor.".

But then Aylene quickly added "But, however, we found out that the baby human boy is actually evil just like Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and my former mother, and when he managed to scare us with his evil baby smiles, we handed (or hoofed) him over to one another in turns, before we quickly placed him back down on the solid floor, and then we all turned to escape, but then we found out that the entrance and exit door is locked, so we tried to pry the door open before it's too late, but we got knocked out cold by my former mother and by the evil brothers, and then they took and dragged us out of their home and took us to a big water pit to drown us while we're all unconscious, but after they tied us all up in ropes so we couldn't move and also tied us all up to a rock which stood submerged in the middle of the water pit to make sure we all drown and then left us alone to drown, we're all rescued and we're all brought to safety by an adult Rhinotauress named Tah, who much unlike most of her kind, she's actually a good Rhinotauress, and what's more to tell about her is that she even told us after she saved us and then told us about her own past, she willingly told us that she's also pregnant and that she's expecting her first child to be born very soon.".

When everyone heard what Aylene said about the new evil baby human boy who arrived in Equestria and got adopted by the evil brothers and Black Heart, but also when they all heard Aylene mentioning Tah the good (and pregnant) Rhinotauress, they all (minus Chloe and Stephan) all gasped in shock once again, and then Chloe said "And then, when we're about to leave the Everfree Forest, Zenobia and Clayton both came out of nowhere and blocked our path in order to prevent us from leaving the Everfree Forest and from getting back home, and then they started to threaten and harass the three of us some more in order to make us respect and worship them, but then Tah stepped in the way and willingly dared to fight them, and even though she was pregnant, she still successfully managed to knock them both out cold all by herself and save our lives once again, and then we thanked her for saving our lives twice on that same day before said goodbye to her and left the Everfree Forest and returned back to our homes.".

When everyone heard what Chloe said as well, they all (minus Aylene and Stephan) had their jaws dropped, before Bluebell then shook her head and said "That Tah whom you just mentioned and spoke of must be real strong if you said she managed to save your lives twice on the same day. I'll be so glad to meet her, or maybe even see if she already have birthed her new baby. It makes me so excited!", and then Stephan said "Yes, we know, but I want to tell you all the reason why we 'ran away' from our homes.", and then he added and explained "The truth is that even after Tah saved our lives, we received threatening letters from both Zenobia and Clayton, and we soon realized that they're both going to continue to do to us lots of pain and torture as much as they still want!", and then he added "And so, last night we all had a shared nightmare of having all of you harassing and tormenting the three of us, but at the time, Zenobia and Clayton managed to kidnap us while we're still having the shared nightmare all together, and so they both dragged us all the way to the dark cave in the Everfree Forest, where we finally snapped awake from our shared nightmare to find each other and ourselves close nearby to one another, but then we also found that Zenobia and Clayton have both managed to kidnap us, and then they insulted and mocked us for not respecting and/or worshipping them, before they left us alone to become petrified by a bunch of five Cockatrices!".

When everyone heard everything from what Stephan just said, they all (except for Chloe and Aylene) gasped in shock again, before Stephan then quickly added "But there's just one more important I have to tell you we've been through as well. When the three of us we're all petrified, our minds met Jack Williams (Chloe's grandfather), Wild Berry (Aylene's father), and my own mother (Helena), and then the three started to show us my and my family's memories from our past life story which occurred and happened before I met Chloe and Aylene, but then we also found out the truth about who's really responsible for my mother, Helena's death!".

When Bluebell heard what Stephan said, the teenage winged centauress then asked him "What do you mean?", and then she added "I thought you said your mother was been killed by a Beartaur!", but then Stephan said "Yes, a Beartaur did killed my beloved mother, but now, Chloe, Aylene and I we all know who's really responsible for her death behind the Beartaur's doings!", and then Bluebell asked him "Then who caused and helped the Beartaur to kill your mother?", and then Stephan cried "My father did it! He helped and allowed the Beartaur kill my mother, Helena in front of my eyes, but I couldn't see him throwing her and the Beartaur back down from the top of the cliff until we watched everything all over again ourselves!", and then he quickly closed his eyes and turned his head away as he felt tears of pain and sadness forming and threatening to escape his eyes, and everyone (except for Chloe and Aylene) all gasped in shock and horror to realize that Howard (Stephan's father) is in fact the one responsible for Helena's death at the paws and hands of the Beartaur.

Then, Andy and Zoey both felt tears forming and rolling down their own eyes as well and then they both started to cry in sadness and sorrow when they finally got to know the truth from their big brother about their mother's death by their evil father and not only by the Beartaur, and even Stephan was struggling to shake away the traumatic pain, but they aren't the only ones who were sad - Bluebell, Shujaa, Kenai, the mane seven and even Celestia and Luna all started to shed tears from learning the real truth about Stephan's mother's death at the paws and hands of both the Beartaur and Howard.

Among everyone, even Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both unable to hold back their tears from hearing the real and bitter truth about Helena's death at the paws and hands of both the Beartaur and her own husband. However, then, Andy and Zoey suddenly felt a hand and a hoof touching and stroking softly at the tops of their heads, and when they opened up their eyes and looked up, they saw Chloe and Aylene stroking them with tears threatening to escape their own eyes as well, before the two sisters quickly managed to wipe the tears away from their own eyes as they tried to give soft and kind smiles to the two toddler centaurs and tried to calm them down and comfort them.

Then, when everyone finally stopped crying and shed tears and they all finally calmed down, Celestia said "I can't believe this!", and then Luna added with anger slowly building inside her "How could that awful beast for a father do such thing to his own wife?!", and then Bluebell cried "I always suspected that Howard will dare to kill a centauress from his own kind! Now I see I was right about my own suspicions all along!", and then Shujaa said "When I see that beast for a centaur, I'm just going to break his neck!", and then Kenai added "Me too! I'll be really glad to help you out by tearing from limb to limb!", and then Twilight said "That centaur needs a long and proper punishment for doing such inexcusable crimes against all of his own family, just to avenge that Lord Tirek!", and then Starlight added suggested "A life sentence in Tartarus will be perfect and also strong enough to prevent him from getting to do any more contact with his own children and cause then anu more troubles!", and then Rainbow Dash said "He deserves to be bucked a hundred and twenty times in the face for killing his very own wife in order to gain more control and manipulate his own children into becoming evil against their own will!".

However, Applejack then interrupted and said "But first, let's go talk to these Queen Thandi and King Upali and tell them to deal with Zenobia and Clayton!", and then Rarity said to her "You're right! Since they're closer to harm Chloe, Aylene and Stephan even more than that monster centaur, Howard, we should go talk to their respective leaders and ask them to banish these no good lady and her ruffian partner away from their families for threatening Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in order to force them all to respect and worship them for no good reason at all!", and then Fluttershy said "I will not hesitate to use my infamous stare on these two bullies once I get to see them for the first time!", and then Pinkie Pie added "And I would like to shoot these two big bad mean meanie pants out of my party cannon!", and then Celestia said "Let's go to the Everfree Forest to talk to Queen Thandi and Kind Upali, right now!", and then Luna added "Yes, we should all go talk to them right away!", and then Bluebell said "But first, let's inform Thorax and Pharynx about Chloe, Aylene and Stephan being threatened, and also to come too so they can also talk to Queen Thandi and King Upali about Zenobia and Clayton's deception!".

Then, Celestia, Luna and the mane seven all went with some royal guards to the Everfree Forest, while Bluebell, Shujaa, Kenai and the twins were tasked to go to the changeling kingdom to inform Thorax and Pharynx about the recent threatening and harassment of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan by Zenobia and Clayton, so the changeling kings can come, join and help too in talking to Queen Thandi and King Upali and persuading them to banish Zenobia and Clayton away from their respective families for their recent crimes, and as for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, they all stayed all alone just the three of them in the royal castle with only each other around, and the inseparable threesome hoped that Celestia, Luna and the rest will come out successful and they also hoped that Zenobia and Clayton will be banished away from their own and respective families for messing up with all three of them for fun, and also for forcing them all to respect and worship the both of them against their will.

Later, Celestia, Luna, the mane seven, the twins, Bluebell, Shujaa, Kenai, Thorax and Pharynx all entered the Everfree Forest all together (after Shujaa, Kenai, Bluebell and the twins asked and persuaded Thorax and Pharynx to come along and help), and they all started to search for Queen Thandi, King Upali and their respective Spotted hyena and Atlas bear families, and it didn't took very long before they all eventually managed to find them, and once they all found them, the Spotted hyenas and the Atlas all came to greet and welcome their new visitors who came to their home to meet their leaders, and when Queen Thandi and King Upali also approached, greeted and welcomed the Alicorns, changelings, centaurs, seven mares, albino orangutan and brown panda, as well as the royal guards and the changelings who also came along with them, this is when Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and Bluebell all decided to have a talk with the both of them about what Zenobia and Clayton both have been doing to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan very recently.

After they all explained and told Queen Thandi and King Upali about Zenobia and Clayton's deception, and also about the way they were both keeping treating Chloe, Aylene and Stephan (so badly) in order to make and force the threesome to respect and worship them for no good reason at all, the Spotted hyena queen and the Atlas bear king both gasped in shock, as well as all their subjects, friends and family members did the same thing as their respective leaders just did, and then Queen Thandi said "I'm so sorry to hear that my Zenobia is treating Chloe, Aylene like punching bags for no reasons!", and then King Upali added "And I'm sorry to hear that my Clayton is also willing to force these three inseparable friends to respect and worship him and his best friend against their will!", and then Bluebell asked "So, what are you both planning to do with them?", and then Queen Thandi declared "If that's how our two respective subjects keep bullying, abusing and harassing the same three inseparable friends for no reason, which King Upali and I we both warned the both of them not to do, then this is where King Upali and I we say that they both just crossed the red line!", and then King Upali added in an agreeing tone "That's right! If Clayton and Zenobia both keep being abusing and too mean to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan behind their and our backs, then these two no good traitors who ignored our warnings and disobeyed us and our rules and wanted to do whatever they want even if it means for them to do bad things on others who are different than them, then Queen Thandi and I we both declare together as one that Clayton and Zenobia both deserve to be banished forever!".

When they all heard the declaration and official announcement of Zenobia and Clayton's banishment, all the Spotted hyenas and all the Atlas bears angrily yelled but also in agreeing tones that Zenobia and Clayton both deserve to leave and never return for everything bad they both have already done so far in and for all of these years. Then, a female Atlas bear yelled "They both deserve this! They both have already gone too far!", and then a male Spotted hyena added "And they've been acting so badly like this for all these years!", and then a male Atlas bear said in agreement "Now we all had enough of the both of them for everything bad they both did to others, and for nothing more than only for their own pleasure!", and then a female Spotted hyena added "These two always meant nothing but trouble to all of us and even to others! They also have been acting very nastily towards others just to gain and receive a lot of attention! These two together for all these years having been acting like nothing more than a couple of attention hounds!", and then she added "Now it's the right time for justice to take place and do what's must be done!".

However, what they all didn't know is that Zenobia and Clayton were both listening to everything everyone is saying against the both of them, and this made both abusive and mad wild animal carnivores to angrily come out from right behind them and then Zenobia cried in anger "WE HEARD EVERYTHING! HOW DARE YOU?!", and then Clayton added in the same loud and angry tone as Zenobia "HOW DARE YOU ALL BANISH US AWAY FROM OUR HOME?! WHAT A BETRAYAL!", but when everyone heard what they both said, they all turned around to face them with angry faces, scowls and even pure rage burning in their eyes, and then Queen Thandi and King Upali both stepped forward and approached Zenobia and Clayton, and then they both stopped dead in their tracks once they're only about 20 (6 meters) feet away from the two villainous animals, and the Spotted hyena queen and the Atlas bear king both looked at Zenobia and at Clayton with scowls of both anger and disappointment, much to Zenobia and Clayton's shock.

Then, Queen Thandi spoke up and angrily said to the two "How dare you two harm Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and just ignore all of our warnings?!", and then King Upali added in the same angry tone as Queen Thandi's "You both have deliberately disobeyed us!", but then Zenobia said accusingly "They hurt us first!", and then Clayton added "Yeah! These three kicked us off themselves, and then they all slapped us across our faces!", but neither Spotted hyena queen or Atlas bear king seemed to believe their lies, before the two leaders quickly shook their heads and looked at Zenobia and at Clayton with angry and disappointed eyes again, and then Queen Thandi said "You can't fool us into believing in you two!", and then King Upali added in agreement "We both know that you two are lying to us! You attacked Chloe, Aylene and Stephan first! Not to mention, they attacked you back in an attempt of trying to defend themselves and also save each other from you two!", and then Queen Thandi said "And by the way, what you two did to these three good friends have managed to hurt their feelings! Not to mentions that you two even sent them some threatening letters to scare and frighten them some more!", and then King Upali asked the twi traitorous animals "What do you two have to say to yourselves? Huh?!".

When Zenobia and Clayton both heard what King Upali said to them and asked about what do they have to say to themselves about everything bad they've done to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan so far by now, but then Zenobia said "They got what they deserved from us!", and then Clayton added "We wanted to teach them a proper lesson for not respecting and/or worshipping us! They must learn how to really respect their elders!", but then Celestia stepped forward and yelled at the two traitorous animals "Don't you two dare say such things about my daughters and about their best friend like that, you beasts!", but then Clayton approached her, stood upright on his hinder legs and yelled at her in the face "Shut up your mouth, you filthy horse! What are you supposed to be?! Their mother?! That's ridiculous!", but then Thorax also stepped forward and warned "Say that again to Celestia and I will not hesitate to blast at you two with my magic, you foul, hatred-filled beasts!", but then Zenobia approached him and then she stood upright on her hind legs and paws and yelled at him in the face "Will you shut your mouth too, you filthy bug-stag! What are you even supposed to be for these three little brats?! Their father or something?! That's ridiculous!", but then Bluebell used her magic to surround both the Spotted hyena and the Atlas bear in a blue aura, and then she brought them forward to herself and yelled at them in the faces "You listen to me, you two no good insolent and lousy jerks! I'm Stephan's girlfriend and I truly love and like him for the good centaur he is, and so I like Chloe and Aylene as well because they're too my friends! If you two dare to mess with them again, I'll be smashing you against lots of trees and rocks with the powerful force of my magic until you realize your mistakes, and then you both will spend the rest of your lives in Tartarus next to Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow for all I care!", and then she forcefully smashed them both against the ground.

Then, when Zenobia and Clayton slowly stood back up on their feet, they saw all the Spotted hyenas, Atlas bears, royal guards and changelings all looking at them with angry faces, before Shujaa and Kenai, the mane seven, Luna, Pharynx and the twins all yelled angrily in unison at Zenobia and Clayton "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!", and then all the animals and creatures who were all mixed together into one big and angry crowd all started to yell angrily at them, and then Zenobia and Clayton quickly stepped aback from them, before Queen Thandi and King Upali angrily said and demanded together to their two respective, yet now former family members "You two leave now or we'll all shoe you both out by force!", and when Zenobia and Clayton both finally realized that they're outnumbered by all the animals and creatures who stood in front of them like a big, angry and intimidating crowd, the two realized that they must leave now or they will be attacked by everyone else, and then Zenobia yelled back "Fine then!", and then Clayton added "Goodbye forever to all of you! We're both leaving!", but then Zenobia warned "But you all shall be warned - we will do whatever it takes to crash these human girl, teenage Pegasus and teenage centaur ourselves!", and then Clayton added "Be afraid! Be VERY afraid!", and then the two finally turned tail and started to run away together deeper into the Everfree Forest, apparently never to return to their own and respective families anymore.

Then, Kenai said "Ha! Good riddance!", and then Shujaa added "I hope they won't ever return to cause Chloe, Aylene and Stephan any more trouble!", and then the twins nodded their heads in agreement, and then Celestia said to everyone "Let's go back home to tell Chloe, Aylene and Stephan the good news!", and then every creature cheered for her, before she and Thorax turned to say goodbye to Queen Thandi and to King Upali, and also to thank them both for banishing Zenobia and Clayton away for good, and then everypony and every creature said goodbye to the Spotted hyenas and to the Atlas bears, and so they all went back to the royal castle to tell Chloe, Aylene and Stephan the good news about Zenobia and Clayton being banished away forever for all their crimes.

Later, after Chloe, Aylene and Stephan heard the good news about Zenobia and Clayton being banished away from their respective families for all their crimes, the three (particularly Stephan) told Thorax and Pharynx about how did they met Helena (Stephan's mother) as a spirit, and how she, Jack Williams (Chloe's grandfather) and Wild Berry (Aylene's father) all took them with along with them to see the real truth about her death at the paws and hands of the ferocious Beartaur, which turned out to be that it was Howard (Stephan's father) who was actually the one who helped the Beartaur kill his own wife, as Stephan and the twins didn't and couldn't see him on the top of the cliff Helena and the Beartaur climbed up and onto.

When Thorax and Pharynx heard what Stephan about his own father being the real one who is in fact responsible for his own mother's death at the paws and hands of the Beartaur, the two changeling kings got angry as they couldn't believe how could a father like him kill his own wife just like that, and then Pharynx said angrily "How could that jerk for a father do such horrible thing to his own wife?! He's indeed a true monster! He might be even worse than Chrysalis herself!", and then Thorax said and added "It's okay though, Pharynx! Now we have an advantage we can use against him and expose him as a traitor and a murderer once we catch and arrest him and his trial will take place and will be given in the court so he can be sent to Tartarus to serve a life sentence!".

Celestia and Luna too agreed that Howard deserves a true punishment for his own disgusting, outrageous and malevolent actions and crimes, and Chloe, Aylene, but importantly Stephan knew that as soon as Howard will be caught and imprisoned in Tartarus, Stephan and the twins will be able to escape from their living nightmare once and for all. Sooner or later, Stephan and the twins' horrible living nightmare will be all over, and the three centaurs will be able to live safely and far away from him forever.


	94. Chapter 93:Tah's new son

A week has passed since Zenobia and Clayton got banished together from their own and respective families, but the two are still willing to exact their revenge on Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, since they both believe that the inseparable and friendly threesome are the cause for their banishment. Anyway, as for Tah, she was doing just fine, and in fact, she finally gave birth to a healthy baby Rhinotaur (a male), and now she's willing and wants to go look for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, find them and show and introduce her new son to them.

As for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, they went with the mane seven, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Spike, the CMC, Shujaa, Kenai, Bluebell, Layla, Zach, Aron, Linda, and all the youngsters (Timmy, Andy and Zoey, Egbert, Shelly and Yoko the Tigertaur triplets, Kayden and Tallulah the good baby Beartaurs, and Simba and Sirga the baby Liontaurs) to the meadow near the Everfree Forest to do a picnic and have a good time all together, and this was just the best opportunity for Tah to show up and introduce herself to everyone else whom Chloe, Aylene and Stephan know and love so much, and also a perfect way for her to show them all her new baby son, who is already able to walk and keep up with his mother, and much unlike baby humans, baby centaurs from certain species were already able to control their human necks and hold their baby human heads in place and on their own just hours after they're born, and baby Rhinotaurs are no exception.

Back with Tah and with her new son, they both went out and left the Everfree Forest to meet Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else, and in midway to where everyone were doing their picnic all together, Tah said to her baby son "When I show you to my new friends whom I already saved twice on that same day, I'm sure they would like to be friends with you too.", and when the baby Rhinotaur heard what his mother said, he let out a cute but also loud and high-pitched baby rhinoceros squeal and kept following his mother in tow, thus making Tah smile down at him before she said "That's my little boy!", and the two Rhinotaurs kept walking towards their final destination - to Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else's picnic.

Back at the picnic, everyone were all doing just fine, with Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell, the CMC, Spike, Aron, Zach, Linda, Layla and all the youngsters were all playing around all together while all the adults were just sitting down and were talking to each other. However, after they all played together a while, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and all the others (minus all the adults) saw Tah the Rhinotaurs slowly coming towards them all from a far distance away, but then the CMC screamed all together "Ahhh! A Rhinotaur! We all need to run away for our lives while we still can!", and then everyone started to run back to the adults to tell and warn them about the approaching Rhinotauress, but Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were the only ones who stayed behind and let Tah the Rhinotauress come towards them (since they already know her as their savior and new best friend).

Then, Stephan started to call for the Rhinotauress "Tah! Hello! We're over here!", and this is when Tah and her child both started to run fast towards them to meet them, and when they got close enough, Tah stopped with her child hiding himself behind her lower rhinoceros back and rear end, and then the Rhinotauress said "It's so nice to meet you and see you three again!", and then she added and asked "Were all this ponies and other creatures all your friends?", and then Chloe said "Yes, they are!" and then Aylene added "We're so sorry they all ran away in fright like they all did!", but then Tah said unoffended "It's okay though, guys. I knew they all will run away when they first saw me coming towards all of you.", but then Stephan said to her "Please come with us, Tah! We'll show everyone else that you're not only our savior but also our newest friend! Come along!", and then he, Chloe and Aylene started to walk away and they went with Tah following behind them back to the picnic to show Tah to everyone else.

However, when they arrived at the picnic all together, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Tah all saw all the teenagers and adults looking angrily at them, and Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and Bluebell were all about to use their magic and were about to attack while the CMC and all the youngsters hid behind them in fear, but then Stephan called out for them all "Don't hurt her, everyone! She means no harm! She's our friend!", and when they all heard what Stephan just said, they all backed down and decided not to use their magic and not attack Tah, but then Apple Bloom asked "Who's that Rhinotauress?", and then Sweetie Belle added "Is she dangerous?", and then Scootaloo asked "Where did she came from?", and then Randall added "Is she going to eat us?", but then Tah spoke up and said "Eat you? Of course not! I don't eat ponies or even non-ponies! Even though we're more carnivorous than omnivorous unlike most centaur species, I will never do such a harsh thing to a bunch of innocent little children! Eating all of you just like that will be simply both primitive and barbaric at the same time!".

When everyone heard everything Tah just said, Bluebell approached her and then asked her "Are you Tah? The Rhinotauress who saved Stephan and the girls?", and then Tah answered "Yes! That's me! I'm Tah!", and then she asked back "Now tell me who are you! I never saw a centauress like you before!", and then Bluebell turned to look back at herself and realized that Tah is looking at her large bird wings, and then Bluebell turned back to look at her and said "I'm Bluebell, and I'm a royal and majestic winged centauress! Therefore, instead of having the lower body half of a regular horse, I have the lower body half of a Pegasus!", and then Tah said back to her "So, that explains why you have such big and beautiful wings! I've never seen a winged centaur before! And that is until I just met you right now, Bluebell!", and when Bluebell heard Tah's comments she told her about her wings, the winged centauress blushed and placed a hand on her own cheek before letting out a giggle.

Then, Layla approached Tah as well and then she said to her "If you said that you're a new good friend of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan like you said you are, then you're also a new friend and ally of all of us!", and then she took a step closer to the Rhinotauress and she introduced herself and said "I'm Layla, Zach's girlfriend and also a best friend of Bluebell!", and then she turned back to everyone else and she started to point at each and every one of them and started to introduce them all as well so Tah can get to know the names of all of them.

Once Layla finished introducing everyone's names to Tah, the Rhinotauress smiled kindly before she then said "It was my pleasure to meet all of you, but most importantly, it was my pleasure to meet you three, Celestia, Thorax, and of course you, Bluebell!", and then she added "And I have something good to say to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan about myself, or better yet about the ultimate surprise I want to show them!", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what she said, the three turned back and then looked up at her, and then Aylene asked "Tah, what are you talking about?", and then Tah said and asked "Do you three remember that I told you I was pregnant when we first met each other?", and then Chloe said "Yes, you did said that.", but then she added and asked "But why does it matter now?", and then Tah answered and explained "Because I'm a true mother now!".

When everyone heard what Tah just said, all the children, teenagers and adult females gasped in shock while and the adult males had their jaws dropped in shock, and then Tah moved a little bit to show everyone that she's telling them the truth - when she moved aside, a male baby Rhinotaur who appeared to be just a few days old but also appeared to be able to control most of his body parts independently stood there in front of all of them, and then Stephan said in shock upon seeing the baby Rhinotaur "Whoa! Oh my gosh! It's a baby Rhinotaur!", but then the baby Rhinotaur fearfully stepped aback from them all and cowered in fear, as he believed all the creatures who stood in front of him (except for his own mother) will attack him if he'll do anything that may look wrong in their eyes, but then Tah approached her little child and then she lowered down onto her knees and said to her son in a soft voice tone as she caressed him with her human arms and hands "It's okay, my precious little one. They won't hurt you, I promise. Stephan and the girls are my friends and they're really nice, and Stephan even have a girlfriend and two little siblings whom he looks after and cares for as well. You can trust them, my little sweetheart. All of them.".

Then, Tah stopped caressing her baby son and then she stood back up on her rhinoceros legs and feet, and this is when the baby Rhinotaur turned back to look at all the creatures who stood in front of him, and Stephan was the first to approach him, and when the centaur got close enough, he lowered down onto his horse haunches to look at the baby Rhinotaur in the eyes, and then he said as he gave him both of his hands to touch or hold onto "It's okay, baby. Don't be afraid of me. My name is Stephan, and I'm one of your mother's friends. I'm always ready and willing to stand up for whoever needs help, and I will always defend and protect them from danger, even if they're strangers. Therefore there's no reason for you to fear me. you can really trust me, I promise.", and then he showed his hands to the baby Rhinotaur to prove him that he won't use them to mean him any harm.

However, at first, the baby Rhinotaur looked up and studied the larger creature sitting down but still apparently towering over him, but then he looked down at Stephan's hands, and then he started to tap at both of the teenage centaur's hands with his own much smaller baby hands, and Stephan couldn't help but laugh at this because the baby Rhinotaur's tapping on his hands in fact started to tickle him in the hands, and once the baby Rhinotaur stopped and let go of Stephan's hands, the centaur calmed down from his laughing, and then it was everyone else's turns to meet the baby Rhinotaur and show him that they mean him no harm.

Aylene was the second to approach the baby Rhinotaur and when she got close enough to him, she then stood upright on her hind legs and then she wrapped both of her forelegs and her wings around the baby Rhinotaur's upper human body and then she looked down at him in the eyes and said "Hi, little one. I'm Aylene. I'm Chloe's pony sister and one of Stephan's best friends. I assure you I mean you no harm, and therefore you can trust me too.", and then she gave the baby Rhinotaur a kind, friendly and loving smile, and in return, the baby Rhinotaur giggled and started to touch at her neck and chest and tickle her, thus causing her to laugh as well, but when the baby Rhinotaur stopped tickling Aylene, she as well stopped her laughing, and then she unwrapped her forelegs and wings and let go of the baby Rhinotaur, and then it was everyone else's turns to meet the baby Rhinotaur and show him that they mean him no harm.

Then, it was Chloe's turn to show the baby Rhinotaur that she's a good human, and so she approached him and when she got close enough, she then knelt down and looked at him in the eyes and then she kindly said "Don't be afraid of me, baby. My name is Chloe. I may be a human, but I promise you that I will never-ever dream of harming you. You can trust me.", and then she stretched out her arm and gave a hand of hers for the baby Rhinotaur to touch and hold onto, and the baby Rhinotaur in return giggled and started to tap at Chloe's hand and tickle at her hand too, and this caused Chloe to chuckle kindly but not to laugh like Aylene and Stephan did, and when the baby Rhinotaur stopped touching at Chloe's hand, she then stood back up on her feet and it was now everyone else's turns to meet the baby Rhinotaur and show him that they mean him no harm.

Then, everyone else started to approach and show the baby Rhinotaur that they're all good in respective turns, and once they're all done, the baby Rhinotaur felt completely safe around them all, and he's rewarded by being allowed to play around with all the youngsters, which he accepted as he wanted to make friends with them and have with them lots of fun, and Tah accepted letting her little son play and have fun with all the youngsters, but she also told him to not wander too far away from her and from all the other adults (or teenagers), and this when the baby Rhinotaur started to play and have some lots of fun with all the other youngsters.

While all the youngsters were playing and having fun all together, Stephan asked Tah "What's your little son's name?", and then Tah said one word "Trog.", and when he and the others all heard what she said, Stephan then asked "So, Trog is your son's name?", and then Tah said "Yes. But I still like that name. Short and a bit weird, but I still like that name.", and then Bluebell suggested "I think it's probably because it's fit in for his size, isn't it?", and then Tah said "Yes." and then she added "My son here is just like me - enjoying life of being a good Rhinotaur.", and then Zach interrupted and said "You must be really happy to be a mother for a good little baby boy as your son, right?", and then Tah turned to him and said "Of course I do. Trog is my little son, and I love him with all my heart.".

However, just then, everyone started to hear Andy, Timmy, Egbert, Kayden and Trog screaming all together, and all the teenagers and all the adults could tell by the sounds of their screams that they're close near danger, and when all the teenagers and all the adults turned to look at the youngsters, they're all shocked to see the worst elephant unimaginable whom they all hate for the most for all of his abusive actions and crimes standing in front of the youngsters with an evil look on his eyes - it was Terrence.

Then, Terrence said with an evil smile creeping on his face "You lost, little kids?", and this made all the youngsters to turn and run away and go back to the adults, but then Terrence yelled "Oh no, you don't!", and then he started to chase and charge after all of them and then he ended up running past them and he managed to block their path back to all the teenagers and all the adults, and then he said evilly "You're not going anywhere, my stupid little kids!" and then the evil one-tusked elephant started to laugh evilly at all of them, thus prompting all the youngsters to hug each other in a big and solid group as they all started to tremble in fear at his shear size and intimidating appearance, but what scared them all for the most was the left side of his head and face, which showed his left tusk is missing and the notch bite mark made and left by Kenai on the evil elephant's left ear, and these made him look scary to all the youngsters.

When they all saw all the youngsters trapped and threatened by Terrence, Bluebell, Layla, and Linda screamed all together "No! Leave all of them alone, you bastard!", but the elephant paid a little to no attention to their words and then he looked down at all the frightened youngsters and yelled at them "Stop your sniveling, you stupid little rats!", and then he wrapped his trunk around Trog's upper human body and then he lifted him up so he can look at him right in the eyes, and then Terrence asked him and said in his evil tone "And what are you even supposed to be? Some big ugly baby with the lower body of a rhinoceros or something? You look even uglier than any of my non-elephant friends!".

However, Tah suddenly yelled at Terrence "Hey you, Mr. Elephant! Leave my son alone!", but when he heard what she said, Terrence slowly turned around to face her and when he looked at her, he then asked "And what are you supposed to be? Some big ugly woman with the lower body of a rhinoceros or something? What in the world are you?!", and then Tah corrected and then said "I'm called a Rhinotaur! Rhinotauress actually, because I'm female, but there are males too! Now you let go of my son or you're messing with me!", but then Terrence laughed her away and asked "Oh, please! What a stupid Rhinotauress like you can do to me?", and then he pointed out and added "I'm the largest living land mammal!", but then Tah ran towards him and she ended coming close enough and stopping right in front of him, and soon Terrence realized that because she's part of the largest living centaur species in all of Equestria, Tah's height is nearly the same as Terrence's, causing him to swallow nervously before he accidentally dropped Trog back down to the ground and let him to quickly get up an run away and go back to all the teenagers and to all the adults, and then Terrence said "Oh, my goodness! Rhinotaurs are the same height as elephants!", and then Tah angrily punched him square in the face before he could protect himself, thus causing the evil elephant to scream and then he began to shake his head repeatedly, but then Tah called for all the other youngsters to run back to all the teenagers and to all the adults in order to escape Terrence.

However, Terrence quickly shook away the last attack off himself and then he grabbed Tah around the neck using his trunk and then he started to choke her, but then she quickly used her arms and hands to punch Terrence very close near the left eye, thus causing him to scream again and let go of her, but when he turned to look behind her, he saw that all the youngsters are now back with all the teenagers and with all the adults, and soon he realized that he's going to be defeated by Tah as the Rhinotauress then gave a very hard double punch to both sides of the evil elephant's face, thus causing him to scream in pain once again before he finally fell down to the ground and landed on his underbelly, unconscious and defeated, before Celestia and Luna used their magic together to teleport and transport Terrence's unconscious body somewhere else in order to get rid of him.

With Terrence gone for now, everyone were all happy to have all the youngsters back and safe with them, and so they all continued to have a good time all together until it was sunset time, and this is when everyone started to say goodbye to each other and they all started heading back to their respective homes, and this is also when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Tah said goodbye to each other as well, and then they all went everyone to his/her own home - Chloe and Aylene returned back to the royal castle with Celestia, Luna and Shujaa, Stephan went back to his home in Ponyville with the twins, and Tah went back to the Everfree Forest with her son (Trog), but they all knew they will always be able to see each other again.


	95. Chapter 94:Agatha leaves her home

It was been a week since Chloe, Aylene, Stephan introduced Tah and her new son Trog to everyone else, and there's only one more week left before another month will pass, but now we're going to go and come back and return to see Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals and see what's going on with them, as something bad is soon going to happen and occur - something that will tear off and break the long-living bond between Yigal and one of his own animals - his white (and pure albino) lioness, Agatha.

In the villains' second and current house, they villains are all doing just fine, well, all except for one - Agatha. The white lioness sat down on the floor and gazed down at the floor, waiting impatiently for her favorite wild boar meat for lunch, because Agatha was been already waiting for more than three hours, and still no sign of either Yigal, his brothers or even Black Heart coming for her with a large bowl full of the wild boar meat she likes to eat for the most, but just then, only five minutes later, Yigal finally came for Agatha with a large bowl full of her favorite wild boar meat, and then he placed it down in front of her face and eyes so she can start eating, and that's exactly when Agatha quickly stood back up on her feet and then she pushed her own face into the large bowl and started eating the tasty wild boar meat inside.

While she was still eating from the wild boar meat, Agatha spoke up and said with a full mouth "That was delicious!", and then she added "I hope Yigal will start giving some more attention and will also start some more meat as well!", and once she finished eating from the meat, Agatha said "Ever since Yigal brought that little baby boy here into our house, Yigal and all the others, and even my adoptive black tiger brother, Tony Black, they were all paying more attention to him and less attention to me!", and then she added "I hope they'll all realize that stupid baby boy is not the only one here who needs some more attention!", and then she concluded and said "For over the next few weeks since he (Dan Ashmor the baby) was first brought into our home, Yigal and the others barely feed me every day! I'm feeling more and more starving with each passing day! I don't even know how much longer I can last in this kind of situation when that baby boy is always the main attraction and is always given more attention than anyone else in this house!".

Agatha is indeed feeling miserable this very lately and she doesn't know how much long she'll even last, and things for her started to get even worse with each passing day. Everyone in the house are now paying attention to baby Dan and even Tony Black seems to favor him over Agatha, which causes the white lioness to grow jealous on the little baby boy, and at some point, Tony Black even let baby Dan sleep on the side of his body at nights, and therefore Agatha can no longer sleep with Tony Black privately like they always used to for all these years.

However, one day it would prove to be the final straw for Agatha when she saw Yigal giving a warm and tasty vegetable soup fit in for babies for baby Dan to eat in her own feeding bowl, and now she's not only jealous of the little baby boy, but now she also hates him for the most as she couldn't take it anymore, as in the past few weeks, he had taken everything away from her. Once Yigal left baby Dan to eat his vegetable soup, Agatha saw this as her chance to snatch back her feeding bowl, and so she jumped in front of baby Dan's face, spilled all the vegetable soup at his face and then she grabbed the feeding bowl in her mouth and then she took it away from Dan, but instead she only made him cry, and then Agatha turned and looked up to see Yigal looking down at her with an outraged look on his face.

"Agatha, what, are, you, DOING?!" Yigal asked through clenched teeth, but then Agatha protested and said "But, Yigal! This is MY feeding bowl!" and she tried to keep the bowl out of Yigal's reach and in a greedy gesture, but then Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart all came to the room and entered and went inside with a fresh diaper to change Dan with, and then Black Heart said "Agatha, give us that bowl! You're too old for feeding from it! It's about time we gave it to someone who needs it more than you do!", but then Agatha whined and begged "But everyone...please...".

However, Yigal yelled down at her and threatened "Agatha the white lioness, give me the feeding bowl, or you're going for a whipping!", and then he's given the whip by Ezra and he readied himself to whip at Agatha, but then she screamed "No!" and then she tried to escape with her feeding bowl, only to be stopped and pulled back by Yigal, who managed to grab her by her tail, before he forcefully dragged the white lioness backwards with all his might and then he whipped twice on her back, causing Agatha to scream and cry in pain as she went into tears.

Then, Gilad spoke up and said "Agatha, we all are busy right now, so please leave before we all lose our temper!", as he, Ezra and Black Heart all showed the poor white lioness angry bloodshot eyes, and then Agatha tried to say "But, I...I...", but then they and Yigal all screamed at her with the loudest and most powerful raise of voice ever "NOW!", thus frightening the white lioness so much that she left the room and went to another bedroom, she went up to a chair in the corner of the room and burst into tears, and then anger and hatred started building in her, it suddenly jumped into conclusions that everything was about baby Dan now, and then Agatha said to herself "I guess that's it! If it was Dan only and only him alone, then Dan only it was going to be from now on!".

Then, Agatha checked and looked out through the window and saw everyone going on a trip outside with baby Dan is being held tightly in Yigal's arms by below the armpits so he wouldn't fall off and get hurt, and when Agatha saw they're all going without her, she angrily stomped a forepaw of hers against the floor and then she turned to see a black marker and a piece of paper, and so she went up to pick the black marker and open it, and she held it up in her mouth and that's when she started to write a letter for everyone (particularly for Yigal and Tony Black).

The letter Agatha wrote for everyone said

 _Dear Yigal and Tony Black,_

 _I've been grateful of you and of everyone else as well, but if all you care about is only Dan, then only Dan you will have! I will not be replaced and become an outcast over a tinier, cuter, pinker, and somewhat dumber thing such as your baby Dan! By the way, guess what? I've grown tired of all of you after all these good years I've spend with all of you ever since you all first met, saved and adopted me when I was just a little cub! Because now all these days, weeks, months and years are gone, and that's all your new little baby's fault!_

 _So don't bother go looking for me, because none of you don't love me anymore, and neither anyone else wants me around! I've ran away for good, and therefore you'll never see or hear from me ever again!_

 _Your truly, and sincerely_

 _Agatha_

When Agatha finished writing the letter, she jumped on the bed while carrying the letter she just wrote in her mouth, and then she lowered her head and placed the letter down on the bed, and then she jumped off the bed and she turned to see a window which was left open, and so she jumped through the open window and landed safely outside the house and on solid ground, and then she started to walk away from the villains' house and was about to begin her lonely, long and dangerous search for a new home and for a new family, but once she walked and traveled only a bit far away, Agatha then turned around to look at her now former home one last time and then she said in an unusual soft and hurt voice tone "Goodbye, Yigal.", and then she finally turned and looked away from her former home and continued to walk away with tears forming and rolling down her eyes and trailing behind her, as she then left the area and went to parts unknown in search for both a new family and for a new home.


	96. Chapter 95:Agatha escapes again

It was been a few hours since Agatha left Yigal and the other villains' home for good, and now she's still searching for a new place to call home, but despite her hard efforts to find a new home and a loving family who would like to take her in and love and care for her for the most, nobody wanted her for who she was for all these years before she's betrayed by Yigal and Tony Black, who started to put baby Dan before her ever since the baby human boy was first brought to the villains' home and became the youngest evil human who lives in all of Equestria.

Agatha kept wandering aimlessly in search for a new home and for a new family, but eventually, she ended up collapsing and becoming too weak and exhausted and she was unable to continue her search for a new place to stay. However, help was on the way and was not too far away - two Earth pony stallions suddenly appeared and walked together side by side, but after a few minutes, they both found Agatha's weak and unconscious body, and so the two Earth pony stallions decided to carry her on their backs and bring and take along with them to Ponyville, and once they arrived there, the two Earth pony stallions took Agatha to the hospital in order to help and allow her recover, and once she's safely transported (thanks to the two Earth pony stallions) to Ponyville Hospital alive and in one peace, Agatha is taken to an empty patient's room and she is then placed down on a soft and warm bed in order to let her slowly recover and gain consciousness.

The next morning, Agatha slowly recovered from her exhaustion and gained back her consciousness, only to find herself resting on a soft and warm bed in an empty patient's room in Ponyville Hospital, and when she looked around herself and saw everything inside the room, she asked "Where am I? How did I ended up here?", but then she heard the door suddenly opening in front of her, and so she quickly stood up on her feet and asked with a hint of anger in her tone "Who goes there?", and then Nurse Redheart and two other nurses walked into the room and looked at Agatha with smiles on their faces, before Nurse Redheart said to her "Good morning, Miss White Lioness! It's so nice to see that you're already awake!", but then Agatha asked (yet still) with a hint of anger in her tone "What do you mean? Who are you? What is this place?", and then Nurse Redheart said "I'm Nurse Redheart, and as you can see, you're now in a patient's room, and you're also here to stay for the time being until you're strong enough to go.".

However, Agatha then asked "For how long do you think I need to stay here?", and then Nurse Redheart said "No more than three weeks, that's for sure.", but then Agatha yelled "Three weeks?! I can't stay here for three weeks! If their majesties (Celestia and Luna) and the Elements of Harmony (Twilight and her friends) find out that I'm here in your pony town, they will not hesitate to banish me, or better yet to say - kill me!", but then Nurse Redheart said to her "Don't worry, Miss White Lioness. They won't hurt you, I promise. We all promise.", but then Agatha said "I don't think I should take that risk!" and then she added "I need to get out of here NOW!", but then one of the two nurses said to her "You're not going anywhere yet, Miss White Lioness!", and then the other nurse added "You're still too weak to go and you still cannot leave the hospital before you're fully recovered!", but then Agatha cried "I'm a bad lioness! You can't just risk yourselves to save my life! I could easily rip you all to shreds and eat your meat, just like any other lion or tiger would do!".

Then, Nurse Redheart said "Then we shall bring you some fresh and tasty meat to eat, but that of course will be chicken meat! You're just going to stay here for the next three weeks and heal, and we promise you that you will eat chicken meat in order to survive and fully recover!", and then she and the two other nurses turned and walked away and then they left the patient's room and closed the door behind them, thus leaving Agatha alone to be with herself, and the white lioness said to herself "Please, someone come to rescue me. I don't feel safe in this place. If Celestia, Luna, Twilight and their friends will find me in here - I'm dead.".

However, for over the course of the next three days, Agatha started to like it staying in her room in Ponyville Hospital, and she's never been treated so nicely than ever before - she's given fresh water to drink at least 7 times a day, tasty chicken meat in a feeding bowl to eat at least 3 times a day, and she's given by Nurse Redheart and also by the other nurses lots of love and compassion unconditionally (24/7), and Agatha started to feel better about staying in the hospital for the time being, but all of this is soon going to change forever when all the ponies, non-ponies and centaurids (who are for her, they are all the worst unimaginable creatures) whom she didn't wanted to see nor to hear from ever again coincidentally came to visit patients in the hospital, and eventually they ended up stopping by Agatha's room to see one of the last patients they didn't met yet, but as soon as they opened the door and entered the room, they're all shocked, surprised and were even a bit angry to see Agatha inside the patient's they all stopped by to check on the newest (and latest) patient, which turned out to be none other than Agatha herself, and the white lioness too didn't seemed happy to see them all again either, and especially after everything bad she have done to them all for all of these years ever since she's been adopted and was taken in by Yigal as a little cub, until very recently when he and Tony Black started to put baby Dan before her ever since they first found and brought him to their and to the other villains' home (which in return caused Agatha to run away from her home and never return).

When everyone saw Agatha inside the patient's room, Twilight Sparkle threatened to use her magic and blast at the white lioness, but then Agatha quickly stood up and then she snarled and hissed angrily like an angry cat, and she did so in order to show them that she will attack them all if they dare to attack her first, but then Applejack stopped Twilight before she turned to the angry white lioness standing on the bed, and then she asked "Agatha? What are you doing here?", but then Agatha angrily snarled "Go away! I didn't invited any of you to come visit me!", but then Applejack said to her "It's okay, Agatha. No need to be angry. We're all just here to talk to you, not to harm you, that's all.", and when Agatha heard what the element of honesty said to her, she slowly stopped her snarling and her hissing before she slowly lowered her rear end down and sat upright on the bed, but she still kept her angry looks on her face because she still didn't seemed to trust everyone this much.

Then, Applejack stepped forward and then she asked "First question, why are you here in the hospital? And what are you doing here all alone?", and then Rainbow Dash asked in a bit raised up voice compared to Applejack's "Where's that jerk Yigal, his brothers, Gilad and Ezra, and that traitorous Black Heart at?!", and then Agatha answered and explained as she started to tremble and shake in pain "They all turned on me!", and when they all heard what Agatha just said, everyone gasped in shock before Rainbow Dash came close to her and asked "Why would they ever do that to you?", and then Agatha felt tears forming and then threatening to escape her eyes, and then she cried "Because they have a new little baby to care for! Ever since that stupid baby human boy, Dan Ashmor, was first found and was brought in to our home by Yigal and Tony Black, everyone paid more attention to him and less attention to me! They even started to give me less food and less water to eat and drink, and they even used MY feeding bowl to feed that stupid little boy some disgusting vegetable soup fit in for babies! I tried to take my feeding bowl back from that baby boy, but I only made him cry and I ended up getting whipped on my back twice by Yigal for the mad jealousy I grew and developed against his new baby!", and then Agatha finally lowered her head down in pain and sadness and she finally started to tear up in front of everyone, who just looked at her with shocked expressions.

Then, Twilight asked in a raised up voice tone "What?! There is another human being in Equestria?! One that is even younger than Chloe herself?!", and then Agatha sniffled before she cried "Yes! He's just a little baby human boy, but he's actually evil like Yigal himself!", and then Chloe said in agreement "We know that already!", and then Aylene added "We indeed saw baby Dan Ashmor!", and then Stephan said "And we know for sure that he's really evil after he showed an evil baby smile to each of us!", and then Agatha cried "See?! Even Chloe, Aylene and Stephan already know about that baby, and they also already know that he's evil like all the others are, thus making him the youngest evil human living in all of Equestria!".

Then, Shujaa and Kenai both stepped forward and they both approached Agatha and stopped in front of her and then they tried to use a hand and a forepaw of each of theirs to hold onto both of Agatha's forepaws and then Shujaa said to her "Hey, easy there, Agatha. It wasn't your fault that you're in pain and that you ended up here like this.", and then Kenai added in agreement "Yes, it's all Yigal and Tony Black's faults they turned on you, and just for a useless baby boy who can't even do anything to help them and the others out.", but then Shujaa quickly said "But you know you can still join us and become good as well. There are some benefits in being good, and my own benefits are that I'm acting as both as Chloe and Aylene's older brother figure, and also as a dedicated and high-ranked royal guard in the royal castle.", and then Kenai added "And as for me, my own good benefits are that I'm both best friends with Fluttershy and with all her animal friends, and for addition, I'm also the surrogate father of both Kayden and Tallulah, the two good but still very young Beartaur cubs.", and then Kayden and Tallulah both came running up to their surrogate father and stopping by his and Shujaa's sides and also in front of Agatha.

However, when Agatha saw Kayden and Tallulah standing in front of her and looking up at her, she snarled and hissed angrily as she looked down at them and then she turned to both Shujaa and Kenai and then she said to them "Wow, so you two are BOTH losers, just as I always thought you were!", and then she added "Stay away from me and also keep your stupid little babies away from me or else they'll all feel my teeth biting hard onto their necks and crushing their windpipes!", and then she angrily turned away from everyone and lied down on her belly with her butt and tail to their faces, thus showing lots of disrespect after what she have been through recently, since she left the villains' home and started on her own without them.

However, Rainbow Dash asked as her eyebrows furrowed in anger "What was that?!", and then she was about to attack Agatha for her disrespectful manners, but Applejack soon stopped her by tagging on her tail and then forcefully pulling her backwards before the rainbow-maned Pegasus mare could hurt Agatha, and then Applejack said to her friend "Don't do that, Rainbow Dash! She doesn't deserve beatings! She just ran away from her evil owners and former team to start anew!", and then Pinkie Pie added as she showed sad puppy eyes "The poor white lioness is feeling a lot of pain, and that big bad mean meanie pants (Yigal) who is none other than her former owner is the one to blame for all her pain!".

However, Agatha soon shot back up and turned to everyone who came and stayed in her room, and then she cried and yelled at them all out loud "GET OUT OF HERE NOW, YOU'RE ALL MY WORST ENEMIES!", and when she said (and yelled) that, everyone gasped in shock before Twilight said to her "Please, don't say that, Agatha!", but then Agatha yelled in anger "LEAVE NOW BEFORE I LOSE MY TEMPER!", and when they all realized that Agatha is still so unwilling to make friends with them all, everyone decided to go away and leave her alone to be with herself, but not before Chloe said to the white lioness "Goodbye, Agatha.", and then she and everyone else all finally turned away and started leaving her room, thus leaving Agatha alone and letting her be with only herself.

However, when nighttime came, Agatha stood up and climbed down and off her bed and then she used her forepaws to open the window, and once the window was wide open, Agatha walked a few steps backwards and then she ran and jumped through the open window and ended up landing safely outside on solid ground, and then Agatha quickly turned back and closed the window behind herself by using her forepaws once again, and once the window was closed, Agatha finally turned and started to walk away and then she said "Life became too unfair for me, and therefore what I really need to get better in my life is meeting and joining a pack of other lions, and I hope I will be able to find such a good pack of lions in this world so I can join them and finally feel like I'm really home at last.", and it didn't take too long for Agatha before she left Ponyville and traveled far away and went to parts unknown in search for a new pack of lions whom she can join, get accepted into and live with for the rest of her life.


	97. Chapter 96:Agatha joins a new pride

Agatha continued to search for a pack of lions whom she can join and end up becoming one of them, but so far by now, she haven't found any other lions around yet, but then she suddenly turned to see a large cave standing not too far away from her, and so Agatha quickly went towards the cave, and once she reached it, she quickly entered and went inside the cave and then she searched for a good spot where she can sleep inside, and after a few minutes of searching, Agatha found for herself a good spot inside the cave where she can sleep for the night, and then she lied down on her belly and fell asleep in order to restore her strength and energy so she continue her search for a new pack of lions tomorrow.

The next morning, Agatha woke up and left the cave to continue her search for a pack of lions, and it didn't took her more than just a half an hour before she saw something moving fast in the horizon, and so Agatha quickly started to follow what's running fast a bit far away from her, and when the creature she followed finally stopped and she caught up to it, it turned out that the creature Agatha followed is indeed another lion, but unfortunately, much to Agatha's dismay, it was only one lion. However, Agatha soon shook off her dismayed state, because even just one lion is good enough for her to befriend and make a new partner with, and then she slowly approached the other lion, who appeared to be a large adult male with a muscular build and body structure, and was complete with a fully developed and characteristic dark brown mane.

However, when Agatha ended up stopping when she got close enough to look at the other lion who stood right in front of her, both lions looked at each other in the eyes before the second lion spoke up and asked "Excuse me, who are you?", but when Agatha heard the lion's voice, she gasped and looked at the lion who stood in front of her with a shocked expression on her face, as it turned out for Agatha that the lion who stood in front of her actually spoke up in a female voice instead of a male one, but then Agatha shook her head and snapped out of her shocked state and then she said to the lion who stood in front of her "I'm Agatha.".

However, the lion who was apparently a male saw the looks and expression on Agatha's face and also noticed her white fur color, and then 'he' asked her "What's the matter? Is something wrong?", but Agatha was unable to speak to 'him' because the lion (again) spoke up in a female voice, but then a male voice yelled at Agatha "Hey you! Stay away from my sister!", and then another lion, which was indeed a real male lion came out of nowhere and then he jumped in the middle and put himself between the other 'male' lion and Agatha. Then, Agatha said in shock "Oh my gosh! Did he just said that you're actually his SISTER?!", and then the lion who stood behind the real male blushed at her last comment and said "Yes, I'm a female, or in other words - I'm a maned lioness.".

When Agatha heard what the maned lioness just said, the white lioness shrieked out loud to herself "OH MY GOODNESS!", and then she tried to calm her own voice a little bit but still said in an a high and excited tone "I thought maned lionesses don't exist! I thought all lionesses are maneless!", but then the maned lioness chuckled kindly at her words and said "Well, not me. I'm a real maned lioness.", and then she added "And by the way, I'm so sorry for my brother's bad actions against you. He's just too overprotective of me though I can handle things myself, but he's still not leaving me alone though.", but then the male lion yelled "Yeah! Did you hear that, white lioness! You stay away from my sister or you're messing up with me!", and when Agatha heard what he said, she said "Oh, okay, I'm so sorry I approached your maned sister.", and then she added "Maybe I should just go and search for other lions who would like to accept me as one of their own pride.", and then Agatha was about to turn and walk away from the two lions she just met, and she was about to continue her search for other lions who will accept her to their pride.

However, before she's about to leave, the maned lioness said to her "Hey, wait a minute! Don't go!", but then Agatha asked her "What do you want?", and then the maned lioness asked her "Are you traveling all alone by yourself?", and then Agatha said "Yes." but she was also unsure where the maned lioness is going with this, and then the maned lioness said "If you really want to, my brother and I can take you to meet our pride.", and when Agatha heard what the maned lioness just said, she gasped in shock and then she returned back to the two lions and then she asked "Really?", and then the maned lioness said "Yes.", but then her brother said "No!", and when Agatha heard what the male lion just said, she asked "Why not?", and then the male lion said to her "Because you're too white to be one of our pride! That's for sure!".

When Agatha heard what the male lion just said, she asked "Excuse me?", and then the maned lioness said to her brother "Brother, stop it! You can't insult a female like Agatha in such a mean way!", but then the male lion said to her "You stay out of this, sister! No white lion will ever be one of our pride!", but then Agatha said "But I mean you no harm.", but then the male lion said to her "Shut up your mouth, white lioness!", and when Agatha heard that unflattering insult, she asked angrily "Okay, so what's your problem?", and then the male lion said to her "For starters - YOU are the problem!", but then Agatha pointed out and said "But I haven't done anything bad to you!", but then the male lion said "Yet.", but when the maned lioness saw the argument between the two, she said "Alright, that's enough! Break it up!", but then the male lion said to his maned sister "Stay out of this, sister!", and then he turned back to Agatha and yelled at her "And as for you - go away!" and then he added "White lions like you always mean bad luck!".

However, Agatha yelled back "Nonsense! Who even told you that?!", and then the male lion said "It's from natural instincts as well as experience!", but then the maned lioness roared angrily and said as she raised her voice "Enough!", thus prompting both Agatha and the mal lion to stop arguing, and then the maned lioness said to her brother "You deserve a punishment when we get back to our pride, brother!", and then she turned to Agatha and said to her "Don't pay attention to my brother. He always acts like this when he sees new lions, especially if they're white lions.", and then she quickly added "But I don't care about anything my brother says, and so you're allowed to come along with us and meet our pride!", and when Agatha heard what she said, tears suddenly started to form in the white lioness' eyes, before she then wiped them away with her forepaws and said "Thank you!".

However, the male lion just turned away from Agatha and from the maned lioness and scowled in displeasure and then he muttered to himself "We'll see about that, white lioness. If you mess with my sister and with the rest of our pride, I will surely come and kill you.", but then the maned lioness called for him "Brother, let's go!", and then the male lion said back "Okay, I'm coming!", and so all three lions started to walk away together, and they went to meet the rest of Agatha's newest friend's pride. In midway, Agatha asked the maned lioness "So, what's your name, Miss?", and then the maned lioness said back "I'm Jayma, and I'm the leader of my pride.".

However, when Agatha heard Jayma just said, she gasped in shock and then asked "Wait, did you just said that you're the leader of your pride?!", and then Jayma nodded and said "As a matter of fact, yes I am. They all always used to call me the toughest male lion in the pack, and even after I told them all that I'm actually a female with a mane, which I did told them all thousands of times, they all still treated me like a real male and placed me in the very top, highest ranking and most respected position of the pride.", and when Agatha heard what Jayma said about herself being the leader of her pride despite she's a female, she beamed in excitement and then she said "Then you're really so cool, Jayma! And I like you so much for who you are, even if you're a maned lioness!", and this made Jayma smile at her before she said back "Well thank you, Agatha. And you too seems to be beautiful, lovely and also a bit cute for who you are.", and then she added "To tell you the truth, I never had an albino or a non-albino white lion in my pride, and you can totally fit it and become the very first member of my pride to be a white lioness.".

However, Jayma's brother muttered to himself in pure disgust "I wish that white lioness dies very soon. I hate white lions. White lions means bad luck for everyone, especially for other lions.", but then Jayma said back to him (since she heard him muttering and talking such bad things about Agatha) "Would you mind stop talking such bad things about Agatha? She's a good lioness who is perfectly fit in for our pride, and she also deserves a new home! I don't want to hear from your mouth any more insults, understand?", and then the male lion said back "Okay, Jayma! I'll stop this right now! But I still must warn you about that white lioness though - she means bad luck!", but then Jayma yelled back at him "Enough! Your warning is nothing but nonsense! And besides, I'm the leader of our pride, not you! So please, stop everything at once or else you'll be in so much trouble!", thus causing the male lion to frown down, give an angry scowl and look at Agatha with evil eyes, as he already begun to develop his new hatred for her, and Agatha could sense and tell by the angry looks on his face that he's not going to be friendly or nice to her this easily, and so she kept walking close to Jayma and tried to ignore her rude and unkind brother, who followed the two close behind.

Eventually, the three lions reached to and arrived in a large, life-full and fertile area with lots of grass and flowers growing and blooming all around, and there they met up with a large pack of lions consisting males, females and cubs, and all these lions are none other than Jayma's pride, but when all the lions saw Agatha with Jayma and with her brother, they all gasped in shock because of Agatha's beautiful looks and white fur color, before one lioness asked Jayma "Jayma, who is that beautiful white lioness?", and then Jayma said "Everyone, I want you all to meet the newest member of our pride! Her name is Agatha, and as you can all see, she's a white lioness, and therefore she's really special!", and then a male lion from the pride approached Agatha and said to her "It's nice to meet you, Agatha.", and then he came very close and pecked her on the cheek, thus showing he kissed her, and this made Agatha place a forepaw on her own cheek as she then blushed at the male lion's fondness of her on first sight, as all the rest of the lion pride just started to get to know her.

Later, Agatha told Jayma and her whole pride everything they all needed to know about herself, but when she told them all that she was once Yigal's lioness who is recently betrayed by her owner, his brothers and their Pegasus mare friend because of baby Dan Ashmor, all the lions (except for Jayma's brother) went into tears upon hearing about Agatha's great pain she have recently been through. Then, Jayma (who also cried when she heard about Agatha's recent traumatic experience) said as she tried to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes "Oh, Agatha! I'm so sorry! We all are! We didn't know you've been abused by your human owner just because of a baby human boy! We're all so sorry for what happened to you!", but then Agatha said "It already happened, and therefore it could not be changed. But now that I'm one of your own pride, I think I can finally have the chance to start anew, and this time - it's going to be with my own kind, and with other lions.".

Then, Jayma approached Agatha and then she wrapped her forelegs and forepaws around the white lioness' neck and upper back, and then she said "Of course you're going to stay and live with us! You do deserve a new start after what you've been through! It will be a great pleasure, as well as a great honor of mine and of all my pride to let you stay and live here with all of us!", and then she turned back to all the other lions and then she made a short but satisfying speech and announced Agatha as a new member of the lion pride, and this is when all the lions (except for Jayma's brother) cheered for Agatha, and apparently it was her lucky day in finding just what she needed for the most - new friends and a new place to stay, but it won't last this very long because Jayma's brother is plotting and planning something really bad behind her back, and because he hates her for the most because of her being a white lioness, Agatha is going to face a new danger, as well as a new threatening enemy very soon.


	98. Chapter 97:Agatha starts alone

The next morning, when it was early morning, Jayma's brother went up to Agatha and then he pushed against her and said to her "Pst, hey! Wake up, white lioness! It's time!", and when Agatha heard him talking to her, she opened her eyes, before she then stretched both her forelegs and hind legs and then she slowly got and stood up on her feet, before she then looked at the male lion and then she asked him "What do you want from me now?", and then she asked "It's early morning. What's going on?", and then Jayma's brother said to her "I've got a surprise for you!", and when Agatha heard what he said, she asked "A surprise for me? You mean that now you like me?", and then the male lion lied and said "Yes, of course!" and then he added "Now let's go, white lioness! There's something I want to show you, which I believe you would like to see!", and then he said to her "Let's go!", and then he started to walk away from the rest of Jayma's lion pride, who are all still asleep (and that also includes Jayma herself), and Agatha followed Jayma's brother and she to see for herself what kind of surprise he's been planning for her during last night.

Later, after walking for about a mile away from the rest of lion pride, Agatha and Jayma's brother ended up reaching an unknown forest, where they finally came to a stop, and then Jayma's brother said "What a beautiful forest, isn't it?", and then Agatha said "I don't know this forest, but it surely looks good.", before she then turned to the male lion and asked him "Anyway what's your name?", and then she added and pointed out "I still don't know your name yet.", and then Jayma's brother said "I'm Buldeo! And I'm also the second-in-command of Jayma's lion pride!", and then Agatha said "Now that I know both your name and your place in the pride, I like to say that it's so nice to get to know you.", but then she quickly added and asked "Anyway, what kind of surprise you've been planning for me that you want me to see?", but then Buldeo said "I can't tell you. You're just going to stay here while I go to retrieve your surprise I've been planning for you last night.".

However, Agatha said "But I don't want to wait! I want to come with you!", but then Buldeo chuckled and said back "No! You can't! It will just ruin your surprise I've been planning for you last night!", and then he added "You're just going to stay here all alone and wait until I come back with your surprise! White lions like you must have a lot of patience if they want to get what they want!", and then Agatha said "Fine, I'll just sit down and wait here until you return with the surprise you've been planning for me. I promise not to leave my sitting spot until you come back with what you want to show me.", and then Buldeo said to her back "Remember, Agatha, it's our little secret.", and then Agatha said "I hope that surprise will be the best thing you will ever give me.", but then Buldeo said to her back as he started to walk away "Agatha, it's to die for.", and then he continued to walk and left Agatha to just sit behind and wait for him to return, before he then left the forest and went to retrieve Agatha's surprise he have been planning for her, but that kind of surprise is not what it seems to be.

Buldeo left the forest and went to a place where a large herd of great one-horned Indian rhinos are grazing, and upon arriving in the Indian rhinos' grazing grounds, that's exactly when he started and put his plans into motion and action in order to destroy Agatha - by using the Indian rhinos to make a stampede in order to kill her, and then he started to play dumb in front of the Indian rhinos and he tried to insult them all and cause them to start chasing after him so he can lure them all the way to Agatha in order to destroy her, and when the Indian rhinos all started to chase after Buldeo and form a huge stampede, this is when the male lion knew his malicious plan is going exactly in the way he expected it to go, and so started to run back towards the forest where Agatha is still waiting for him to come back with the 'surprise' he's been planning for her, while also luring all the angry and stampeding Indian rhinos after him so he can use them to his own advantage to destroy Agatha.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Agatha is still sitting down and waiting for Buldeo to return with the 'surprise' he planned for her, but she's getting bored and she's also running out of patience, and then she finally stood back up on her feet and asked in a rather unpleasant tone "What's taking for Buldeo so long to get me my surprise he planned for me?", and then she added "Maybe I should just go away and return back to the rest of the pride, because I don't think he's even coming back so soon!", and then she turned to her left, looked down at a small stone, and then she kicked and whacked the stone away with a forepaw out of total impatience, but then she suddenly heard a loud sound coming from far away, and she also felt the ground shaking and rumbling below her feet, but it wasn't an earthquake - it was the Indian rhinos' stampede running towards her.

When Agatha turned and saw the Indian rhinos stampeding towards her, and no Buldeo in sight (as he managed to escape the Indian rhinos), Agatha gasped in shock to see all the Indian rhinos coming right towards her, and then she quickly turned tail and started to run for her life through the forest in order to escape from the Indian rhinos, who all stampeded right after her. Meanwhile, back at Jayma's lion pride, all the lions have already awakened, before Jayma then asked "Where's Agatha?", as she noticed the white lioness' sudden disappearance, but then they all saw Buldeo coming back to them all while running fast towards them, but no Agatha in sight. When Jayma saw her brother coming back to the pride, she then asked "Buldeo, what's wrong?", but then Buldeo said to his maned sister "Jayma! Quick! Agatha is in danger! Indian rhinos are chasing her down!", and when Jayma heard what he said, she gasped in shock and yelled "What?!".

Meanwhile, Agatha continued to run away as fast as her four short but powerful legs could carry her, and eventually she ran into a small cavern that was still big enough for her to crawl through, but not big enough for the Indian rhinos to fit in and go after her, but the Indian rhinos still tried to make the cavern big enough for them all to fit in and go through to get Agatha, and as for Jayma, she and Buldeo ran as fast as they can and followed in the direction where Agatha and the Indian rhinos all went, and eventually they both managed to track them down and they found Agatha is trapped in the cavern, and she's unable to escape because of the Indian rhinos trapping her inside while they're to fit in and get the cavern's opening expended and large enough for them all to get inside and destroy Agatha, who then screamed and cried in fright "Please! Somebody help!".

However, Jayma then called for her "Hold on, Agatha! I'm coming!", and then she went up to one of the Indian rhinos and slashed him on the butt with her claws, thus causing him to turn his attention to her instead, and then Jayma yelled at him "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, you big ugly monster!", and when the Indian rhino heard what the maned lioness just said to him, he growled in anger before he roared to all the rest of his herd "Get that lion!", and when they all heard what their friend said, all the other Indian rhinos started to follow the individual Indian rhino whom Jayma just attacked, and soon enough they all started to change their target and decided to turn away and leave Agatha alone and started to follow and chase after Jayma instead.

However, when Agatha came out of the cavern and saw the Indian rhinos chasing Jayma instead, she gasped in fright before she willingly started to follow them in order to save Jayma from getting killed by the Indian rhinos, not knowing that Buldeo is following her not too far behind with an evil smile creeping on his face, thus showing that his plan continues in the way he expected, and after a long chase after the stampeding rhinos, they all got stuck between the trees because they're all too big to go through and between them, thus letting and allowing Agatha to go past the Indian rhinos and follow in the direction where Jayma went, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Jayma unable to stop herself from going off the edge of a cliff above a ravine with a fast-streaming river going down below.

However, Jayma managed to successfully grab and hold tightly onto the edge of the cliff with her forepaws and claws, but she's still unable to pull herself up to safety and so she called for help. Agatha tried to go to save her, but before she can do so, Buldeo came behind her and knocked her out cold with a slap to the face using his right forepaw, and then he went up to the edge of the cliff and looked down to see his maned sister hanging between life and death and crying for help. When Jayma saw her brother looking down at her from the edge of the cliff, the maned lioness cried and begged "Buldeo! Please, brother! Help me!", and she tried to pull herself up, but to no avail, but rather than giving his own forepaws to his sister in order to pull her up to safety, Buldeo just looked down at Jayma with an evil smirk, before he then snarled and dug his own claws into her forepaws, thus causing the maned lioness to roar in pain as she looked up to see her brother's face going down and looking closer and closer at her own face, until Buldeo's evil face was only an inch away from Jayma's horrified face, and then he said to her with an evil tone "Goodbye, sister. It's all over, here and now. Long live the queen.", and when Jayma heard what he said, she gasped in shock and kept looking up at him with a horrified look on her face when she realized her own brother just betrayed her, but now it was too late.

Then, Buldeo purposely let go of Jayma, but at the same time he also loosened her grip of the edge of the cliff and caused her to fall down into the ravine, before he quickly ran away from the edge of a cliff and hid behind some nearby rocks, as Agatha slowly gained back her consciousness and slowly got back up and stood again on her feet, only to suddenly hear Jayma's screaming voice as she continued to fall and plummeted into the ravine below, and so when Agatha went up to the edge of the cliff and looked down, she saw Jayma falling down and plummeting into the ravine below, before she landed in the fast-streaming river at the bottom of the ravine and got swept and washed away by the current, thus seemingly drowning to death right in front of Agatha's eyes, before the white lioness screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as she saw her newest friend seemingly drowning to death as she got swept and washed away by the current of the fast-streaming river at the bottom of the ravine, thus apparently losing her newest friend.

Then, after losing her newest friend she met so far since she ran away from the villains' home, Agatha lied down on her belly, covered her face in her forepaws and began to cry as she started to mourn Jayma, but after about five minutes of crying in sadness, pain and grief, Agatha suddenly felt something touching at her back and right shoulder, and when she uncovered her face and turned around to see who is touching her, she saw Buldeo touching at her back and right shoulder with a sad and mournful look and expression on his face (though his sad and mournful looks and expressions are actually fake, in order to fool Agatha into thinking that he's sad and heartbroken because of Jayma's 'death' too), before he then said and asked the white lioness "Agatha. What have you done?".

Then, Agatha sniffled before she said to Buldeo as she turned around to face him "There were Indian rhinos, and she tried to save me. It was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen.", but then Buldeo slowly pulled into a lion hug without looking at her in the eyes and said "Of course. Of course, you didn't. Nobody ever means for these things to happen. But Jayma, the pride's precious queen IS dead." before he added "And if it weren't for you, she'd still be alive.", and then he asked as he pulled away from her "What will the rest of the pride will think?", and then Agatha asked him as she looked at him in the eyes "What am I gonna do?", and then Buldeo said to her back "Run away, Agatha. Run. Run away and never return.", and when Agatha heard what he said, she did as he told her to do when she started to run away and leave the area with tears forming and rolling down her eyes and trailing behind her, and as she left the area, Buldeo smiled evilly as his plan to get rid of Agatha came out successful, but there's also another advantage for Buldeo which he now received for himself - with Jayma is now 'dead', he can take over and become the new leader of the lion pride, and so he went all the way back to the lion pride to inform them about Jayma's 'death', explain about Agatha's 'betrayal' and 'escape', and 'officially' announce himself as the lion pride's new leader (and king), therefore after he completely managed to fool all the lions of Jayma's pride, he also managed to harden their hearts as well as their souls, caused them all to hate Agatha and believe that white lions (as he said before) are bad luck to all other (regular) lions, and he also made them all think and believe that Agatha is in fact responsible for Jayma's 'death', thus destroying Agatha's only chance she had so far in trying to join other lions and becoming one of their own pride.

As for Agatha, she decided to return to the Everfree Forest and live there all by herself in order to heal her pain, but she (of course) cut and severed her many-years bond with Yigal, Tony Black and with all the other villains, thus living alone and without anyone else around her to keep her company and family, but she didn't seemed to mind this as she just wanted to spend the rest of her life alone, and also avoid making contact with any living creatures (including other lions). Therefore, once she found an empty cave in the middle of the Everfree Forest, she decided to claim the empty cave as her new home, before she then entered the cave and finally fell asleep inside it, thus starting anew as a lonesome lioness and also starting her new life alone.


	99. Chapter 98:Sweetie Belle's 'betrayal'

The next morning, Agatha woke up to see the bright light of the sun shining outside, and so she stretched both sets of legs and paws and then she slowly got up and went outside and left the cave and started to look all around her to see if there's someone hiding somewhere around, and once she checked and saw no one around, she then looked up to see the sun, which had its bright and beautiful light shining through some of the trees which were towering right in front of her, before she then let out a yawn and said "What a wonderful new day I'm going to have in my new life.", and then she started to walk away from the cave and went on a morning walk in and around the Everfree Forest.

In midway, Agatha found a big and clear lake where she can drink, and so she went up to the water's edge, lowered her head down and started to drink from the water, and once she was done drinking, she then jumped into the water and started to wash and clean her fur by first getting it wet so fleas won't be able to infest inside her fur and won't be able to eat from her blood (similar to cats and dogs), and so gave herself a good bath in the lake's clear and clean water, and once she was done, she climbed out of the water and left the lake, but not before she shook herself dry, and then she continued her morning walk in and around the Everfree Forest.

Later, Agatha went looking for prey, and it didn't took her long before she suddenly spotted a large wild boar eating grass standing just a few feet away from her. Agatha decided to come up with a sneaky plan in order to kill and then eat the wild boar - she decided to first attack and injure the wild boar, and then she'll jump onto its back and will sink her own teeth into the massive beast's neck in order to finish the job, and so she decided to follow her own plan and do exactly as she herself planned in order to take down the massive wild boar, and eventually she came out successful by pinning the beast down and then biting its neck, thus killing it and allowing Agatha to have and enjoy eating her own meal.

Later, after she finished (and stopped) eating from the wild boar's meat and became satisfied, Agatha sat down on her belly and she listened peacefully to the sounds of the soft whistling winds, the chirping birds and the squeaking squirrels, and she seemed to enjoy listening to the sounds of nature, but that is until she suddenly heard the voices of four young foals laughing together not too far away from her, and so Agatha slowly got up on her feet and went in the direction where the four young foals' voices came from, and she ended up reaching and getting out and leaving the Everfree Forest, and then she turned to see the CMC playing together just the four of them in the meadow.

When Agatha saw the four young foals playing all together, she quickly recognized their relationships and familiarities with four of the mane seven (Apple Bloom to Applejack, Sweetie Belle to Rarity, Scootaloo to Rainbow Dash, and Randall to Pinkie Pie), and therefore she decided to keep most of herself hidden in a big nearby bush, safe and away from them so they could not see her watching them from nearby. However, after a minutes have passed, a big male African bush elephant and a female southern white rhinoceros suddenly came out of nowhere and then they started to attack and harass the CMC, and when Agatha saw what the two much larger animals were doing the poor fillies and colt, she gasped in shock but kept herself hidden so the elephant and the rhinoceros wouldn't be able to hear her (so they won't be able to find her).

Then, the elephant and the rhinoceros worked together in order to separate one of the foals away from the others, and they ended up successfully separating Sweetie Belle away from her friends, and this is when the elephant started to do his next most violent move he always used to do - he wrapped his long and muscular trunk around the Unicorn filly and then he started choking her to death in the same way a snake would do a mouse, causing her three friends to scream together "No!", but they couldn't stop the elephant from doing his malevolent doings because his rhinoceros friend successfully managed to block their way and stood between them, Sweetie Belle and the elephant who is still choking her with his trunk, prompting her to cry "Somepony, please help!".

However, when Agatha saw the elephant tormenting the helpless Unicorn for fun, a feeling came over her and then she snapped into anger and she jumped out of the bush and ran towards the elephant and the rhinoceros, who are none other than Terrence and Ganda. Then, when she got close enough to Terrence, Agatha jumped up and grabbed onto his right hind leg and then she started to pull herself up and she climbed onto Terrence's back and then she went towards the back of his neck, but instead of biting him there, she bit Terrence on the left ear instead to make him scream and let go of Sweetie Belle and also to get his attention.

However, after Terrence screamed and let go of Sweetie Belle, he shook Agatha off himself and then he turned to face her, giving her an evil scowling face as he prepared himself to attack and destroy her instead, but then Agatha asked him "Who are you?", and then Terrence yelled "I'm Terrence! The last known individual from my kind!", and then he asked her and added "And who are you, white lioness? And how dare you biting my left ear like this?!", and then Agatha said back "I'm Agatha. I was once Yigal's lioness, until that foolish human male betrayed me along with everyone else for a useless baby human boy!", but then she quickly added "But even so, I'm still not going to let you harm these young ponies, especially that poor young Unicorn you almost destroyed!", and when the CMC all heard what she just said, they all gasped in shock to see that Agatha finally shows that she have a change of heart, and Sweetie Belle, out of the four young foals, was the one who is mostly shocked by Agatha's redemption.

However, Ganda stepped forward and stopped next to Terrence and then she laughed evilly at Yigal's former white lioness, as the rhinoceros stood smugly next to her elephant friend, and then she said "Ha! You think we will listen to what you have to say, Yigal's former lioness? You're wrong!", and then she added "I'm Ganda, one of Terrence's best friends, and I command you to just turn around and go away!", but then Agatha said with defiance in her voice "No, you monsters! You leave these four young ponies alone!". When Terrence heard what she said, he said to her back in response as he slowly approached closer to her and towered over her "Alright, white lioness! You're asking for it, and now you're going to get it!".

Then, Agatha jumped up and tried to swipe at Terrence's head and face with her forepaws and sharp claws, but then the elephant quickly wrapped his trunk around her neck and then he started to choke her in front of the CMC, before Sweetie Belle then cried "Stop it! You're choking her!", but Terrence ignored her words and continued choking Agatha as he became determined to destroy her. Then, Sweetie Belle cried again "You're choking her!", but Terrence (again) paid no attention to her and/or to her words, and when Sweetie Belle felt she's been ignored by the evil elephant twice, she snapped into anger and then she went up to him and then she grabbed onto his left foreleg and angrily yelled "You leave her alone! Let her go! Let her go!", but then Ganda grabbed and snatched her by her tail and then violently threw her away from Terrence, before he and his rhinoceros friend both started to laugh evilly together, but when Agatha turned her head and saw Sweetie Belle being hurt, and then turned to look at both the elephant and the rhinoceros, another feeling came over her and then she snapped into anger once again, and then she slowly raised up her right foreleg and her forepaw and prepared to strike at Terrence's face with her sharp claws, and then she quickly moved her right foreleg, forepaw and claws and struck Terrence and slashed him across the face, successfully slashing at his left eye, and thus causing him to scream out loud in pain as he felt the new open wound in his eye starting to bleed, and this is when he finally let go of Agatha, who quickly escaped his muscular grip and went up to Sweetie Belle to check on her and see if she's okay.

Then, Ganda's forehead turned red, thus showing she have and learned to use the same evil magic Terrence, Lysander, Sayla and Akeno already have, and then she used her new magic to clean all the fresh blood from Terrence's left eye, only to discover that now his eye is blind, and when she told Terrence that Agatha managed to blind his left eye with her forepaw and sharp claws, Terrence angrily stomped his left foreleg and foot on the ground but decided not to attack Agatha and the CMC, but instead he chose to give them all a threatening warning and then he yelled at them all "This isn't over yet! One day, I will get you all! Especially you, AGATHA!" he raised his voice as he yelled her name, before he then turned to Ganda and said to her "Let's go, Ganda!", and then the two evil animals turned around and started to run away, thus leaving Agatha and the CMC alone with Sweetie Belle lying down on the ground, seriously injured.

Then, Agatha called for Sweetie Belle to wake up and then she begged "Please, talk to me!", but at first, Sweetie Belle did not responded to her calls and to her begs, and this left the other CMC forwn down at their injured friend with sad faces, and this made Agatha try again, and this time she cried "Please, open your eyes!" and she even had real tears forming in her eyes, but just then, when a few tears rolled down Agatha's eyes and softly hit Sweetie Belle's face, the Unicorn slowly opened up her eyes and then she looked up to see her friends and Agatha looking down at her with sad and worried faces, and when Agatha saw Sweetie Belle slowly recovering from the last attack in front of her eyes, Agatha quickly pulled the Unicorn into a hug and then she shed tears of joy, just from seeing Sweetie Belle still alive and well after the last attack, and the other CMC are also relieved to know that Sweetie Belle is okay.

Then, when Agatha slowly pulled Sweetie Belle away from herself and placed her back on solid ground, the Unicorn asked her friends "What happened?", and then Apple Bloom answered and explained "Agatha just saved your life!", and then Randall added "And she even blinded that one big bad elephant by slashing him across the face and blinded his eye with her claws!", and then Scootaloo said "I can't even believe Agatha did that!", and when Sweetie Belle heard what her three best friends just said, she turned to Agatha and asked "Agatha, is that true? Did you slashed that elephant in the eye to save my life?", and then Agatha said "Of course, I did!", and then Sweetie Belle said to her back "Thank you, Agatha!", and then the Unicorn went up to her and hugged at the white lioness' chest, thus showing Agatha that she trusts her for what she just did in order to save her life from getting killed by Terrence the evil elephant.

However, just then, Buldeo came out of nowhere and yelled to the CMC "No! Don't you four dare listen to her! She's just lying to you all along!", and when they all heard what he said, they all gasped and turned around to see him approaching towards them, and when he stopped right in front of them, he then raised a forepaw and then he pointed a claw at Agatha in an accusing manner and then he yelled "She never changed! She's still evil!", and when the CMC all heard what he said they all gasped in shock and then turned to back to Agatha, before Sweetie Belle asked "Who's he?", and then Agatha answered "His name is Buldeo. He's Jayma's brother and he used to be the second-in-command of her lion pride, but now that Jayma is dead, he's now the leader of the pride.", and then Buldeo yelled "Exactly! I'm the new leader of Jayma's pride, but YOU are still evil!", but then Sweetie Belle asked "What is he even talking about, Agatha?", but then Agatha said back "I don't even know what he wants!", but then Buldeo yelled "No excuses, Agatha! Now tell these four little ponies the truth and tell them who is responsible for Jayma's death!", and when the four young ponies heard what he said, they all looked at Agatha and waited for her to answer, but then tears formed and rolled down her eyes, before she then lowered her own head down in shame and said in a pained tone "I am.".

When the CMC all heard what she just said, Sweetie Belle placed a hoof on her chest and then she begged and said "It's not true, Agatha. You didn't destroyed anyone. Tell me it's not true!", but then Agatha sighed and then said "It's true.", and then Buldeo yelled "Now you all see?! She admits it! MURDERESS!", but then Agatha cried "No, it was an accident! Your sister just tried to save my life!", but then Buldeo yelled "If it weren't for you, my sister, Jayma, would still be alive! It's YOUR fault that she's dead!", and then he asked "Do you deny it?", but then Agatha said "No, I don't!", but then Buldeo yelled at her in front of the CMC "Then you're guilty!", but then Agatha cried "No, I'm not a murderess! It was an accident all along!", but then Buldeo turned away from her and looked at the CMC and then he asked them "What do you four think about that white lioness? Do you all still believe that she could change?".

When the CMC all heard what he said about Agatha's redemption is being fake and doubtful, they talked to each other and reconsidered about the way they should've talked to and treated Agatha for saving their lives (and particularly Sweetie Belle's life), and after a few minutes of consideration, the CMC turned back to her and then Randall yelled at her with an angry face "No! You couldn't change! You're evil!", and then Scootaloo added "We all should've known!", and then Apple Bloom yelled "You're a traitor and a complete monster! And that's what you'll always be!", and when Agatha heard what they said about her being still evil, she gasped in shock and asked "What?!", and then Buldeo yelled "Now you heard what these cute little ponies just said to you, Agatha! Face it, everyone here in Equestria knows clearly that you're evil, and they all already know that you'll never turn good! NEVER!".

However, since she still didn't heard Sweetie Belle speaking her own words about her yet, Agatha begged Sweetie Belle not to turn on her and then she said and begged "Please, Sweetie Belle! You must believe in me! I really have changed! Buldeo is lying! Please don't turn me away! I'm a good lioness!", and then tears of sadness formed and rolled down her eyes once again as she waited for Sweetie Belle to speak her mind and her heart to her and tell her what she thinks about her, but Sweetie Belle didn't spoke up or talked, and instead, she just lowered her head and face down so no one could see her expression she's going to have on her face, and it looked like things are going bleak for Agatha, as she thought that no one is going to believe in her and understand that she wants to be good at last.

However, just as it seems that Agatha is going to lose everything once again, Sweetie Belle suddenly raised her head up again and looked at Agatha not only with teary eyes, but also with a trusting smile before she then said to her "I believe in you, Agatha!" and then she added "I know you're a good lioness now! You're just misunderstood by everypony and every creature, that's all! But I know you really want to change and be a good lioness after what I've heard about what you've been through recently!", and then she concluded and said "I like you, Agatha! You dared to stand up to that monster elephant and ended up getting away with it! You also saved my life, and therefore you're really good, and I will always be your friend! And I'll also make sure that everypony else, as well as every creature sees that!", and when Agatha, the other crusaders and Buldeo all heard what she said, they all gasped in shock to know that Sweetie Belle really trusts Agatha, for she knew clearly that Agatha wants to change and also wants to be a good lioness.

Then, Sweetie Belle went up to Agatha and then she leapt into her forelegs, and then she hugged her tightly around her chest and cried joyfully into her chest fur, much to the other crusaders and Buldeo's shock. However, Buldeo's eyes widened in shock and anger to see that Sweetie Belle is the only one who knows that Agatha really wants to be good, and therefore he saw and realized that he cannot manipulate Sweetie Belle into turning on Agatha and also make her feel miserable again, but then he came up with a new malicious idea that will tear the CMC apart - by fooling Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Randall into believing that Sweetie Belle have decided to turn on them for Agatha, and so he talked to the three other crusaders and said to them "Look what just happened to your best friend! She decided to turn on you three for Agatha! What a disgrace! She believes in Agatha because she really thinks that she really can be good! She betrayed your team!".

When the three shocked and bewildered crusaders heard what Buldeo just said, Scootaloo asked "Sweetie Belle, how could you?", and then Randall added "I thought we're friends to the end!", and then Apple Bloom cried "How could you betray us all like this?!", but then Sweetie Belle cried back "No! I didn't betrayed you! We're all friends and nothing will ever change that!", and then she added and explained "Agatha is really good and I know that because she risked herself to save my life, and I can see all the good growing inside her body, heart and mind! But the one I see who is really bad around here is Buldeo! He's tricking you into turning on me in case I tell the truth about Agatha wanting to be a good lioness! But it's Buldeo who is a bad lion! I can see that inside him and I know what I'm saying! Buldeo is evil and not Agatha!", and then Agatha added "Stay away from him! He's really the bad lion around here, not me! He's just using you three to his own advantage to make me and my life feel miserable!".

However, Scootaloo yelled "We should've known you're planning to turn on us! On your best friends!", and then Randall added "Buldeo is right - You're a traitor! You're betraying the CMC!", and then Apple Bloom cried "From now on, you're no longer one of our team!", but then Sweetie Belle cried back and begged "No, wait! Please, listen to me!", but then Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Randall yelled at her in the face all together "GOODBYE FOREVER, SWEETIE BELLE!", and then they turned tail and started to trot and gallop all the way back to Ponyville, thus leaving Agatha and Sweetie Belle alone with Buldeo, who then started to laugh evilly as he was the only one who really enjoyed Sweetie Belle's helplessness, but when Sweetie Belle started to whimper and sob in pain because of being betrayed by her own best friends due to Buldeo's manipulative moves, Agatha got right in Buldeo's face and then she angrily said to him "You'll never get away with this Buldeo! You may have banished me out of Jayma's pride, but I will never forgive you for making Sweetie Belle's best friends turn on her so randomly because of your manipulative moves!", but then Buldeo reminded "YOU are the one who killed Jayma, and therefore you deserved to be banished away forever, white lioness!", but then Agatha yelled "I didn't killed Jayma! And to think about it, I'm pretty sure YOU did it!", but instead of confessing the truth to Agatha and to Sweetie Belle, Buldeo yelled "Enough! I'm getting fed up with all of your stupid nonsense! And now, if you'll both excuse me, I have to go back to MY PRIDE!", and then he finished and said as he was about to leave as well "Goodbye, Agatha and her new so-called friend, who is yet a dumb, young, insignificant fool - Sweetie Belle!", and once he said these harmful words and hurt both Agatha and Sweetie Belle, Buldeo finally run away and left the two alone with only each other for support, thus doing so far by now two cruel, heartless and unforgivable things which were among the worst things he have ever done - one is breaking apart, shuttering and destroying Agatha's trusting bonds with Jayma's pride, and the other is breaking down the CMC by fooling Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Randall into turning on Sweetie Belle and shoving her out of their team and shuttering their friendship bonds with her, thus leaving Sweetie Belle alone.

However, Agatha tried to comfort Sweetie Belle by saying to her that they'll be able to escape the terrible conditions they got themselves into because of Buldeo's fault, and then she said "Don't worry, Sweetie Belle, we'll be able to escape these new terrible conditions we got ourselves into because of that unforgivable Buldeo's fault! We will do it, my dear new friend! We will do it together!", and when Sweetie Belle heard what she said, she sniffled a little bit and then she said to the white lioness whom she just befriended "Thank you, Agatha!", but then she asked "But now what should I do? Where am I going to sleep tonight?", and then Agatha said "You can come with me to the new cave I found in the Everfree Forest. It's big enough for the both of us to stay and sleep in for the night.", and when Sweetie Belle heard what she said, the Unicorn smiled at her and said "Thank you again, Agatha!", and then Agatha said back "You're welcome, Sweetie Belle.", and then she added "Now let's go!", and then the two went back to the Everfree Forest together and fell asleep in Agatha's new cave, and they both knew that tomorrow they will have to go and try their best to convince everypony and every creature that Agatha have changed and redeemed herself to the good side, show the other crusaders that Sweetie Belle didn't betrayed them and their team, and also to tell everyone that Buldeo was been lying to them all from the start, just to crush both Agatha and Sweetie Belle to dust under his paws and laugh heartlessly at their pain. Tomorrow, Agatha and Sweetie Belle will work together and they will try their best to show and explain the whole truth to everyone in order to receive back their love and friendship from everyone, and also to show Buldeo not to mess up with them and crush him into dust in return for messing up with their lives.


	100. Chapter 99:Spike joins Agatha's team

The next morning, Agatha and Sweetie Belle left the cave and then they traveled together all the way from the Everfree Forest to Ponyville to show everypony that Agatha have changed and that she really wants to be good after being whipped on her back twice by Yigal, and later to be framed and chased away by Buldeo. However, when they arrived in Ponyville, Agatha and Sweetie Belle knew that they'll have to keep low profile in order to not get any unwanted attention so they won't be framed and chased away from Ponyville.

The first place they both went to is to Sweet Apple Acres to ask Applejack to listen to them for a minute so she may (or can) understand that Agatha now wants to be good for real, but upon arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, the two came face-to-face with Big Mac, who blocked their path into the farm and to the barn, and judging by the angry look on his face, it seems he isn't really happy to see them, and not just Agatha but also Sweetie Belle as well.

Then, Sweetie Belle asked "Hi, Big Mac, is Applejack home?", but then the Earth stallion slapped her across and yelled at her "Go away and don't come back, you traitor!", and when Agatha heard what he just said, she gasped in shock while Sweetie Belle almost went into tears from getting slapped across the face by the angry Earth stallion, and then Agatha stepped forward and asked "Why would you slap a young filly across the face, Mister?", but then Big Mac turned to her and slapped her twice across the face and yelled at her "Shut up and stay away from my family and from my home, you evil lioness!".

When the two heard the mean words the Earth stallion just said, Sweetie Belle asked while almost going into tears "Why are you doing this to me?", but then Big Mac yelled at her in the face "You should ashamed of yourself, Sweetie Belle! You turned on my little sister, didn't you?!", but then the young Unicorn said "No! I didn't! I don't even know what you're talking about!", but then Big Mac said and explained in his angry tone "Apple Bloom told me that you chose to betray her and her friends for Yigal's evil white lioness, or should I say in other words Agatha!", and when Sweetie Belle heard what he said, he gasped in shock and cried "No! I didn't betrayed my friends, and Agatha is no longer evil!", and then Agatha added and explained in her own words and from her own mouth "Yigal betrayed me and I decided to reform and become a good lioness after he dumped me for his new adopted evil baby boy, whose name is Dan Ashmor!".

However, Big Mac didn't seemed to believe in either of them and then he yelled at them "Who will ever believe in your no good excuses?! You, Agatha, you meant all of Equestria nothing but trouble for so many years, and you're still saying that you can actually change and become good like Shujaa and Kenai did?!", and then he added "I'm sorry to say, but neither of you will be seeing Applejack for what you both did! So just take your no good excuses and your inexcusable rotten lies and just GO AWAY!", he raised his voice and threateningly motioned to both Agatha and Sweetie Belle with his right foreleg and with his large hoof to turn around and leave Sweet Apple Acres or else he'll be harming them some more, thus causing Sweetie Belle to almost go into tears from the Earth stallion's angry assault as well as from his wrath, while Agatha just looked at him in shock and disbelief for about a few long seconds before she and Sweetie Belle turned away and left Sweet Apple Acres and they hoped that they'll be listened to somewhere else.

The second place they went to is to Sugarcube Corner to ask Pinkie Pie to listen to them for a minute so she may (or can) understand that Agatha wants to be good for real, but upon arriving at Sugarcube Corner, they both came face-to-face with Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake, who blocked their way into their bakery (and home), and judging by the looks on their faces, they too had angry faces and it seems they aren't really happy to see them either, similar to Big Mac back at Sweet Apple Acres.

Then, Sweetie Belle asked "Hi, Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake, is Pinkie Pie home?", but then she got slapped across the face by Mr. Cake, who then yelled at her in the face "How dare you traitor coming in here?!", and then Mrs. Cake added "And how dare you evil lioness coming in here too?! Huh?!", and when Sweetie Belle and Agatha both heard the mean words the adult cakes just said, Sweetie Belle asked "Mr and Mrs. Cake, you too? Why?", but then Mrs. Cake slapped her across the face (just like her husband already did), and then she yelled at both the young Unicorn and the white lioness "Randall told us that you chose to turn on him and on his friends and make friends with Yigal's evil white lioness, didn't you?!", but then Agatha said to her "No, she didn't! She didn't betrayed her friends! She just wants to show you all that even after everything bad I did in my life, some of which things are beyond forgiveness, I'm still able to redeem myself and show that I do have a change of heart!", and then she added "Listen to me! I'm a good lioness now! I'm no longer evil!".

However, instead of listening to the white lioness, Mr and Mrs. Cake both turned tails and bucked her a double bucking square in the face, thus throwing her backwards and causing her to scream in pain, but when she recovered, Mr. Cake yelled at both her and at Sweetie Belle "You're not going to see Pinkie Pie, do you both hear me?!", and then Mrs. Cake added as she motioned to them with a forehoof to go away "And now go away or you're both asking for it!", and when Agatha and Sweetie Belle both heard these mean words coming out and from the adult cakes' mouths, after suffering from their angry assault, as well as from their wrath, the two knew that they have no choice but to leave now or else they'll feel more pain, and soon after they both left Sugarcube Corner, Sweetie Belle and Agatha hoped that they'll still be listened to somewhere else.

The third place they went to is to Fluttershy's cottage (her home) to ask her (Fluttershy) to listen to them for a minute so she may (or can) understand that Agatha wants to be good for real, but upon arriving at Fluttershy's cottage, it wasn't Fluttershy herself, but her bunny Angel who opened the door, but upon seeing the young Unicorn and the white lioness, who are both standing just outside the cottage and waiting to see Fluttershy, the bunny gave them a dark and not so pleased glare, just like Big Mac and the adult cakes already did back in Sweet Apple Acres and Sugarcube Corner (respectively). Then, Sweetie Belle asked the white bunny "Hi, Angel, is Fluttershy home?", but then Angel scowled at her as well as at Agatha before he slammed the door in their faces, thus showing them that he won't let them come inside to see Fluttershy, and therefore forcing the two to turn around and walk away, and the two hoped that they'll still be listened to somewhere else.

The fourth place they went to is to the Castle of Friendship to ask Twilight and Starlight to listen to them for a minute so they may (or can) understand that Agatha wants to be good for real, but before they could enter the Castle of Friendship, both Agatha and Sweetie Belle were knocked backwards by a magical force field, and then, when Agatha and Sweetie both stood up again and then touched at the magical force field with a forehoof and a forepaw of each of theirs, Sweetie Belle then asked "Hey, what gives?" and then Agatha added "What is going on?", but just then, Spike came out through the castle's massive front doors and went up to Sweetie Belle and Agatha, but then he stopped just behind the inside of the magical force field, but just like all the others so far, Spike too was scowling at both the young Unicorn and the white lioness, and then he said to them with his eyebrows furrowed in anger and with a not so pleased face "A-ha! Twilight and Starlight thought you might try to show your faces around here, so Twilight put up a force field!", and then he turned around and walked back into the Castle of Friendship and slammed the doors shut behind him before the two can explain to him that Agatha wants to be good for real, thus leaving them both with no choice but to leave and try their luck and hope that they'll still be listened to somewhere else.

The fifth place Agatha and Sweetie Belle went to is to Carousel Boutique to ask Rarity to listen to them for a minute so she may (or can) understand that Agatha wants to be good for real, but upon arriving at Carousel Boutique, they saw a sign hanging on the door saying ' _Go away and don't ever come back!_ ', and after Sweetie Belle and Agatha read the sign, Sweetie Belle went into tears as she realized that even her own sister won't allow her and will not let her come back home (and won't speak to her either), and then Agatha angrily stomped a forepaw of hers on the ground and had an angry scowl on her face from (and upon) seeing Sweetie Belle in so much pain, but then she also knew one thing that they both should've known - Buldeo was the who is one standing behind all this, as the evil male lion have completely persuaded and manipulated all of Ponyville into thinking that Sweetie Belle have betrayed them all for Agatha, thus showing he's been a step ahead of them.

Later, when Agatha and Sweetie Belle went through and over all of Ponyville in hopes that everypony else would listen to them, they both got ignored and rejected by everypony, who all in turn closed and slammed their doors and windows at the young Unicorn and at the white lioness' faces, thus eventually leaving the two no choice but to leave Ponyville and go to the meadow to drown their sorrows. Agatha and Sweetie Belle ended up sitting down under the tree in the middle of the meadow and trying to drown their sorrows, and then Agatha said "I can't believe that Buldeo was a step ahead of us! He completely managed to fool and manipulate everyone in Ponyville into believing that I'm still evil like I was before!", and then she turned to Sweetie Belle and said to her "And not to mention, everyone now thinks that you're a traitor because you know I want to be good for real! Even your own sister turned on you because of that inexcusable monster!", and then Sweetie Belle cried "I wish we can find that male lion and then slap him a hundred and twenty times across the face for messing up with our lives!", and then she added "He really is a complete monster who is capable of manipulating others into believing in whatever he says!".

However, just then, the two suddenly heard some jackals snarling, but then they also heard some familiar voice crying for help, and so Agatha and Sweetie both decided to go and see who needs their help, and much to their shock, upon arriving at the exact place where the jackal snarls and the screaming for help came from, they saw Spike being attacked, pinned down and harassed by the last three evil jackals who obey and follow Lysander and his friends (the shape-shifting animals), and then one of the three jackals was about to destroy Spike, who cried for help "Somepony help, please!", and that was the only chance to show Spike that Agatha indeed have reformed to the good side.

Then, Agatha yelled at the three jackals "Hey, you bullies! Leave that dragon alone!", and then she started to run towards them, and she charged at the jackals with Sweetie Belle following her in tow, and before one of the jackals (who was about to kill Spike) can deliver the finishing (and final) blow, Agatha jumped on the jackal and then she threw it away from Spike, and then she turned back to the other two jackals and then she scared them both by roaring angrily at them before she then chased them away for good, thus saving Spike's life.

However, when Spike saw what Agatha just did in order to save his life from the three jackals, he looked up at her with shock and surprise, before she then gently pulled him and helped him stand back up with a forepaw, but then Spike said and asked "Agatha! I thought you're still a bad lioness like you always was! Why did you saved me?", and then Agatha said "Because it's what friends do! And by the way, I'm no longer evil! I'm tired of being a ferocious beast and a great villainess after realizing I don't belong and cannot stay with Yigal, Tony Black and with the other villains no more! My days as a bad lioness are gone forever, and therefore I'm a good lioness now, so there's no reason for any of you to hate and fear me anymore, even if some of the things I did in the past were beyond forgiveness! All that matters is that now I'm so happy to be good at last, and I was trying to show you all that just like Shujaa and Kenai have already managed to reform, I can do the same thing they both already did before I did myself!".

When Spike realized the truth about Agatha's redemption being real, he then saw the good behind her eyes before he said "I'm sorry for what I did to you back there. That wasn't very nice of me to turn you both away when you're just trying to show me that even Agatha could change. I was wrong when I shoed you both away. I should've known I shouldn't have listened to that male lion Buldeo. I'm so sorry for that horrible mistake I already did.", and then he asked Agatha and Sweetie Belle in a begging position "Can you please forgive me for my actions?", and then Agatha said as she looked at him with a smile "I forgive you, Spike. We both forgive you. We both know you didn't meant to do this to us on purpose. Buldeo only had you fooled and put you and everyone else up to all of this, but don't worry though, because his evil success won't last very long. I promise. We both promise.".

When Spike heard the true forgiveness coming from Agatha's mouth, tears of joy started to form in the dragon's eyes before he then jumped onto Agatha and hugged her around her neck, and she in return stroked gently and kindly at the top of his head with a free forepaw without harming him with her claws, and once they broke their hug and pulled away from each other, Spike then turned to Sweetie Belle and then he hugged her in the same way he did with Agatha and asked her for forgiveness, and Sweetie Belle forgave him too, and once they broke their hug and pulled away from each other, Spike sniffled one last time before he finally calmed himself down, and then he said "Thank you so much, girls.", and then he added "Now I have to go back to Ponyville. See you around.", and then Agatha said back "See you around too, Spike.", and then Sweetie Belle added "If you find yourself in trouble, please go find the two of us and tell us what happened, and we'll promise you we'll help you out.", and then Spike said "Thank you, and goodbye.", and then he started to flap his wings and he started to fly all the way back to Ponyville, but not before he waved for both Agatha and Sweetie Belle one last time before he flew all the way back to Ponyville, thus gaining Agatha's trust and becoming the second creature who realized that she indeed have reformed to the good side.

However, unbeknownst to them, Buldeo was been watching the newly formed bond between Spike and Agatha (which was the second bond Agatha have formed with a creature who is from the good side), and when he realized that now Spike also knows and understands that Agatha is willing to be good for real, the evil male lion grinned evilly and said "We'll see about that, you traitorous little dragon! I'll show you too! We'll see who's going to strike out! If you think that I will just let you tell everyone that that white lioness is good, then you won't be able to do so this easily! I got many more tricks up my sleeve, and I will do whatever it takes for me to stop you!", and then he started to travel all the way to Ponyville in almost no time using a shorter pathway which leads to Ponyville faster than the long way that Spike chose (even though he was flying and not walking on foot all the way back to Ponyville), thus arriving in Ponyville first before Spike, and this is when he decided to begin with his newest and next plan - manipulating everypony in Ponyville into banishing Spike away from Ponyville (like they all already did with both Agatha and Sweetie Belle).

Later, when it was already nighttime, Agatha and Sweetie Belle have already lit-up and made a fire inside the cave to cook up some food for dinner and to try and keep warm for the night, but after a while, they both suddenly heard a young male voice asking "Girls? Can I come in?", and when Agatha and Sweetie Belle heard what the voice just said, they both turned to see Spike at the opening of the cave, and then Sweetie Belle asked "Spike? Is that you? What are you doing here?", and then Spike said sadly "I got banished away from Ponyville.", and when the young Unicorn and the white lioness both heard what the dragon said, they both gasped in shock to realize that now everypony thinks that Spike is a traitor too (since Buldeo successfully managed to persuade and manipulate all of Ponyville into turning on Spike and banish him away the same way they already did to Sweetie Belle).

Then, Agatha stomped her forepaw on the cave's floor and scowled angrily before she said "The nerve of that Buldeo! He was once again a step ahead of us!", and then Spike asked "What do we do?", and then Agatha said "We'll find a way to expose Buldeo's deception to all of Ponyville, and I think that our only option we have right now is to find him, challenge into a battle and then defeat him for good!", and thenthe Sweetie Belle said in agreement "It sounds good to me! We won't give up without a fight after what he done to all three of us! First, he chased you away, Agatha! Then, he persuaded and manipulated everypony in Ponyville to banish me away, and now he did the same thing to Spike! That evil male lion deserves a true punishment for all of his crimes!", and then Agatha said "And we'll give him just what he deserves!", and then she added and pointed out "Now that there are three of us, we can now work together as a team to defeat Buldeo and show everyone else that he's been lying to them all about us, and particularly about me being still evil, but we three already know that HE is the one who's evil around here!", and then Spike said "I'm glad I came here looking for you two, so now that the three of us are together, we can work together as a team to expose and then defeat that evil male lion for good!".

With their plan to work together as a team in order to expose and defeat Buldeo is settled, Agatha, Sweetie Belle and Spike are now enjoying being all together just the three of them for the night, and the next morning they will go all together to destroy Buldeo for his cruel, heartless and manipulative crimes, and the three friends hoped that they will be able to expose and show his true dark side and manipulative nature to everypony in Ponyville, and they also hoped for Agatha to be able to show everyone that she willingly decided to reform, redeem and become a good lioness for real.


	101. Chapter 100:Agatha's new home

The next morning, Agatha, Sweetie Belle and Spike went to Ponyville once again and the three wanted to convince and show everyone that Buldeo was been lying to them and manipulating them all all along, and once they arrived and then entered Ponyville, Agatha, Sweetie Belle and Spike all worked together as a team and hoped that everypony, or at least somepony will listen to them, but exposing Buldeo's true colors in front of everypony's eyes would prove for the three friends to be immensely difficult, because he's smart, strong, and also a skilled liar.

However, the three friends went up to a stop at the very center of Ponyville so they can get everypony's attentions, and to make sure that everypony hears everything they have to say, the three brought some microphones so their plan to expose Buldeo will go exactly as they planned. Then, Agatha called for everypony through the microphone she held in her forepaw and when everypony heard her calling for them, they all went up to the exact spot at the center of Ponyville, but then they all gasped in shock to see Agatha, Sweetie Belle and Spike are standing there in front of them all.

However, before everypony can chase and banish the three friends away from Ponyville, Agatha spoke up through her microphone and said to the entire crowd of ponies, who are now standing and gathering all around them and surrounding them but still giving them some space so they can speak to them all "Listen, everypony! I know what you all might be thinking about me, as well as about my two new friends, but I still have something to say to all of you - I've changed! I'm no longer that kind of monster I used to be before I ran away from Yigal and from the other villains because of their new adopted baby boy who's name is Dan Ashmor! I'm no longer willing to cause you all lots of pain! I'm no longer laughing evilly at you all every time something that was precious to you or to all of your world is destroyed!", and then she added "After a long consideration, I finally made it up in my mind, and so I decided to reform and become good for real! No longer a villainess! No longer an evil monster! No longer a ferocious beast!", and then she stepped aback to allow and let Sweetie Belle step forward and speak up to everypony and say what she have to say.

Then Sweetie Belle spoke up and said (through her microphone) to everypony who all gathered all around "Listen, everypony! I haven't betrayed you, and neither Spike did! Don't you all just see? That male lion Buldeo was merely tricking you all, and he was also using you to his own advantage so he can get rid of Agatha, AND of us!", and then she added "But Spike and I we've already saw the real lion behind Buldeo - an evil male lion who cares about no one but himself! We saw through his camouflage! He's the real evil lion around here, and not Agatha! You all have to believe in me! You all have to believe in all three of us! We're telling you all the truth about him! Buldeo is evil!".

Then, when Sweetie Belle stepped aback, Spike stepped forward so he can speak up to everypony and say what he have to say as well. Then, the young and winged dragon spoke up and said through his microphone to everypony who all gathered all around "Please, listen to us, everypony! Buldeo is not who you all think he is! That male lion is just turning us all against each other! When Sweetie Belle and I saw the good behind Agatha's eyes and found that she's indeed telling us the truth about her own redemption to the good side, Buldeo saw us as threats just the same way as he saw Agatha as a threat, but we know that Buldeo is the only one who really sees us that way! We're threats only to him and him alone! We're not threats to anyone else besides just him! And that's the real truth!".

When everypony heard everything Agatha, Sweetie Belle and Spike all said (in respective turns), they all gasped in shock and surprise before they all turned to each other and started to talk to each other about one thing they all should still consider - if to trust the three friends or not. However, just then, Rarity cut and made her way through the whole crowd of ponies who gathered around Agatha, Sweetie Belle and Spike, and once she reached the three, she went up to Sweetie Belle and then she hugged her tightly and said with tears in her eyes and with regret in her tone for putting that insulting sign on the door of her boutique to shoe Sweetie Belle off and make her go away and don't come back "Oh, Sweetie Belle! I'm so sorry for what I did to you! I should've not put that stupid and insulting sign on the door of my boutique to shoe you away like I did! You're my sister and I love you! I can't believe that evil male lion tricked me into turning on you like that! That male lion was such a barbaric monster!", and then she looked down at Sweetie Belle in the eyes and asked "Can you please forgive me for my blind and foolish actions?".

When Sweetie Belle heard what her own big sister just said, tears of joy started to form in her own eyes and then she returned the hug by wrapping her own forelegs around Rarity, before the two nuzzled each other muzzle to muzzle, thus showing that the severed sisterly bond between them has been rebuilt, and once they finally broke their hug from each other, Rarity turned to look at Agatha in the eyes and then she said to her in her elegant voice tone "And as for you, Agatha, I'm so sorry I misjudged you and believed that you're still an evil lioness like in all these years before! I beg your apology, Miss! I didn't know that you're right about one thing - that you still can change and redeem yourself, even if some of the things you've done in the past were beyond forgiveness!", and then she turned back to look at the entire crowd of ponies and announced "As the Element of Generosity, and as one of Princess Twilight Sparkle', the Princess of Friendship's best friends, I'm the one and only teacher in all of Equestria who is capable of teaching others how to be generous for life, but today, it was my own sister and Spike who taught me something - that a new generous friend can come from everywhere. I guess everypony and every creature still has things to learn about generosity. Even me! And if my own sister and Spike says that Agatha is their friend, as well as Agatha is now a reformed lioness and a new generous friend, then she's my friend too.".

Then, Rarity turned back to look at Agatha once more before she then stretched out a foreleg of her own to shake her forehoof with Agatha's forepaw, and Agatha saw this as an opportunity to show everyone that she can really change, just like Shujaa and Kenai have already did before she did, and so she grabbed at Rarity's forehoof with her own forepaw and then she shook it while tears of joy formed in the white lioness' eyes and she sniffled as her dreams of becoming good and showing her redemption finally have become true, before Agatha said "Thank you.", and then she let go of Rarity's hoof and wiped away the tears forming in her own eyes as she didn't wanted to cry in front of everypony, who looked at her with smiles forming on all their faces from seeing Agatha's redemption to the good side at last.

However, an evil male voice suddenly yelled in anger "NO, NO, NO! THIS IS WRONG! DON'T LISTEN TO THAT WHITE LIONESS AND TO HER LITTLE TRAITORS! THEY'RE LYING! THEY'RE ALL LYING!", and then Buldeo came out of nowhere with Jayma's entire lion pride and then they made their way through the crowd of ponies and started to approach Agatha, Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity, who all stood in shock and horror when they saw the evil male lion coming towards them once again, and once he stopped in front of the four (and particularly in front of Agatha), he said to Agatha "You're still evil, Agatha! And that's what you'll always be!", but then Sweetie Belle and Spike jumped in between them and then the young Unicorn yelled at him in the face "Hey, leave her alone! Agatha is a good lioness now!", and then Spike added in agreement "And YOU are the one lion who is evil all along!".

However, instead of yelling and fighting back, Buldeo suddenly just started to laugh evilly at them and then he asked "Really? Is that what you really think?", and then he added and said evilly "So now tell me one thing you haven't yet told to all these filthy ponies around!", and then Rarity asked Agatha "Agatha, what is that ruffian talking about?", but then Buldeo said "A-ha! So you haven't yet told them all the truth, did you?!", and then he added and asked Agatha "Now tell me that again and for the second time I'm going to ask you to tell it out - who is responsible for Jayma's death?!", and when all the lions heard what Buldeo said, they gasped and waited for Agatha to tell the truth, but then Agatha said with guilt in her eyes "I did.".

When everypony and all the lions heard what she just said, they all gasped in shock and disbelief all together, before Rarity approached her and tried to look into her eyes and begged her and said "It's not true, Agatha! Please! Tell me it's not true!", but then Agatha sighed in shame and then she lowered her head down and started to shed tears of pain and sadness and said "It's true.", and then Buldeo roared to everyone else "See?! She admits it again! MURDERESS!", but then Agatha raised her head up again and looked at him with tears still going down her eyes "No! It was all an accident!", but then Buldeo yelled at her in a threatening tone "If it weren't for you, Jayma would still be alive! It's your fault that she's dead!", and then he asked her "Do you deny it?", but then Agatha said "No, I don't.", but then Buldeo yelled at her back "Then you're GUILTY!", but then Agatha begged and cried "No, I'm not a murderess!".

Then, Buldeo forcefully threatened Agatha to start to walk backwards until they reached the bridge standing above the river that leads out of Ponyville, and once they reached the bridge, Buldeo said to Agatha in a low, deep and evil tone "Now, you're in trouble again, Agatha! And this time, my sister isn't here to save you, and now everyone knows WHY!", and the evil force in his tone caused Agatha to misplace her hind paws over one of the sides and edges of the bridge and caused her to slip off the bridge, only to barely hold onto it with her forepaws, causing Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity to cry all together "Agatha, no!".

However, before Buldeo is about to kill Agatha in the same way he already 'did' to Jayma, a familiar feeling came over him and then he said and asked himself "Hmmm, where have I seen this before? Let me think...", but then another familiar feeling came over him and then he remembered and said "Oh, yes, I remember! This is just the way my sister looked before she died.", and then he dug his own claws into Agatha's forepaws in the same way he did to Jayma, and then he lowered his head down to look at Agatha until he was only an inch away from her face and then he said to her evilly "And here's _my_ little secret...", and then he whispered three dark and evil words into Agatha's ear " _I killed Jayma_.".

When Agatha heard what Buldeo just said and whispered into her ear the real truth about Jayma's 'death', the white lioness screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" in her flashback reflecting to the time she watched Jayma falling to the ravine and seemingly drowning to death in the fast-streaming river below, before her scream went real as it continued to yell right now too, before Agatha quickly leapt back up onto the bridge and then she tackled and pinned Buldeo down on his back and yelled at him "MURDERER!", thus shocking all the ponies and all the lions who stood in shock and horror behind them, but then Buldeo quickly begged and said to Agatha "No, wait, Agatha, please!", but then she said sternly as she looked at him with angry eyes "Tell everyone the truth.", but then Buldeo said to her back "Truth? But, truth is in the eye of the behol-", but then he was cut in mid-sentence when Agatha started to choke him as she began applying pressure through his mane and directly into his neck, thus forcing to tell the truth and causing to say "Alright. Alright!", and then he whispered "I did it.", but then Agatha said to him "So they all can hear you out, Buldeo.", and this is when Buldeo called out loud and yelled in anger "I KILLED JAYMA!".

When everyone heard what Buldeo just said, they all gasped in shock before their faces (of both everypony and of all the lions of Jayma's pride) turned red from pure anger, before Sweetie Belle and Spike stepped forward and then the young Unicorn yelled "Now you all see?! Buldeo is the one who is to blame for what happened to Jayma!" and then the young dragon added "He's the real murderer around here! Get him now!", and when everypony and all the the lions of Jayma's pride heard what the two just said, they all went to attack Buldeo, but not before Agatha jumped and got off him so he can get what he deserved for 'killing' his own sister and the hooves, paws and claws of all the ponies and of all the lions, who angrily went up to his to teach him a lesson for doing such unforgivable and inexcusable crime, but then Buldeo quickly stood back up on his feet and then he bolted and made his way through the mixed crowd of both ponies and lions, and then he managed to escape and then he ran towards the forest, but Agatha, Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity all still followed him in order to get him and take him down for his unforgivable and inexcusable crimes.

Eventually, the four friends caught up with him near the edge of the same cliff where Buldeo 'killed' Jayma, thus having him surrounded and cornered, before Agatha stepped forward and approached him and muttered "Murderer.", but then Buldeo protested and said as he begged for mercy from her "Agatha! Agatha, please! I promise I will make it up to you!", but then Agatha said "I don't believe you, Buldeo. You don't deserve to live!". However, when Buldeo heard what she coldly said to him, he said to her "But, I'm the friend you really need! I'm a lion and so are you! We're from the same species, yes we are!", but then Agatha said to him as she approached until she's very close to him "Why should I believe you? Everything you ever told me and everyone else was a lie.", and then the evil male lion begged her and asked as he was now lowering down in fear because of her threatening looks and appearance she made towards him "What are you going to do to me? You wouldn't kill a male like me, would you?", but then Agatha said though she retained the stern looks on her face as she looked down at him in the eyes "No, Buldeo. I just don't like you for the evil lion you are.".

When Buldeo heard what Agatha just said, he said and asked "I'm so sorry for my actions towards you and towards my own sister when she befriended you. How can I ever repay you for what I did to you from when we first met each other?", and then Agatha said to him the same words he said to her when he put the blame for Jayma's death on her "Run, Buldeo. Run. Run away and never return.", thus shocking the evil male lion when he realized that Agatha is using his own words against him in return for putting the blame for Jayma's death on her, before he slowly stood up again and said with apparent defeat on his face "Yes, Agatha.", and then he started to walk away from her, and then he added "As you wish...", but then he looked down and saw some small stones just next to him and then he finished "...Your majesty!", and then he violently threw the small stones right in Agatha's face, thus temporarily blinding her sight before he then jumped onto her and tried to snap and break off her neck.

However, before he can bite hard onto Agatha's neck, Rarity yelled at Buldeo "Oh no, you don't!", and then she lit up her horn and then she blasted at him and zapped him on the shoulder, thus causing him to scream and get off Agatha, but that also gave the white lioness the advantage to start a duel with Buldeo, and that is when Agatha and Buldeo started to fight each other in a duel between a male (lion) and a female (lioness), and Agatha put up a good fight, despite she's smaller and her neck is exposed (and maneless) compared to Buldeo, who was much larger and his neck is covered by a thick mane (which also protects his neck from getting bitten to death by other large carnivorous mammals), but when Buldeo suddenly managed to slap her face with a forepaw and managed to flip her upside down onto her back, this is when he made one last attempt to kill Agatha by jumping up and leaping right at her with his forelegs, forepaws, claws, neck, head and teeth were all aiming down at her, but before he can destroy Agatha for good, the white lioness suddenly successfully managed to use her hind legs to kick, hurl and throw Buldeo over the edge of the cliff, thus sending him down to the fast-streaming river below to get swept away (and to drown), and thus also defeating him for all of his unforgivable and inexcusable crimes.

With Buldeo defeated, Agatha turned back to look at her friends and then she said to them "Let's go home!", and so she, Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity all went back to Ponyville to tell everyone about Buldeo's defeat, and also to officially announce Agatha's redemption to the good side. The following day, it was already one month which already have passed, and therefore it was now 59 months (4 years and 11 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 47 months (3 years and 11 months) since Aylene became her beloved equestrian Pegasus pony sister, and they, Stephan, Tah and her son Trog, all their friends, the mane seven, Celestia, Luna, and even Thorax and Pharynx were all present as they gathered in Canterlot, with everypony from Ponyville, all the good and reformed changelings from the changeling kingdom, and even Jayma's entire lion pride were all also invited in for a special event - the official announcement of Agatha's redemption, but that wasn't the only thing that happened in the event, as Agatha also explained why did she decided to reform at last, and so she started to tell everyone about how it all started when Yigal's new adopted baby son, Dan Ashmor, who was in fact the youngest evil human in all of Equestria took everything she knew and loved before her redemption away from her, and even got whipped twice on her back by Yigal when she accidentally made his adopted baby boy cry when she tried to snatch and take her feeding bowl back to herself, but then she also explained that after he and all the other villains left their home for a walking trip (with baby Dan, of course), she angrily wrote a permanent goodbye letter for them, before she ran away from the villains' home and never returned back to them ever since.

When everypony and every creature all heard the real reason which led to Agatha's eventual redemption, they were all in shock and also in a bit of horror when they all realized that Yigal abused her just because he started taking care of Dan Ashmor, his evil baby and paid less and less attention to her up to the point she eventually left him and the other villains to start anew without them in her life, but then she also said and announced that she chose the two ponies and the dragon who saw through her redemption and realized that she really wanted to be good before everyone else did as her new best friends - Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity, and then she also announced that she already have chosen to live with Rarity and Sweetie Belle in Carousel Boutique so she can get used to her new life as a whole good and new heroine, and also forget about Yigal and about all the other villains forever after the way they all treated her on these last few days of her life she spent with them before she ran away from them and left them for good.

After the long speech she said, announced and told about herself (and also about her willing to reform after she ran away from Yigal and from the other villains for good) to everyone, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Thorax and Pharynx all officially announced that Agatha is now a good lioness and is now going to live with Rarity and Sweetie Belle in Carousel Boutique like she chose to, and that therefore she's no longer belongs to Yigal, and when everyone heard what the three Alicorn princesses and the two changeling kings said and announced about Agatha's redemption and about her starting anew as a good lioness to forget about her terrible and villainous past, everyone cheered up not only for the five respected and dignified rulers but also for Agatha herself, who is now happy to start her whole new life as a new good lioness (and also without Yigal and all the other villains), and once the announcement of Agatha's redemption was over, Agatha went to live with Sweetie Belle and Rarity at their home in Carousel Boutique, thus finally gaining new friends, receiving a lot of attention, and having a new home where she can stay and live in for the rest of her life, and this is when Agatha's new life finally have begun.


	102. Chapter 101:Agatha is misunderstood

Three weeks have passed since Agatha announced her redemption to the good side to all of Ponyville and Canterlot (and also to the changeling kingdom), and now she's living quite happily in Carousel Boutique with Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and the two orphan baby Liontaurs, Simba and Sirga, who are also living in Rarity's home, as she (Rarity) was the pony who chose to adopt and take them both in, but when Agatha also came to live in Carousel Boutique, she met the two baby Liontaurs and grew attached to them rather than growing angry and jealous of them (like she did with baby Dan Ashmor before she left Yigal and the other villains for good), and Simba and Sirga, who both felt the same way for her, decided to stay near and next to her and look up to her at all times ever since they first met her, just like how loyal children treat their own parents.

This behavior of Simba and Sirga showed that they actually want Agatha to be their new mother (after and since Terrence killed their own and biological mother when she tried to save Bluebell from getting choked to death by the evil bull elephant), and when Agatha realized that these two baby Liontaurs really think and care much about her, she decided to take them in and become their adoptive and surrogate mother after Rarity told her the painful truth about their own and biological mother's death at the hind leg and foot of Terrence (since the evil bull elephant kicked her too hard when she tried to save Bluebell from him), and ever since Agatha became Simba and Sirga's adoptive and surrogate mother, she felt happier than she ever felt before.

However, one day, the royal family from the Crystal Empire (Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart) and dragon lord Ember (from the Dragon Lands) came to visit in Canterlot on the same day and at the same time, and when they arrived at the royal castle all together, they're greeted by Celestia and Luna, as well as by Shujaa, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, and even by Tah and her son Trog, but they aren't the only ones who greeted them - Aron, Zach and the other girls (Bluebell, Linda and Layla) also greeted the Crystal Empire's royal family as well as the dragon lord at the same time, and all the baby and toddler centaurids (Stephan, Linda and Layla's respective younger siblings) all did the same.

However, when the mane seven, Spike, the CMC, Kenai, his two good toddler Beartaurs Kayden and Tallulah, and the baby Liontaurs Simba and Sirga came into the throne room to meet the Crystal Empire's royal family and the dragon lord, they all greeted them and welcomed them for their first shared visit in Canterlot, but when Agatha also came to the throne after all her new friends to meet the Crystal Empire's royal family and the dragon lord, Shining Armor, Cadance, Flurry Heart and Ember all gasped in shock at her presence and their faces suddenly turned pale white when they saw Yigal's former lioness who have recently betrayed him and ran away from him when he, Tony Black and all the other villains have turned her away in order to care for baby Dan Ashmor, thus showing that the Crystal Empire's royal family and the dragon lord were all horrified to see her again after everything bad she have already done for all these years to all of Equestria, long before her eventual redemption.

However, this time, it wasn't Shining Armor who appeared angry and disappointed to see Agatha like he previously did with Kenai, but it was Cadance and Ember, who both appeared angry and disappointed to see Yigal's former white lioness, instead of Shining Armor himself. Then, Cadance lit up her horn and threatened to blast at Agatha with her magic, while Ember clenched her own hands and claws and into fists as she too readied herself to attack the white lioness if necessary, but Agatha seemed less interested in fighting both the Alicorn princess and the dragon lord, and so she kept herself calm and waited for the two to speak to her.

Then, Cadance asked in an angry tone "What are you thinking you're doing here?!", and then Ember added "Who let you just walk into the royal castle and into the throne room to meet us just like this?!", but then Agatha said "Hey, it's okay, I mean you no harm no more. I've changed.", but then Cadance asked as her brows furrowed in anger but also in curiousity "Why should we believe you?!", and then Ember added and pointed out "You're Yigal's evil lioness! Every creature knows that!", but then Rarity stepped forward and she put herself between Agatha, Cadance and Ember and then she said "She's not his lioness anymore! Let her speak up and explain to you two about what happened to her recently that caused her to leave and run away from that inexcusable ruffian and from all of his evil friends! Please, listen to her!".

When Cadance and Ember both heard what Rarity just said, they both said "Fine!", and then Cadance said alone "Now you speak up and tell us everything that happened to you that we need to know!", and then Agatha said back "As you both wish, you're adored majesties." and then she started telling and explaining about what happened to her that caused her to angrily leave Yigal and the other villains and never return back to them ever since, but even after she told and explained everything to Cadance and Ember (and also in front of everyone else), the two female equestrian rulers appeared unimpressed and it also appeared like they didn't seem to believe in anything Agatha told them.

Then, Cadance hissed and said to Agatha "Well that's a very entertaining story, Yigal's lioness, but unfortunately, you had to worry about that little important thing called 'evidence'.", and then Ember added "That's right, if you said you have reformed and turned on Yigal like you said you did, then neither of us believe you! And I suggest that everyone else should also agree with the both of us!", and then the two said to her together and in unison "Face it, Agatha! You was and you still ARE evil! And that's exactly what you'll always BE!", but then Agatha begged and said "No, please! Wait!", but then Cadance and Ember both stepped forward and gave the white lioness angry and threatening looks as neither seemed to believe in her or in whatever she says about herself being good from now on, and then they both yelled at her together at the top of their lungs "GET OUT OF HERE NOW, YOU MONSTER!", thus shocking and even scaring Agatha, who in response stepped aback as the Alicorn princess and the dragon lord both kept approaching her and they also kept gaining on her as she fearfully stepped aback from the two female equestrian rulers, who both appeared willing and determined to chase her out of the royal castle and away for good.

However, Sweetie Belle and Spike stepped in between Agatha, Cadance and Ember, and then Sweetie Belle said "Hey, leave her alone! She's a good lioness and I truly like her for who she recently have became!", and then Spike added "You two should show her some love and respect for what she already have been through before she eventually changed!", but instead of listening to what the young Unicorn and dragon both said, Cadance just used her magic to levitate and forcefully move them out of the way so they won't interfere and won't stop what she and Ember have planned to do with Agatha.

Then, Cadance said to Agatha "Now you're going to get what you really deserve for all of your crimes, you monster!", and then Ember added "That will show you what happens when someone dares to mess up with us and tries to cause so much trouble to our entire world!", and then they both raised up a forehoof and a claw of each of theirs, before they both moved them down together and brought them across both sides of Agatha's face, thus striking together a double slap across her face, causing her to cry in pain and then shake off the pain from the attack, and then she yelled back at them "Stop it, please!", but Cadance and Ember both appeared to be not listening and they kept ignoring whatever she said, before they continued to attack her again and again in order to chase her out of the royal castle, for they both haven't forgotten about all the crimes she already have done before she betrayed and ran away from Yigal and from the other villains and left them all for good.

However, when Agatha couldn't take anymore pain from the Alicorn princess and from the dragon lord's attacks, she fought back in order to stand her ground (which she should've done before when Yigal attacked her in order to get her feeding bowl away from her and back to baby Dan), but then the fight between them stopped when Agatha accidentally ended up scratching and slashing both Cadance and Ember on the chests, thus causing the two to cry in pain as they then held onto their own chests with their hooves and claws before they both turned back to Agatha and looked at her again with angry eyes and their brows furrowed in anger, but Agatha was in fact the one who really suffered the most.

Then, Agatha yelled in pain "I guess that's it! If these two so called majesties still thinks that I'm still evil and dares to attack and harass me just because of my horrible past, then maybe I should just go away and leave you all alone and will not return until I feel like it's safe for me to come back!", but then Rarity begged "Agatha, please, don't go!", but then Agatha turned and tried to give her a reassuring smile and said "It's okay, Rarity. It's for the best. Trust me.", before she then slowly turned around and started to walk away from everyone else and then she left the throne room, but once she exited and left the royal castle, Agatha started to run away with tears forming and rolling down her eyes and trailing behind her as she continued to run, and eventually she left Canterlot, but she didn't returned back to Ponyville, but went all the way to the green meadows near the Everfree Forest to have some time alone with herself so she can let go of her pain.

After everyone watched Agatha leaving in pain and in tears, Cadance and Ember both gave a proud smirk at what they have just done, but then Rarity approached them and then she said to them "Cadance, Ember, for being among the rulers of Equestria, how could you two do this to Agatha?! She means no harm no more! Why don't you believe anything she says?", but then Cadance said back to her "Because she meant nothing but trouble to all of us and to all of our world, and her owners even dumped both Shujaa and Kenai behind them and replaced them with a pure black giraffe and a golden zebra!", and then Ember added "We just want to say that that evil lioness finally got what she really deserved - to be chased away from Equestria, and that's all!".

However, Sweetie Belle and Spike both stepped forward as well and then they both angrily yelled up at Cadance and at Ember right in the faces, starting with Sweetie Belle yelling "You two don't even know her now, but you'll get to know her once you both finally give her a chance!", and then Spike added "Now look what you've done to Agatha - she ran away in pain and in tears! How can you two be still happy with that?!", but then Cadance said back and warned "You two shall watch your tongues when you're speaking to rulers like us like that!", and then Ember added "She had her chance to serve as Yigal's evil lioness - and she failed! Now she got just what she deserves for the rest of her life - to be all alone!".

However, before the argument can continue and go any further, everyone suddenly heard some babies crying, and at first, they all thought it was Kayden and Tallulah who are both crying because they may be hungry or thirsty, but when they all looked at them, they saw that they're not the ones who are crying, but then they pointed and motioned towards both Simba and Sirga the baby Liontaurs, who are in fact the ones who are really crying, and when Rarity saw the two precious baby Liontaurs crying, she trotted up to them and then she tried to comfort them and calm them down, but then she realized the real reason to why they're both crying - Simba and Sirga want their adoptive and surrogate mother (Agatha) back, as they both missed her so much.

When everyone realized what mistake Cadance and Ember just did that caused the baby Liontaurs to cry, Celestia spoke up and said "You have to find Agatha and bring her back!", and then Luna added "She's these precious baby Liontaurs' adoptive and surrogate mother, and they love her so much that watching her leaving in pain caused them both to cry like this!", and so Celestia and Luna tasked every creature to go and find Agatha and take and bring her back home, and they also tasked Cadance and Ember to apologize to Agatha for their cruel actions and for mistakenly believing that she's still evil once they find her, but when the two female equestrian rulers heard what Celestia and Luna said, Cadance begged and tried to say "But we don't want to!", but Celestia and Luna both looked down at her and at Ember with stern looks on their faces, and when Cadance and Ember knew that they don't really have much of a choice but to go with everyone else to search and look for Agatha, they looked at each other for a moment and then Cadance said to her and asked "You think what I'm thinking?", and then Ember said back "Yeah, I do. It's our fault that Agatha ran away in pain and in tears like this.", and then Rarity approached the both of them and then she said "And you two are going to help us all find her and bring her back home, and of course, you two have no choice but to apologize to her for what you both did to her, which resulted in and caused her to run away like this!", and so Celestia and Luna bid temporal farewell to everyone else and said that both will wait for them all until they come back and return with Agatha, and so Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Tah, the mane seven, the CMC, Spike, Shujaa, Kenai, Bluebell, Zach, Layla, Aron, Linda, and Trog and all the other babies and toddlers (including Simba and Sirga the baby Liontaurs) all left the royal castle and embarked on a long journey to search for Agatha, and Shining Armor, Cadance, Flurry Heart and Ember also (reluctantly) followed them all close behind.


	103. Chapter 102:Agatha meets Akeno

Meanwhile, Agatha is already sitting down under the tree in the middle of the meadow near the Everfree Forest, and she's still trying to ease the pain in both her mind and her heart, but with no success. Then, Agatha said in a sad and pained tone "I guess that's it, if Yigal and Tony Black don't want me anymore, and if these Cadance and Ember want me to be taken down and destroyed for my head just because they think I'm still evil, then I guess I don't belong anywhere anymore!", and then she added and cried "It's all over forever! I have nowhere to go!", and then she covered and buried her own head and face in her own forepaws as some more tears of sadness and great pain threatened to escape her eyes.

For three hours, Agatha sat and lied down under the tree in the middle of the meadow near the Everfree Forest, and during the first hour, she cried out her very soul as she believed that now she have nowhere to go to anymore, but during the second and third hours, Agatha fell asleep as she couldn't continue to cry about what just happened to her back in the royal castle in Canterlot, but then she suddenly felt a large hoof touching down at her back, and she also sensed by its shape that it's not a pony or any equine's hoof, but was instead the cloven hoof of a large ruminant, and when she slowly raised up her head and moved it away from her own forepaws, she looked up to see an adult male giraffe-like ruminant ungulate looking down at her while touching at her back with one of his front cloven hooves.

The adult male giraffe-like ruminant ungulate who was touching and looking down at Agatha was an adult male okapi, but he's also the third animal who is not a part of Yigal and his brothers and Pegasus friend's animal team, but instead belongs to Lysander's shape-shifting animals team - it was Akeno. Akeno looked down at Agatha for about five long minutes, before Agatha then asked him "W-who are you?", and then Akeno said back "Hi there, white lioness. I'm Akeno, Asha's nephew, and I was once a part of her family until they banished me away. Though I still must say, pleasure to meet you, Miss.", but when Agatha heard what he just said, she was shocked to know that he's actually calling her 'Miss' rather than insulting her by calling her 'bad luck' like Buldeo does.

Then, Akeno asked her back "And who are you, Miss white lioness?", and when Agatha heard what he said, she answered and explained "Well, I'm Agatha, Yigal's former lioness who have recently betrayed him for dumping me behind himself to care for a useless baby boy he found and brought to our home.". However, when Akeno heard that Agatha was once Yigal's lioness, he gasped in shock, but decided not to lash out at her for being once belonged to humans, but then he also asked "Really?", and then Agatha said back and explained "Yes, he and my tiger brother, Tony Black, as well as all the others turned on me to care for a stupid and useless baby human boy whom Yigal and Tony Black themselves have found. His name was Dan Ashmor, but he's not what he seems to be. He may look like a good little human boy, but deep inside, he's a complete monster full of great evil, just like Yigal and the others.", and then she sighed and added "Because of him, I ran away from home and decided to never return back for the rest of my life.".

When Akeno heard what she said about the new evil human who recently appeared in Equestria which caused her to run away and leave Yigal and all the other villains for good, he was shocked by this and then he asked Agatha "Whoa! What did you do before you ran away like you did? Did you fought back?", but then Agatha sniffled and said "No, I didn't. If I would've harmed that baby boy instead of just spilling that vegetable soup on his face like I did, i would've been whipped on my back by Yigal not just once or twice, but between a hundred to a hundred and twenty times.", and then she added "And then all the others yelled at me at the top of their lungs to go, which I did, before I watched them leaving with the baby for a walking trip outside, and that's when I made my next move - writing a permanent goodbye letter to everyone who cared for me for all these years, only to eventually betray me and leave me alone for that baby Dan, and once I finished writing my permanent goodbye letter to all the other villains, I finally ran away from home, never to return.".

When Akeno heard what Agatha said about what she did before she ran away from her original, lifetime-long home with the villains, he was shocked to know and understand what she's been through before, before he then asked "And then?", and then Agatha explained to Akeno about how did she got rescued by ponies and was brought to Ponyville Hospital, only to escape and join Jayma's lion pride, yet only later to be banished after Jayma's 'death' at the paws of her own brother Buldeo, only to eventually find out that he's the one who is bad and not her and expose his deception not only to Jayma's pride, but also to all of Ponyville, before she fought and defeated him and later officially announced her own redemption to the good side to all of Ponyville, to all of Canterlot, and also to all of Jayma's pride, before she chose to live with Rarity and Sweetie Belle in Carousel Boutique in Ponyville so she can start anew and forget about Yigal and about all the other villains forever.

However, she then quickly added "But even though I was happy to live with Rarity and with her lovely sister, Sweetie Belle, for these past three weeks, my happiness is shuttered and destroyed when everything for me just turned upside down again, when Cadance and Ember saw me. They both thought that I'm still evil and they even forced me to attack and fight back against the both of them, and I ended up scratching them and slashing at their bodies and chests in order to keep them at bay, before I finally couldn't take their insults they laid on me, and so I ended up running away in tears, but I promised Rarity and all her friends that I will still return home, but only after Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and Ember all leave Canterlot and the royal castle and return back to their respective homes, in the Crystal Empire and in the Dragon Lands.".

However, when Akeno heard what Agatha said about Cadance and Ember believing that she's still evil, the evil okapi said "Wow, wow, wow, wow! WOW! Did you just said that the princess of the Crystal Empire and the dragon lord from the Dragon Lands want you dead?!", but when Agatha heard what he just said, she answered back "I never said that, but I still could've if I wanted. I wish I could just find someplace to go to, and then stay and live in for the time being, until Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and Ember all leave Canterlot and the royal castle and return back to their respective homes, in the Crystal Empire and in the Dragon Lands.", and then she sighed and looked away from Akeno, thus showing him that she thinks that she lost everything once again, and that for her finding a new place where she can go to, stay and live in would prove to be hopeless.

However, Akeno came up with an idea that will 'help' Agatha 'escape' Cadance and Ember and move to someplace 'safe' for her to live in until they, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart all leave Canterlot and the royal castle and return back to their respective homes in the Crystal Empire and in the Dragon Lands, and then he said to Agatha "You know what, Kitty? I know about a safe place good enough for you to go to, stay and live in not only for a while, but also forever!", and when Agatha heard what he said, she asked the male okapi, still not really knowing who he really is "What kind of safe place did you thought about in mind? Where should I go to?", and then Akeno answered and explained "To the Kirin village, Kitty. I'm sure you'd really like it there. It's just the right place where you can go to for safety and protection.".

However, when Agatha heard what he said about the Kirin village, she said "No, it's too far away from here. It may take me up to four days to travel all the way there.", but then Akeno said "That's exactly why we're going to use a train to reach there, but first-", and then he cut himself for a moment and then he used his evil magic to make ten bits appear out of thin air, and then he added "We're going to pay for our tickets.", thus shocking and amazing Agatha with the magic he's capable of, before he then said to her "Let's go, Kitty! The train is waiting for us!", but then Agatha said "You don't have to call me 'Kitty', Akeno. Just call me Agatha, everyone does.", but then Akeno said to her "I know, but to me you look like a big white kitty who just needs the right home she truly deserves!", and then he added "Now let's go now or else we'll be missing the train!", and when Agatha heard what he said, she sniffled a bit, before she then stood back up on her feet and said to Akeno with tears forming in her eyes "Thank you so much, Akeno! You're really a good friend!", but Akeno just used her words to his own advantage, before he lied and said "Yes, I know. You can really trust me, Kitty. But now, we both need to go to the train station to pay for our tickets.", and then he asked her "What do you say? Do you trust me? Do you really want to come with me so you can escape your newest enemies?", and when Agatha heard what the male okapi said, tears of joy started to roll down her eyes and then she said "Yes! I do! Please, take me with you to the Kirin village! I wanna live there in peace and have protection against my two newest enemies!".

With these words being said, Agatha is now willing to go with Akeno to the Kirin village so she can 'escape' from Cadance and Ember and find a 'safe' place where she can stay and live in forever, and this is when Akeno said to her "Let's go, Kitty!", and then he turned tail and started to run away, and Agatha soon followed him close behind as the two went together all the way to the train station so they can pay for two tickets (one for Agatha, and another for Akeno) so they both can go on the train that goes to the Kirin village.


	104. Chapter 103:Agatha disappears

Later, after running and and traveling as fast as they both could towards the train station for about a while, Agatha and Akeno finally reached together to the train station, and then Akeno spent the ten bits which he made to appear using his magic, and as a result - he received two tickets which he paid for so they can both aboard and go on the train, which indeed goes to the Kirin village, and then Akeno said to Agatha, who kept following behind him "Come on, Kitty! The train is about to leave! We must hurry up and board the train! It's our only chance!".

However, before Agatha can board the train, the train driver pony stopped her and said to her, despite Akeno paid for their tickets "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you board the train. Even if you have a ticket, you're not allowed to go on this train. You better leave now or else I call the security, Yigal's evil lioness!", and when Agatha and Akeno both heard what the insulting stallion just said to Agatha, the white lioness gasped in shock before she slowly turned to go away and she was about to leave with tears forming and rolling down her eyes, as she thought that her last chance to escape from Cadance and Ember was nothing but a waste of time and that she's going to be 'killed' by them very soon.

However, just then, Akeno forcefully yanked the stallion out of the train and then yelled at him in the face "You jerk! You can't talk to the poor Kitty like that just because she was once Yigal's lioness! That Kitty have changed, and she really needs help! So you can't just shoe her away just because of her horrible past, but you must help her instead!", and then he added as he then placed a cloven forehoof on the stallion's chest to prevent him from trying to escape "And just to let you know one more thing you need to know - this white lioness is with ME! So, if you dare to insult her just because of her horrible past, then you're messing up with me too, Mister! Now I suggest you shall call for her to come back and then you're going to let us both board this train, because I'M the one who paid for our tickets!", and then the male okapi roared down at the stallion at the top of his lungs "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY?!", and when the stallion heard what Akeno said, he shook with great fear at the male okapi's angry outburst before he nodded in agreement, and when Akeno saw the stallion's cooperation with him, Akeno raised his cloven forehoof up so to let him go, and this is when the stallion called for Agatha to come back, and when the white lioness heard him calling for her to come back, she reluctantly listened and responded to his calls and so she then went back towards the train with tears still welling up in her eyes.

Then, when Agatha reached back to the train, the train driver pony said to her "I'm sorry for what I said to you. I didn't know you're really suffering from traumatic experience and from a great loss. I was wrong when I treated you like that before you even boarded the train. Please, accept my apology, Agatha. I'm sorry I didn't know you left that monster Yigal because he turned on you and caused you to run away from your old home. Now please board the train, Agatha. You're given personal rights to go on this train to the Kirin village, and when we all get to the final stop very close and near the village, I wish you good luck and I hope that you will find a good place for yourself to stay and live in there so you can heal from your painful trauma. You're very welcome, Agatha.", and when she heard what the stallion said and realized that now he's apologizing to her for not really understanding her before she was even able to board the train, Agatha gave a weak yet happy smile before she then turned to Akeno, who then nodded to her in agreement that she can go on the train that goes to the Kirin village and go there along with him.

Then, Akeno said to Agatha "I persuaded the train driver pony to let you go on and board the train because of what happened to you, and also because I paid for the tickets for the both of us, but there's also something I still have to say.", and then he lied and added "I love you, Agatha. And I truly accept being your friend.", and when Agatha heard what the male okapi said, she gasped in shock before tears of joy, not of sadness and/or pain, started to well up in her eyes, before she then stood upright on her hinder paws and hugged up at Akeno's neck and shoulders with her forepaws, and then she said to him as she looked up at him in the face "Thank you, Akeno! You're really a good friend! I'm so happy I met you!", before she cried joyfully into his chest fur, not even knowing that Akeno is actually lying to her about wanting to be her friend, but the male okapi still accepted the hug from the white lioness who trusted him and believed in him from the time they first met and until now.

Then, when Agatha let go of Akeno's body, he said as he looked down at her with a gentle yet also a fake smile "Now let's go on this train, Kitty. We wouldn't want to wait for the next train which goes to the Kirin village to be the one on which we will go on instead.", and when Agatha heard what he said, she looked up at him and said to him back "Right!" and then she added "Let's go!", and so the white lioness and the male okapi climbed, entered and boarded the train, and then they searched for two seats where they can sit down and relax while the train goes to the Kirin village, and after a short time, the two found two empty seats near one of the train's left windows, and so they went up to these two empty seats and sat down near one the train's left windows, and once they both sat down and relaxed on their seats, the train's doors slowly closed, and once they're closed and shut, the train slowly started to move and after no more than two minutes, Agatha and Akeno really felt that they're moving, thus showing them that the train is now going to the Kirin village, and Agatha and Akeno both hoped that they'll be able to get there in almost no time.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Tah and everyone else (including the Crystal Empire's royal family and the dragon lord) arrived at the meadow near the Everfree Forest and they're now searching for clues in order to track down Agatha, and then, after searching for some clues, they all stumbled upon her pawprints, but then they all also saw Akeno's cloven hoofprints next to Agatha's pawprints, which immediately told Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to tell everyone else that Akeno was in the meadow and that he took Agatha away with him, and when they all heard what the three of them said, they all (even the Crystal Empire's royal family and the dragon lord) gasped in shock, before Cadance said with a little regret "Now I feel a little bit sorry for what we both did to that poor Agatha.", and then Ember added while also feeling a little regret "I feel the same way you feel about Agatha, Cadance.", and then she pointed out and added "Besides, it's our fault that she ran away from the royal castle and then from Canterlot like this.", and then Tah said to them "That's exactly why we're all going to follow Agatha's pawprints! We all have to find her and bring her back home!", and then she approached them close and added a bit firmly "And we're all going to do so ALL TOGETHER!", and then Cadance and Ember turned to look at each other and nodded to each other nervously as they didn't wanted to anger or underestimate the mother Rhinotauress, who could've harmed the both of them if she ever wanted, due to her size, speed, strength, and particularly - her horns.

Meanwhile, while everyone followed Agatha and Akeno's trails, Agatha and Akeno themselves are both enjoying sitting down and relaxing inside the train, which is now already halfway to the Kirin village (and is still going there), but deep inside, Agatha slowly started to miss Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Spike whom she saw, knew and loved as her best friends, and she even missed Simba and Sirga the baby Liontaurs (whom she saw, knew and called her own children), but she tried to hide her feelings from Akeno as she was afraid she might make him angry if she tells him that she misses all of her friends.

Later, after a while, the train suddenly slowed down until it finally came to a stop, thus showing it was the end of the rail, but then Agatha turned to see that outside was an unfamiliar area that she have never seen before, but then she saw some of the ponies, who were passengers on the same train she and Akeno went on coming out of the train as the doors of the train opened to let them all climbed down and go out of the train, and this is when Akeno said to her "Now we need to go, Kitty! We're close to the Kirin village!", but then Agatha asked himme and said "Where? I don't see any Kirins, and I don't even see any village either!", but then Akeno said to her "That's because it's deep inside that big forest standing way over there!", and then he pointed with a cloven forehoof at the big forest which stood far away from the train station, and then he and Agatha both climbed out, went out and left the train, thus finally getting outside at last.

Then, once Agatha and Akeno were both outside, Akeno then used his magic to teleport both himself and Agatha to a spot at the opening of the big forest which stood far away from them, and once the two reached that spot through Akeno's teleportation spell, Akeno then said to Agatha "Now that's exactly when I'm going to say 'there we go'!", and then he started to walk into the big forest, but Agatha stood still behind and she looked nervously at the big forest as she watched Akeno continuing to walk without her deeper into the big forest, and then she asked herself "Should I really trust Akeno on this one as well?", and then she added "I mean, what I was trying to say is that I know I can trust Akeno because he helped me so far from when we first met and until now, but should I really just follow him into this big forest?", and then she continued and asked herself "What if there's a Maulwurf waiting in there to just maul down at me, a pack of Timberwolves ready to just tear me apart, or even worse - a large Crocophant waiting for me to just come to it so it can run into me from out of nowhere and trample me to death under its massive body frame?", and then she looked again into the forest in the direction Akeno went into, but much to her shock and surprise, Akeno was not there anymore, in other words - Akeno was gone.

When Agatha noticed that Akeno suddenly have vanished like if he was never there before, she called and then asked herself "Akeno? Where did he go? He was there walking into this big forest just a minute ago, but how did he suddenly vanished and disappeared like that?", and then she thought to herself what she should do, and after five minutes of consideration, she finally made it up in her mind and said "I guess I should just go after him and see where did he go. Akeno might be furious with me if he realizes that I didn't came along with him.", and so Agatha decided to go into the big forest and then she started to search for Akeno.

Then, Agatha started to call for Akeno as she searched for him everywhere in the big forest "Akeno! Where are you? Akeno? Akeno, where did you go? Akeno?", but suddenly at some point, she felt the ground making some sounds below her paws, and so she mistakenly thought that it was Akeno, and so Agatha asked "Akeno? Is that you?", but then the sounds below her paws became stronger until suddenly the ground ripped and tore itself apart and a big hole suddenly opened right below Agatha's paws, thus sending her falling down and screaming as she fell and descended down the newly formed hole below the big forest and into the underground below, and once Agatha was underground, the big hole above her closed like it have never been there and also like nothing have ever happened.


	105. Chapter 104:the queen is still alive

After she fell down the hole for about a single minute, Agatha ended up sliding down and eventually she landed in an underground cave below the big forest which was where the Kirin village is located, but since the Kirin village is located in the middle of the big forest, this means that Agatha just arrived at the wrong place. Then, after she looked all over the inside of the underground cave, she then asked "Hello? Is anyone there? Where am I? Where's the way out?", but then she suddenly heard a familiar voice laughing evilly at her, which made her jump and step aback in fear before she quickly recognized the voice and then she asked "Akeno? Is that you?".

However, shortly after Agatha said that, a scary image of Akeno suddenly came out of nowhere and then he evilly said to her "Hello there again, Agatha!", but then the white lioness asked the okapi image in fear "Akeno, what it this place?", and then Akeno's scary image evilly said "The underground caves beneath the Kirin village and beneath its surrounding forest. Once the home for evil lions and other animals who tried to kill all the Kirins and rule their entire home.", and then he added as his image suddenly vanished and reappeared right behind the white lioness with an evil smile "And now - your prison, filthy white lioness!", and when Agatha heard what he said about her and about the underground caves now being her prison, she gasped in shock, started to run away and cried "Help! Help! Help me!".

However, Akeno's scary and evil image just laughed evilly at her before he disappeared and reappeared next to her on the right and evilly said "It's no use, Kitty! No one can hear you down here, and no one will ever think to look for you either!", and then he then added as he suddenly disappeared and reappeared again next to her on the left "Most ponies, most non-ponies and most other animals have completely forgotten that these caves even exist, which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who think they can really trust me or any of my friends!", before Akeno's image burst into an evil laughter and pointed a cloven forehoof down at Agatha, thus shocking her to the very core when she finally realized and saw through Akeno's deception and true intentions.

Then, Agatha asked in shock but also in a bit of pain "You mean, that you're not really trying to help me after all? So we're not really friends?", but then Akeno insulted her and evilly said "Ha! Did you really thought you could trust me, Kitty?! You're such a gullible and pitiful white lioness, I have to admit and agree with that! And by the way, if you thought I really tried to help you out with your so-called 'painful' and 'life-threatening situation', then let me tell you something that you really need to know, white lioness - I LIED!" he yelled in his evil tone before he burst into an evil laughter once again, thus shocking Agatha to the very core for the second time when she realized that he never really wanted to help her at all, and that instead he fooled her and only led her into a trap.

However, Agatha cried and said "I thought we're friends! You helped me so far ever since we first met each other at the meadow near the Everfree Forest! You yelled at a rude stallion just to allow and help me board on the train! I even hugged you and thanked you with all my heart after you stood up for me! I even loved you!", but then Akeno's image yelled at her and said in his evil tone "Pathetic! You were a complete fool when you trusted me! Now you see that I wasn't even and also will never be your friend, Kitty!", but then Agatha cried "No, Akeno! Please! Don't go away! Don't leave me here all alone! I have feelings for you for everything we've been through together!", but when Akeno's image heard what she said, he evilly said back to the white lioness "It doesn't matter what you think about me either as a friend or as an enemy, because you're not going anywhere and you're leaving this underground place either!", and then he added in his evil and threatening tone "You're gonna stay and rot in these caves for the rest of your life!", and then he burst into an evil laughter once again, thus shocking Agatha to the very core for the third time when she realized that she's going to serve a life sentence in the underground caves and rot and live in them to the last day of her life.

Then, Akeno's image said to her "Goodbye now, Agatha! And remember - you're special to me and I really like you! JUST KIDDING!", and then he laughed evilly at her one last time before the evil okapi's scary image finally disappeared and never returned again, thus leaving Agatha all alone in the underground caves. After Akeno's image disappeared and never reappeared again, Agatha cried and begged "No, Akeno! Please, come back! I love you, my friend! Don't leave me here all alone!", but Agatha's cries and begs for Akeno to come back to save her were all utterly futile, and it didn't took her long before she soon realized that Akeno will never come back to save her, and once she realized the bitter truth, she lowered herself down on all four legs before she then lied down on her belly, covered her face in her forepaws and started to cry, as now she knew that Akeno will never return to save her, and apparently, the rest of her life will be spent in the dark underground caves, alone.

Meanwhile, Akeno used his magic to teleport himself and return back to the train station, but not to the one where he and Agatha arrived together a bit far away from the big forest surrounding the Kirin village, but to the one where they boarded and went on the train that goes to the point which was a bit far away from the big forest surrounding the Kirin village, but as Akeno thought that he succeed in getting rid of Agatha, his luck and his evil joyful moments were short-lived when he suddenly saw Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else (including the Crystal Empire's royal family and the dragon lord) all looking at him, which made Akeno swallow and look at them all nervously.

When everyone saw the evil male okapi again after everything bad he have done so far in all these years, they all gasped in shock before they all then yelled and said out loud "AKENO?!", but Akeno just looked at them all nervously and he even shook a little bit in fear before he then asked "What are you all doing here? What are you all looking for? What's going on here?", and then Rarity stepped forward and then she said to the evil male okapi "We're searching and looking for Agatha, Akeno.", and then Sweetie Belle stepped forward as well and stopped by her side and added "Yah! We're searching for Agatha, and this is definitely not your business, Akeno! So please, get lost!", and when Akeno heard what Rarity and Sweetie Belle both said about they and everyone else were all searching together for Agatha and were looking everywhere for her, he gasped and shock and then he stepped aback a little bit as fear can be seen shaking and trembling behind his eyes.

However, Akeno tried to do his best to snap out of his fear and then he said while still shaking a bit "Well, what a surprise!", but when everyone heard what he just said, they all raised their eyebrows in curiosity as they all suddenly wanted to know what he's talking about, before Tah stepped forward as well and then she said "Enough playing games with all of us, Akeno! Please, tell us where's Agatha and we'll be on our way to find her!", but then Akeno said back "I think you all may be just wasting your time looking for that poor helpless Kitty!", but when everyone heard what he just said, Rainbow Dash then asked "Kitty? Who's Kitty?" and then she added and pointed out "Only Rarity here has a pet cat, but her name is not Kitty, her name was Opalescence, or Opal for short!".

However, Akeno then laughed at Rainbow Dash's words a little bit and then he said "I was not talking about that stupid cat of your friend here, rainbow-maned Pegasus! I was talking about a white lioness whom I call Kitty!", but when he said that, everyone gasped in shock once again, and then Rainbow Dash asked "Wow, wow, wait a minute! How do you even know about Agatha?", and then Akeno explained "Because she told me about herself, and she also told me that she's been suffering from a life-threatening situation in which two female equestrian rulers want to hunt her down, destroy her and mount and hang her head on the wall!".

When everyone heard what Akeno just said, they all gasped in shock once more before Twilight asked him "Akeno, what are you even talking about?", and then the evil male okapi explained "Agatha told me that an Alicorn princess and a dragon princess whose names are Cadance and Ember both wanted to destroy her because they think she's still evil, and that's exactly why I decided to take the poor white lioness with me to the Kirin village so she can escape from them and continue to live there a wonderful life without any of you crashing her!", and then he laughed evilly at them all in the faces and he even pointed a cloven forehoof of his own at all of them.

Then, however, Cadance and Ember both suddenly approached the evil male okapi together, and then they both looked up at him in the eyes before Cadance said first "How dare you referring us to a couple of vicious monsters?!", and then Ember added "Who do you even think you are, you old ugly okapi?!", but then Akeno said to them "You both should know that is the truth, and Agatha knows you still want her to be destroyed because she was once Yigal's lioness, isn't she?", but thenI Cadance said back "We don't want to mean her harm no more! Ember and I we're are the ones who made that huge mistake when we chased Agatha away when we both refused to listen to everything she said about her own redemption to the good side!", and then Ember added "We would never want to kill that poor white lioness and mount and hang her head on a wall! That is simply barbaric to mount and/or hang real animals' heads on walls!".

However, Akeno evilly said "But she still told me that she's not coming back for as long as she knows you're both still hunting her down!", but then Cadance said back "No, we don't! We're not searching or looking for her so we can hunt her down, we're searching and looking for her because we both want to talk to her and apologize to her for our rotten actions towards her which we accidentally did by a huge mistake!", and then Ember added "When we find Agatha, we're both making sure she's listening to our apology! She really needs to know that we don't want to harm her anymore! We both want to show her that we both came to understand her recent pain she have been through which eventually led to her redemption to the good side and become good at last!", and then Cadance said "It was our fault that she ran away!", and then Ember added "But we're going to get her back!", and then the two turned to look at each other for a moment, and then they wrapped, grabbed and held tight at each other's clawed hand and forehoof and then they said together in unison "Together!", thus shocking and surprising everyone, who looked at the both of them in shock when they all saw the tight cooperation between the two female equestrian rulers, who are both determined and are very willing to work together in order to find Agatha, apologize to her for their actions towards her and for their huge mistake they have done and take her back home.

Even Akeno himself was shocked to see Cadance and Ember are now both very willing and determined to find Agatha, apologize to her and take her back home, but thenI he quickly shook him head and snapped out of his shocked state and then he said "Very well then, so go ahead and search for that filthy white lioness, but I still must warn you all, and especially you two, Princess Cadance and Dragon Lord Ember, you're just wasting your time worrying about her, because I bet you'll never be able to find her anymore! She's trapped in a place that almost every living creature here have forgotten about its existence, just to let you all know!", and then he laughed evilly before he then used his magic to teleport himself away from the train station and disappear from everyone's eyes as he teleported himself to somewhere else and to someplace unknown.

However, even though Akeno disappeared, everyone were all still determined to continue and keep searching and looking for Agatha, and so they all decided to teleport themselves and each other to the Kirin village in hopes that there they all will find Agatha, and so Twilight, Cadance, Bluebell, Starlight, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and even Rarity used their magic all together to teleport themselves and everyone else with them to the Kirin village to search there for Agatha, find her and take her back home.

Meanwhile, Agatha is still lying down helplessly and she's sobbing and whimpering in sadness and pain as she realized that Akeno never really wanted to help her and was never really her friend, and at some point, after sobbing and whimpering for long, Agatha eventually fell asleep and lied down on her side inside the underground caves with a single tear escaping her eye, but what she did not know is that she's not alone in the underground caves at all. Just then, a shadow of a big lion suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started to stalk and approach Agatha's sleeping body, but when the shadow's colors revealed, it turned out to be none other than Jayma, who have revealed to have survived falling into the river at the bottom of the ravine and also have managed to survive drowning as she got swept away by the current, thus showing and proving that she was been still alive all along and never died when Buldeo threw her off the cliff into the ravine and into the river below.

When Jayma saw Agatha lying down on her side and sleeping (but not dead), Jayma whispered "Agatha. It's you. It's nice to see you again, my beloved white lioness.", and then she added as she tried to move below Agatha and tried to place her down on top of herself and on her back "Let me carry you out of here, my friend.", and once Agatha was lying down on top of Jayma and right on her back, Jayma slowly started to move and so she walked away with Agatha lying down on top of her long, muscular and larger back, and after walking around and inside the underground caves for a while (while carrying Agatha on her back), Jayma finally found a way which leads out of the underground caves, and so she finally managed to escape the underground caves with Agatha and returned back to the big forest surrounding the Kirin village, and once they're back in the big forest, Jayma decided to carry and take Agatha along with her to the Kirin village, and so she went all the way to the Kirin village while still carrying Agatha along on top of herself and on her back so not to lose her, and after a while of walking around in the big forest, Jayma and Agatha finally arrived in the Kirin village.


	106. Chapter 105:the lionesses' reunion

Later, after Agatha was been brought to the Kirin village by Jayma, she's taken into one of the Kirin's homes so she can wake up and recover properly, and after being asleep (or unconscious) for more almost a full hour, Agatha finally started to move a little bit, and then she slowly opened up her eyes and realized and found out that she's no longer in the underground caves, but as she slowly sat upright, Agatha asked herself "What is this place? Is this the Kirin village? How did I even got here?", and then she added "If Akeno tricked me into trusting him, then how come I still in the Kirin village after all?", but just then, she heard a familiar female voice talking to her and saying to her softly behind her back "Welcome back, Agatha. My best friend.", and when Agatha stood back up on her feet, she slowly turned around to see Jayma alive and well standing in front of her, before Jayma said to her softly "It's nice to see you again, Agatha.", and then she asked her "Did you missed me, my friend?".

However, when Agatha saw Jayma still alive since she saw her falling into the ravine and into the fast-streaming river and 'drowning' right in front of her eyes, Agatha gasped in shock and stepped aback in a bit of fear, as she thought that she's looking at Jayma's ghost, but then Jayma asked her "What's wrong, Agatha? Don't you remember me?", but then Agatha cried and said "No, it can't be you! It's impossible! I saw you drowning to death before my eyes!", but then Jayma said to her "Look, I know what you might be thinking about me and believing that I'm dead, but I'm not really dead, I'm alive and well just before your eyes! It IS me!", but then Agatha cried "No! You're not real! You're a ghost! Please, stay away from me!", and then she turned around and started to run away from the house to which she brought when she was asleep (or unconscious), but Jayma soon followed behind her and called for her to come back.

however, Agatha just ignored her before she then climbed up a tree and managed to get to a branch which was standing eleven feet above and away from the ground, and at first she thought she's 'safe', but then she suddenly heard Jayma's voice still calling for her, and then she turned and looked down to see the maned lioness looking up at her from the ground, before she then called for her "Agatha, please! Get down from this tree! We really need to talk!", but then Agatha cried "Please, leave me alone! I know you're dead! Even Buldeo told me that you're dead before I defeated him! He killed you! You're a ghost!", but then Jayma said "But I'm NOT dead! In fact, I survived drowning and I'm still alive, here and now! I even saved your life and I brought you to the Kirin village after I found you sleeping deeply in those underground caves!".

However, when Agatha heard what she said, she then asked "You did what?!", before she then suddenly jumped down from the tree branch and landed safely on the ground below and then stepped forward and approached Jayma and said to her "Well, it's a very interesting story, maned lioness, but that doesn't make any sense.", and then she added and asked "If you said that you're Jayma and that you saved my life from the underground caves despite I've already seen you falling to the river and drowning before my eyes, how could you possibly know of my whereabouts back then?", but then Jayma said "Allow me to explain.".

 _Flashback - what happened to Jayma from her own point of view_

 _Jayma successfully managed to grab and hold tightly onto the edge of the cliff with her forepaws and claws, but she's still unable to pull herself up to safety and so she called for help. However, before Agatha could come and help her, Buldeo knocked her out cold and went up to Jayma and then he looked over the cliff and saw her below him hanging between life and death and crying for help. Then, when Jayma looked up and saw Buldeo looking down at her from the edge of the cliff, she cried and begged "Buldeo! Please, brother! Help me!", and then she tried to pull herself up, but to no avail, but rather than giving his own forepaws to his sister in order to pull her up to safety, Buldeo just looked down at his helpless maned sister with an evil smirk on his face, before he then snarled and dug his own claws into Jayma's forepaws, thus causing her to roar in pain as she looked up to see Buldeo's evil face going down and looking closer and closer at her own face, until the evil male lion's face was only an inch away from Jayma's horrified face, and then he said to her with an evil tone "Goodbye, sister. It's all over, here and now. Long live the queen.", thus shocking and horrifying Jayma when she realized that her own brother Buldeo just betrayed her, but now it was too late._

 _Then, Buldeo purposely let go of Jayma, but at the same time he also loosened her grip of the edge of the cliff and caused her to fall down into the ravine, before he quickly ran away from the edge of the cliff and hid behind some nearby rocks, and just then, Agatha slowly recovered from the knocking out slap and gained back her consciousness and slowly got back up on her feet, only to suddenly hear Jayma's screaming voice as she continued to fall and plummeted into the ravine below, and so when Agatha went up to the edge of the cliff and looked down, she saw Jayma falling down and plummeting into the river below, before she landed in the fast-streaming river at the bottom of the ravine and got swept and washed away by the current, thus seemingly drowning to death right in front of Agatha's eyes, before the white lioness screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as she saw her newest friend seemingly drowning to death as she got swept and washed away by the current of the fast-streaming river at the bottom of the ravine, thus apparently losing her newest friend._

 _Wrong. Jayma didn't drowned in the river and didn't died at all - after Agatha started mourning Jayma, only then to be banished away by Buldeo soon afterwards, Jayma tried to keep her own head out of the water and gasp for air as she tried to swim against the current, but she soon ended up falling down a waterfall and after a few minutes, she got washed ashore, and she was alive and well when she successfully escaped her fate, and once she recovered and stood back up on her feet, Jayma had an angry scowl forming on her face, but it's not because of Agatha, but because of Buldeo, before she angrily said "Buldeo, how dare you doing this to me?! I trusted you like a real sister does, and in the end, all you did was trying to kill me because you didn't wanted to accept Agatha to our pride! I will find my way back to my pride, I will tell them all of your deception and I will show them all that Agatha deserves to by one of our pride!", and then yelled in anger "WHY?!" as she stomped a forepaw on the ground with rage burning in her eyes when she realized that Buldeo tried to kill her because he hated Agatha and wanted to banish her away for no other reason except for and because of her (Agatha) being a white lioness, but then she softened a bit as she then tried to say "Don't worry, Agatha. I will never blame you for what happened to me. It's not your fault, It's Buldeo's. Hold on, Agatha, my best friend. I'm coming for you, and I will show you I'm still alive and well. I promise.", and then Jayma started her long journey and so she started to search for both Agatha and for the rest of her lion pride in order to show them all that she's still alive and well after all, tell them all about Buldeo's deception and also show them all that Agatha do deserves to stay and live with all of them and feel like she's in a good home, in and among her lion pride._

 _End of Jayma's flashback_

When Agatha heard everything that happened to Jayma in her own flashback which told her how did she managed to survive and escape her fate, she gasped in shock when she realized that Jayma who is standing right in front of her is actually still alive after all, but then, Agatha soon shook her head and snapped out of her shocked state and then she looked at Jayma with a beaming and happy smile before she then threw herself at her and gave her a tight and loving lion hug as her reunion with her maned female friend finally came true, before the white lioness cried happily "You're still alive after all! This makes me so happy!", and then Jayma returned the lion hug before she said back "And you know how much I love you and like you as my best friend! You're the strongest lioness I've ever met in my life!", but then Agatha asked her "What do you mean?", and once the two lionesses broke their lion hug and pulled away from each other, Jayma explained "I heard about what you did to my manipulative and disgraceful brother, and I do appreciate what you've done when you defeated him, but even so, you didn't defeated him for good, because I watched Buldeo falling down the edge of the same cliff from which he threw me away, and I also saw that despite he fell into the ravine and into the fast-streaming river below, I found out that he too managed to survive and escape from the same terrible fate which I successfully avoided in the nick of time.".

When Agatha heard what Jayma said, she asked her "So, does that means that Buldeo too is still alive?", and then Jayma answered back "Yes, I'm afraid so. Despite you did managed to defeat him on your own once before, he's still not gone for good.", but then Agatha pointed out "But now that we're together, we have a better chance to take your evil brother down and defeat him for good.", and when Jayma heard and listened to what Agatha just said to her, she said back "I guess you're right, Agatha. Together, we have a better chance to go and face Buldeo and defeat him for good, and wherever you'll go to, I will come with you. If we're going to face my evil brother and defeat him for good, then we're going to do so together.", and then Agatha said in agreement "Yes, together!" before she grabbed at Jayma's forepaw with her own and held tightly onto it to show the strong bond between the two lionesses.


	107. Chapter 106:Agatha returns home

After Agatha reunited with Jayma, the two lionesses shared a moment by holding at each other's forepaws and making a new promise - fight and defeat Buldeo together, and once they let go of each other's forepaws, the two lionesses went to meet some Kirins (who are, of course, the inhabitants of the Kirin village), and the Kirins themselves looked like ponies with beautiful lion-like manes and long tails, long branch-like horns on their foreheads (from which they use magic), and even cloven hooves, which differs them from regular ponies.

Later, after meeting many Kirins in the Kirin village, Agatha and Jayma came face-to-face with a talkative female Kirin whose name is Autumn Blaze, and she's none other than Applejack and Fluttershy's Kirin friend (from the Kirin village), and when she saw the two lionesses looking at her from a distance, she asked them without fear "Who are you two?", and then Jayma said first "I'm Jayma.", and then Agatha added "And I'm Agatha." and then she added and asked "And who are you, Kirin?", and when Autumn Blaze heard what the white lioness just said, she said back as she introduced herself "I'm Autumn Blaze, and I'm a very talkative Kirin!", and then Jayma said to her "We can see that very clearly.".

Then, Autumn Blaze said and asked "Anyway, what are you two doing here? What are looking here for?", and then Agatha answered and explained "I'm looking here for a new home where I can stay and live without being threatened by anyone, but now I also want to share it with my best friend Jayma.", and then she asked "Where can we find a new home at your village?", and then Autumn Blaze said back "You can stay and live with me as much as you want!", and when Agatha heard what the talkative Kirin just said, she jumped in excitement and asked "Really?", and then Autumn Blaze said "Of course! I won't mind if you stay and live with me for as long as you want to!", and when Agatha heard what she said, the white lioness jumped again in excitement and then she said "Thank you so much, Autumn Blaze!", and then Autumn Blaze started to lead Agatha and Jayma to her second (isolated) home, which was located outside the Kirin village.

Later, after they left the Kirin village and traveled together for a while, Agatha, Jayma and Autumn Blaze all arrived at Autumn Blaze's second (isolated) home, which was a cottage which stood outside the big forest near the edge of a cliff towering over the beautiful landscape below, and when Agatha saw both the isolated house and then looked over the edge of the nearby cliff and saw the beautiful landscape below, the white lioness gave a wide happy smile and then she said "It's just the right place I need to stay and live in for the rest of my life!", and when Autumn Blaze heard what she said, she said back to her "I'm happy to hear that, and in fact, this is actually my second home!", but then Jayma asked "Your second home?", and then Autumn Blaze said back and explained "Yes, it is! I chose to live in this house since I was exiled from my village by my own kind when I refused to give up my voice!".

When Jayma and Agatha both heard what she just said, the two lionesses gasped in shock and then they both asked "What?!", and then Autumn Blaze explained "I used to live in here ever since my own kind exiled me from my own village when I refused to give up my voice! However, before I moved here, I also lived in the Kirin village, but that is until the Kirins started arguing with one another and couldn't control their anger, and that transformed them all into Niriks, our fiery form to which we Kirins transform when we're getting really angry!". Then, Jayma asked her "And what that caused you Kirins to do?", and then Autumn Blaze explained "It caused them to burn down and destroy their own village, and therefore, our elder and respected leader and ruler, Rain Shine, decided to teach us all a lesson by ordering them all to step through the Stream of Silence, thus suppressing their voices and emotions!".

When Agatha and Jayma heard what Autumn Blaze said about the Kirins anger which caused them to destroy their own village and get their voices and emotions washed away by the Stream of Silence as a punishment for the village's destruction, the two lionesses gasped in shock before Agatha then asked her "And you got your voice and emotions suppressed and washed away by the Stream of Silence too?", and then Autumn Blaze sighed and said "Yes." but then she quickly added "But even so, I was able to restore my own voice and emotions when I stumbled into a bed of foal's breath flowers, which I then took and brewed into a tea, and that's how I got my voice and emotions restored back to normal!", and when the two lionesses heard what she said about how did she got her own voice and emotions back, they both sighed in relief before Jayma said "Thank goodness.".

However, Autumn Blaze then said and explained "But that wasn't the end of my story - once I got my voice and emotions back and I was able to express myself vocally, I tried numerous times to talk to all my friends from the Kirin village, but no matter what I tried, they all rejected me, and Rain Shine eventually forced me to choose between staying with the other Kirin in silence or keeping my voice and leaving the village, and I chose to leave.", but then she said and added "But thanks to Applejack and Fluttershy's help, all the other Kirins got their voices and emotions back, and I was accepted back to the Kirin village by Rain Shine, who also got her voice and emotions back, since she too stepped into the Stream of Silence but ended up getting them back when I dropped the foal's breath flowers into the Kirins' drinking water, and upon drinking the water, she and all the other Kirins are cured of their silence and they were all able to speak again!".

However, when Agatha heard Autumn Blaze mentioning Applejack and Fluttershy during her story, the white lioness then asked "Wait a minute, how do you know Applejack and Fluttershy?", and then Autumn Blaze explained "I know them because I'm a friend of theirs!" and then she added "And they and I we've taught the other Kirins to learn to control our anger and to not lose our tempers!", but then Jayma asked "Where is your village and your big forest were located?", and then Autumn Blaze answered "In the Peaks of Peril!", and when Agatha heard what she said, the white lioness said "I didn't know that. Akeno didn't told me that your village and your big forest were located in the Peaks of Peril.", but then Autumn Blaze said "But now you know!" and then she added "And by the way, if you and your friend like my isolated cottage, then it's yours! After all, I got used to live back in the Kirin village, and so I don't really need or have to live in that isolated cottage anymore!".

When Agatha heard what she said, a beaming and happy smile grew across her face, before she said "Wow! Thank you, Autumn Blaze! This cottage surely is just the right place I need, and I would also like to stay and live in this cottage for the rest of my life!", but then Jayma said and asked "I don't know. I mean, aren't you supposed to be living with that pony Rarity I heard of?", and when Agatha heard what she said, she answered back and explained "I would return back to live with her only when I think it's safe for me, when these Princess Cadance and dragon lord Ember won't be hunting me down for my head anymore!", but then Autumn Blaze said and asked "Wow, wow, wow! Are you saying that the princess of the Crystal Empire and the dragon lord were both willing and determined to destroy you?!", and then Agatha sighed heavily and said "Yes, they are. Because they both think that I'm still evil and that I still belong with that monster, Yigal! But now that he have that stupid baby boy, Dan Ashmor, which he found somewhere in the Everfree Forest, he doesn't thinks about me as his beloved lioness anymore, and therefore he cares more about this baby and less about me!", and then she added "But even though I officially declared that I have reformed after I got no more chances to return back to Yigal, these Cadance and Ember both still think that I cannot betray Yigal's side and reform, and they both want to hunt me down and mount and hang my beautiful head on the wall so I won't cause any more troubles to all of Equestria!".

However, just then, she, Jayma and Autumn Blaze all suddenly heard Cadance and Ember's voices calling together for Agatha "Agatha, there you are!", thus causing the white lioness, the maned lioness and the Kirin to turn to the right to see everyone coming towards them with Cadance and Ember were both in front of everyone else, and when Agatha saw Cadance and Ember again after the fight she had with them when they attacked her back in the royal castle (in Canterlot), she said as she quickly stepped aback from Jayma and from Autumn Blaze "I-I think I should go!", but before she's about to run away, Rarity called for her to stop, which Agatha (reluctantly) did before she turned to look back at everyone, but then she asked "What are you all doing here? Why are you all here for?", and then Rarity said and explained "We came here to look for you, of course! You worried us all sick! We all want to take you back home!".

However, Agatha said with tears starting to form in her eyes once again "Well, I'm sorry to say, but you've all just wasted your time coming here looking for me!", but then Cadance tried to speak to her and then she tried to say "Look, Agatha, Ember and I we both came here with every creature because we both want to apologize to you for threatening you without even thinking and without even realizing or understanding what you've been through.", and then Ember added "We would never want to hunt you down and hang your head on a wall, Agatha. You don't deserve to suffer or even to come to meet face-to-face with such a cruel fate. You deserve to live in a good home and with a big loving family, not to live alone in shame for everything bad that you've done in the past before you left Yigal and put him behind your back so not to look at him anymore.", and then the Alicorn princess and the dragon lord both stretched out a forehoof and a clawed hand of each of theirs and waited for Agatha to touch and hold at them and say that she accepts their apologies.

However, Agatha still struggled to believe that Cadance and Ember are both willing to make peace with her, but then Rarity gave her a reassuring smile to show her that she can really trust the Alicorn princess and the dragon lord, but then, when Agatha was almost about to touch at Cadance and Ember's forehoof and clawed hand, an awfully familiar male voice called for her and angrily yelled in an evil tone "AGATHA! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING YOU'RE DOING?!", and when Agatha heard the sound of that male voice, she swallowed nervously as she knew to who the male voice belonged - it was Yigal's evil voice.

Just then, Yigal suddenly came out of nowhere and then he stormed angrily towards Agatha, who just shook and trembled in fear at his angry, scary and intimidating appearance, and once Yigal stood towering over her, he yelled at Agatha down in the face "HOW DARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME! YOU'RE A TRAITOR!", and this made and caused Agatha to start whimpering and sobbing as she looked up at her angry former owner, who isn't very happy to see her again after she ran away from his home and left him and all the other villains behind herself so not to look at any and all of them anymore.

Then, Agatha sobbed and tried to say "Yigal, I-I'm so sorry! But you left with no choice!", but when Yigal heard her saying that, he grabbed her tightly by her neck and then he started choking her and yelled at her "HOW DARE YOU SPEAKING SUCH NONSENSE TO ME?! I'M YOUR MASTER!", but then Agatha cried and begged as she herself being choked malevolently by Yigal's arms and hands "Yigal, please! Let me go!", but then Yigal yelled "NEVER! YOU BETRAYED ME AND ALL THE OTHERS AS WELL, AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AND MEET FACE-TO-FACE WITH YOUR OWN END!", and then he tightened his grip around Agatha's neck, and she felt like she's been choked by Terrence's powerful trunk again, and so Agatha closed her eyes and waited for her former owner to end her life for her.

However, before Yigal can kill Agatha, Cadance used her magic to blast at Yigal and she ended up zapping him hardly in the chest, thus causing him to scream in pain and let go of Agatha, who then quickly gained back her breath as she got freed from Yigal's choking grip, before Ember yelled at the evil human male "You're a jerk, Yigal! How can you call yourself Agatha's owner after what you've done to her?!", and then Cadance added in agreement "She did nothing but showed you love in the same way a loyal pet will do with its owner, and all you did was crushing her under your feet like if she was nothing more than a skin rug! What do you have to say to yourself about your own carelessness?!".

However, Yigal suddenly laughed at what the Alicorn and the dragon both said to him before he said back "What do I have to say about myself is that now I don't even need her around me anymore! I've already got a replacement for her who will succeed in where she failed!", and then he called without turning his head to look back "Karoosh! Come out!", and then suddenly, a huge male black rhinoceros came out of nowhere and ran and charged towards Yigal, only to end up slowing down and eventually stopping right next to him, before Yigal gently patted him on the side of the face just below his eye and then he said as he slowly turned to look at him "Oh, who's my good new boy? You are, Karoosh! Yes, you are!", and Karoosh, who is none other than the black rhinoceros whom Yigal is patting on the side of the face, nuzzled Yigal on the shoulder without harming him with his front horn in return for the human male for patting him, thus shocking everyone else, especially Agatha, who gasped in shock when she met face-to-face with her own replacement animal in person (and for the very first time).

Then, Rarity asked in shock "So, you decided to replace poor Agatha with this awful and disgusting black rhinoceros?!", but then Yigal laughed evilly and said "Karoosh is not a normal black rhinoceros! He's a hybrid rhinoceros just like Saut is!", but then Agatha said to Yigal as she looked at Karoosh in shock "I don't understand why you're saying that! He looks pretty normal for a black rhinoceros!", but then Yigal explained "But he's actually a hybrid between two black rhinoceros subspecies! He's a hybrid between an eastern black rhinoceros and a western black rhinoceros!".

However, when Chloe heard what Yigal said when he explained and mentioned that Karoosh is a hybrid between the endangered eastern rhinoceros and the now extinct western black rhinoceros, she then asked in shock and then said "A western black rhinoceros?! I thought western black rhinos are extinct! The last sighting of that subspecies was in 2006, only to be officially declared extinct about five years later, in 2011!", but then Yigal said "But Karoosh here was cloned many years ago to resemble a western black rhinoceros using the frozen cells and genes which were taken from a recently deceased western black rhinoceros and were inserted into the body and womb of an eastern black rhinoceros who later successfully gave birth to a healthy male calf, and that healthy male calf was none other than Karoosh himself!".

However, when everyone heard what he said about Karoosh being a cloned hybrid from an endangered eastern black rhinoceros and from the cells and genes of an extinct western black rhinoceros (who later escaped from the human world and somehow ended up in Equestria), Rarity then asked "Did he told you ruffian all that, or you're just making all this nonsense up?", and then Yigal said "I'm not lying to all of you! He told me everything I needed to know in order for me to get to know him and get him accepted into our animal team in order to replace that traitorous Agatha!", and then he burst into an evil laughter before he's suddenly being joined by Karoosh, who also suddenly laughed evilly alongside him as well, much to everyone's shock.

Then, when Yigal and Karoosh stopped laughing, the adult human male said to Agatha "Very well then, for you, Agatha!", and then he added "I hope you won't last long with all these filthy creatures! I hope that Shujaa, Kenai AND you will all get what you three really deserve! See ya never, Agatha! You're no longer my lioness! Good riddance and goodbye forever!", and then he climbed up onto Karoosh's back and then he said to him "Let's go, Karoosh! We have nothing more to do in here!", and Karoosh obediently turned around and then he started to run away with Yigal riding on his huge, thick and muscular back, thus leaving Agatha alone with everyone else, who were all shocked and angered when they saw Yigal insulting Agatha and then permanently leaving her behind him for her new replacement, Karoosh the eastern black rhinoceros/western black rhinoceros hybrid.

Once Yigal and Karoosh are both gone from eyesight, Agatha looked in the direction they both went to and then she burst into tears, as now she no longer belongs with Yigal and with all the other villains in her old home anymore, but then Rarity stepped forward and then she placed a forehoof on her shoulder to get her attention, and when Agatha turned and saw Rarity touching at her shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile, Agatha soon wiped away the next tears forming in her own eyes and then she said "Thank you, Rarity! You're the best pony I've ever met in all my life!", and then she wrapped her own forelegs and forepaws around Rarity and hugged her to thank her for comforting her when she needed her by her side, when she (Agatha) thought that she lost everything she had so far in her life.

Then, when Cadance and Ember stretched their forehoof and clawed hand for Agatha again and waited for her to accept their apologies and become friends with them, Agatha finally accepted their apologies and then she grabbed at their forehoof and clawed hand and then she shook them with each of her forepaws, before she then pulled them both into a loving hug, thus showing that now she's willing to make friends with them, with both of them, and Cadance and Ember couldn't help but smile back at her as the white lioness had tears of happiness and joy forming in her eyes, and once she finally let go of Cadance and Ember, the three broke their hug and pulled away from each other, before Agatha turned back to look at Jayma and Autumn Blaze, who also smiled at the newly formed friendship bond between her, Cadance and Ember, before Agatha said goodbye to both Jayma and Autumn Blaze, as she knew that now it is the time for herself to return back home with everyone else, and once she bid farewell to both of her best friends (Jayma and Autumn Blaze), Agatha was ready to return back home with everyone else, and so Twilight, Cadance, Bluebell, Starlight, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and Rarity used their magic all together once again to teleport themselves and everyone else (minus Jayma and Autumn Blaze) with them back home and to the royal castle to show Celestia and Luna that the mission to find and return Agatha home and get both Cadance and Ember to apologize to her and become friends with her ended up in a complete success.


	108. Chapter 107:A new elephant in Equestria

Two weeks have passed since Agatha accepted and befriended Princess Cadance and Dragon Lord Ember, and now she's fully accepted as a good lioness by all the rest of Equestria, and she even got a letter from Rain Shine, the Kirins' leader, who wanted the lioness to come again to the Kirin village so the Kirin's can celebrate with her, and also for Agatha herself to explain and tell why she decided to reform like Shujaa and Kenai both have already did in the first place (since all the Kirins (minus Autumn Blaze)) haven't yet come to understand her redemption to the side of good, and so Agatha decided to talk to Rarity and tothe Sweetie Belle and ask them to come with her to the Kirin village once again because Rain Shine, the leader of the Kirins, have invited her into a special party that was prepared and was made specially for her (Agatha herself).

When Rarity and Sweetie Belle accepted and agreed to go with Agatha to the Kirin village, they also decided to get everyone else involved so they all will travel to the Kirin village to celebrate the special party that Rain Shine and the Kirins all prepared and made especially for Agatha, and once everyone else heard about the special party the Kirins have prepared and have made especially for Agatha, they all decided to come with Agatha and go to the Kirin village too, as they all believed that the Kirins are interested to know the reason why Agatha decided to betray Yigal and the other villains and reform and become a good lioness, and that was all true - the Kirins really want to know the true story which explains everything they all need to know that led to Agatha's redemption to the side of good.

Meanwhile, while everyone were all going together to the big forest of the Peaks of Peril to meet the Kirins of the Kirin village and have some lots of fun with them and enjoy the party they've made and prepared especially for Agatha, back in the Everfree Forest, Opey the young female okapi and her four best friends, Kyra the young Indian elephant, Albert the young Sumatran rhinoceros, Milton the young tapir, and Georgie the young gorilla were all doing just fine having fun with each other and with the rest of the herds, and Opey's mother seemed very pleased with the strong friendship bonds she witnessed and saw between the five, and so she willingly let them continue having fun with each other.

Later, Opey and her friends asked the adults and the elders in the herds if they can go on an adventure together, and the herds' adults and elders said yes, but then they also told them to come back before evening, and Opey and her friends said back that they will, before the five young animals went together on an adventure, and at some point they all ended up leaving the Everfree Forest and they all went together to the nearby green meadows, but there they all suddenly found a trail of massive footprints which belonged to an elephant, not an Indian elephant like Kyra, Queen Tukta or their Indian elephant herd, but an African bush elephant's footprints, and when the five young animals studied the size and shape of the footprints and saw where they're going, Opey suggested that they should go and follow the trail of footprints and see where they're going, because when they all will reach the end of the footprints, they will be able to find the African bush elephant who left them (the massive footprints) behind it, but what they didn't know is that the trail of footprints may accidentally lead them all right into none other than Terrence, since he's the last and only living African bush elephant in all of Equestria.

Later, after they followed the trail of massive footprints for a while, Opey, Kyra, Albert, Milton and Georgie all reached the end of the trail of footprints, and much to their shock, they found a huge African bush elephant lying down on its side. The five young animal friends carefully checked the African bush elephant from all sides to see if it was Terrence, but much to their shock, the African bush elephant had no scars on the left side of its face, thus revealing to them that the African bush elephant who is lying down in front of them is not Terrence, but was instead another African bush elephant.

Then, the African bush elephant's body suddenly started to move a little bit, before it suddenly flapped its huge ears, opened its eyes and then it slowly moved its massive body and huge legs and slowly stood up on all four legs, thus showing its impressive size is similar to that of Terrence, though it still appeared slightly smaller in size, but there's no doubt that this African bush elephant is still a full grown adult nonetheless. The African bush elephant had two large and long tusks coming out from both sides of the front the face, with its long and muscular trunk standing right in between them, it had two huge ears which are ten times the size of these of an adult Woolly mammoth around the same age, and it also had four massive, long, muscular and heavy legs which carried around its massive body frame.

Then, the African bush elephant slowly turned around to face the five young animal friends, and upon seeing that Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie weren't elephants, the African bush elephant suddenly spoke up in a female voice "I know what are you. You four are non-elephants.", thus shocking and surprising the five young animal friends, who stepped aback in fear before Albert cried out "Oh golly, she's a female!", but then Kyra said back to the revealed to be female African bush elephant "And I know what are you, Miss.", but then the older female elephant said to her "Shut up and don't interfere, little Asian elephant.", and then she stepped closer as she eyed Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie, and much like Terrence himself, this adult female African bush elephant also did not appeared to be very good and/or very friendly towards non-elephant youngsters, children and babies.

Then, Kyra said "That African bush elephant may be female, but she's definitely a bad elephant, just like Terrence was before and still is today.", and then Milton asked her "What should we do then, Kyra?", and then Georgie cried "Let's run away, guys! Let's run away while we still have enough time!", but then the adult female African bush elephant blocked their path with her massive size which was close enough and is also pretty much similar to that of Terrence (only smaller because she's a female), and then she said threateningly "If you dare to do so, if you dare to run away, I will make sure that you all will suffer from a great pain, three times as harder than what I'm really planning to give you, soon if not now.".

When she heard what the older female elephant just said, Kyra tried her best to stand up to her (the adult female African bush elephant), and then she tried to sound as brave and as confident as she could and then she demanded and said with confidence in her voice "I demand that you will tell us what do really want from all the five of us, Miss!", but then the adult female African bush elephant said evilly "I suggest you should cooperate with me.", and then she showed and displayed her own long and enormous tusks in front of the five young animal friends, before she then added and said in her evil tone "And I don't need to tell you what am I going to do, because it will all become clear to you sooner or later, you stupid little kids.".

However, Kyra knew exactly what the older female elephant is actually trying to say, and so the young female Indian elephant cried "I know what you're trying to say - you're going to kill us!", and when Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all heard what their elephant friend just said, they all gasped in shock and quickly stepped aback and then stood right behind Kyra while shaking in fear at the adult female African bush elephant's sheer size and enormous tusks, before she then said back to Kyra "Move out of my way, little Asian elephant. I'm not determined or willing to kill you, just these four little non-elephants who are standing right behind your back will be enough for me to destroy!".

When Kyra realized that the older female elephant is determined and willing to kill her four non-elephant friends, the young Indian elephant said to her friends "Run, guys! Run for your lives! Right now!", but then Opey cried "No, Kyra! We won't leave without you!", but then the adult female African bush elephant said with a warning tone "Move out of my way or I'm charging!", but then Kyra ran into her and then she threw herself at the older face elephant's forelegs, thus knocking her of her feet and causing her to land down on her butt, and before she's about to recover and stand back up on her feet, Kyra quickly turned her head back to her four non-elephant friends and then she cried "Run!", and this is when Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all started to run away together, thus leaving Kyra alone to hold off the much bigger and more heavier adult female African bush elephant all by herself.

Then, when the adult female African bush elephant stood back up on her feet and was about to start chasing after the four young non-elephant animal friends, Kyra stopped her again by ramming her own head against her huge and heavy right foreleg, thus getting her attention, but that only made the older female elephant really angry, and so she then growled in anger before she wrapped her trunk Around Kyra's neck and then she yelled at her "You're looking for troubles, huh?!", and then she added "Goodnight for you, you little Asian elephant!", and then she lifted her up and threw the younger female elephant away, and Kyra ended up slamming into the ground and hitting against a nearby rock, thus getting knocked out cold and unconscious, before the adult female African bush elephant turned and looked away and in the direction where Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all went together, and so she started to run as fast as her long, heavy and muscular legs could carry her and her massive body frame, and so she followed and chased after the four fleeing young non-elephant animal friends.

Meanwhile, in the big forest of the Peaks of Peril, everyone were already in the party in the Kirin village, and they're all really enjoying everything the Kirins have prepared for all of them, but most importantly, it was especially for Agatha herself, and she too is enjoying the great party with the Kirins and with everyone else as well. However, back at the Everfree Forest, Queen Tukta started feeling worried about Kyra and she felt that something bad might've happened to her, and Kyra's mother felt the same way, and when Opey's mother found out that the two female Indian elephants are worried about Kyra, the adult female okapi then asked them if she can go look for her, as well as for her own daughter and for her daughter's other friends and bring them home all together, and Queen Tukta and Kyra's mother both accepted and appreciated the adult female okapi's will to help find the youngsters, and so she was sent on a mission, which is this case - to go look for Kyra, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie, find them and bring them all back home before evening, and so Opey's mother went on her way and at some point she left the Everfree Forest and started searching for the five missing youngsters.

Meanwhile, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie are all still running away for their lives, as the adult female African bush elephant kept chasing after all four of them, with the horrid determination to destroy them is lurking in her evil eyes, but what the four young animal friends didn't know is that they're actually heading towards the big forest of the Peaks of Peril (where the Kirin village is located), and once they all successfully managed to get close enough to the big forest, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all entered and started to run through it in order to lose the adult female African bush elephant, who still kept chasing after them, but before she could reach out her long and muscular trunk in order to grab at any of the animal youngsters, they all spotted a cave that was big enough for all of them to go through, and once Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all reached and then entered the cave, they all successfully managed to escape from the adult female African bush elephant, who is unable to follow them since she's too big to fit in and also too big enter the cave, and so she trumpeted and roared angrily as she got outsmarted by the four young animal friends, who successfully managed to escape with their lives.

Meanwhile, back with Kyra, she was still lying down unconscious, but that is until a familiar voice suddenly spoke up and said her name, and that's exactly when the young Indian elephant slowly opened her eyes and started to move before she slowly got back up on her feet once again, only to come face-to-face with Opey's mother, who was been searching for her and for other youngsters (including Opey herself), and when Kyra saw the adult female okapi towering over her, she suddenly panicked and stepped aback in fear as she looked up at her in the eyes, and when she noticed the change in the young Indian elephant's behavior, Opey's mother asked her "What's wrong, Kyra?", and that's when Kyra cried "Please, don't be angry at me, Mrs!".

When Opey's mother heard what the young Indian elephant just said, she lowered her neck and head down to her level to look at her in the eyes and then she asked her "Be angry at you? What for, Kyra?", and then Kyra cried "Your daughter and the others, they're all in great danger! I couldn't save them from that much bigger African bush elephant! Now she's chasing them all down!", but when Opey's mother heard what she said, she lowered down onto her haunches and then she asked her "An African bush elephant? You mean that Terrence is back to harm by precious little Opey and her other friends?", but then Kyra cried "No! You don't understand! Terrence is not chasing them down! That African bush elephant who is chasing them down is actually a female!".

When, Opey's mother heard what Kyra just said about an adult female African bush elephant chasing after her daughter and her daughter's other friends, her eyes widened in shock before she then asked in shock "What?! A female African bush elephant?! Here in Equestria?!", and then she added "I thought Terrence is the last of his own kind who is still living in all of Equestria!", but then Kyra cried "He was, but now - not anymore! There are now TWO African bush elephants who are living in all of Equestria! And that second one who is that female I told you about is chasing down Opey and the others and she's willing to destroy them!", and when Opey's mother heard what she said, the adult female okapi said back to her "Then let's go find my precious daughter and her other friends! If you said that female African bush elephant is chasing down Opey and her other friends, then I must say that if she's still anywhere around, the young ones could be too!", and then Kyra cried "Let's go, Mrs! Let's go save Opey and the others from that female African bush elephant!", and so she and Opey's mother started to run as fast as they both can, and they both followed the massive footprints the adult female African bush elephant have left behind her.


	109. Chapter 108:Georgie meets the 3 orphans

Inside the cave, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie are all safe and sound and they're all feeling okay because the adult female African bush elephant is too big to follow them into the cave which they all have entered, but then they realized that they must find another way out of the cave, since they knew that they can't leave the cave through its entrance, because the adult female African bush elephant may be waiting for them outside the cave and ready to just destroy them with her trunk, tusks and feet.

Then, Albert asked Opey "Should we go search for another way out of this cave?", and then Opey said back "It may not be a good idea, but we might have to, guys.", and when Milton and Georgie both heard what Opey just said about going deeper into the cave in order to find another way out, the young tapir and the young gorilla both agreed with Opey, and so the four young animal friends all started to walk and travel together deeper into the cave in order to search for another way out.

Meanwhile, in the Kirin village, everyone and the Kirins have all finished having fun in the party, and so they all gathered around all together to hear Agatha's story which tells the reason to why she decided to reform in the first place, and when Agatha explained in front of everyone that she decided to run away because Yigal and even Tony Black turned her away for their and the other villains' new evil baby boy Dan Ashmor (whom Yigal and Tony Black found in the woods and brought back to their home), and also about how she got whipped, berated and punished by Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart when she tried to snatch her own feeding bowl back from the evil baby human boy, all the Kirins (including Rain Shine) gasped in shock when they realized the pain that Agatha had been through, before one male Kirin said as he started to get angry at Yigal's cruelty and heartlessness towards Agatha "Why that furless monkey jerk!", before he transformed into a Nirik because of his anger and yelled "I wanna burn all the hair on the top of his head for doing such harsh things to her!", and then he added "Nobody deserves to be whipped, shunned and insulted like this, especially not some special and beautiful white lioness as Agatha!", before he then ran into a tall bush which resembled Yigal and then he started to circle around it and then he burned down the human-like bush with his anger, before finally calming himself down and then he transformed back into a Kirin, much to everyone's shock to see how determined and willing was that random male Kirin when he expressed his feelings and showed them all how he wants to teach Yigal a lesson for betraying Agatha and for causing her to run away from him and from all the other villains (and from her old home) because of baby Dan Ashmor getting all their attention to only himself (like most rude, not nice or kind babies actually do in real life).

When Agatha realized that the random male Kirin who is angry at her former owner wants to teach the evil human male a lesson for harming her for the new evil baby human boy, Agatha said back to the random male Kirin in approval "Thank you so much for standing up for me after realizing and understanding what I've been through, Sir.", and then she added "If I was stronger back then, I would've jumped onto Yigal's back and then I would've been biting him directly on the neck to destroy him for betraying for that new evil baby boy of his! But what's been done have already been done, and there's no way to change that! However, now I'm not angry at all, because he already got a replacement for me, which means that I'm here to stay and live with all of you as a good lioness, and stay and live next door to both Shujaa and Kenai for the rest of my days, as I no longer have to suffer at Yigal's evil hands anymore!".

However, when everyone heard what she said, another Kirin, a female, stepped forward and then she asked her "What do you mean, Agatha?", and then the white lioness explained "Yigal replaced me with a hybrid rhinoceros who is just like Saut, only that Saut was a male hybrid between the two subspecies of white rhinoceros, while the new hybrid rhinoceros, Karoosh, who is yet also a male like him, is actually a hybrid between two subspecies of the black rhinoceros - he's born from an endangered eastern black rhinoceros to resemble the now extinct western black rhinoceros, as he got both partial appearance and genes that belongs to the extinct western black rhinoceros, therefore making him a living male black rhinoceros hybrid, but he's just the same as healthy as Saut himself, as neither of them have any biological body deformities from being hybrids.".

When the Kirins all heard what she just said, Rain Shine, the leader of the Kirins stepped forward and then she asked Agatha "So let me get it straight, Agatha - are you saying that now there are TWO hybrid rhinos living here in Equestria?", and then Agatha said "Yeah, exactly. Now that we have both Saut and now Karoosh as our enemies, we might expect them to be working together because both of them are rhinos, although one is a white rhinoceros and the other is a black rhinoceros, but I bet they're still going to be great allies with each other!", and then she quickly added "And since the both of them are unreadable, unlike me, Kenai and Shujaa, we should be worried when they both strike us together, because taking on two adult male rhinos who are actually working together as a pair of partners is no joke!".

Meanwhile, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie are all still traveling inside the cave all together and they're all still searching for another way out of the cave, and while still traveling deep inside the cave, Milton asked Opey "Do you think we'll be able to find another way out of this cave?", but then Opey said back "I don't know, but we need to keep walking, only that way we'll be able to find another exit which leads out of this cave.", but what they all didn't know is that a big shadow in the shape of a lion started to follow behind them and kept up with them as they continued to travel deep inside the cave.

Later, after they traveled together in the cave for a while, the four young animal friends all suddenly heard a low, deep and masculine growl, and that was none other than the one of a lion, and when they all heard the lion's other growls coming from right behind them, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all turned around to see the lion-shaped shadow standing behind them and growling deeply at them, thus causing them all to scream all together in fright "AHHHHHHHHH! A LION!", and then they all started to run away together with terror shaking inside their bodies and minds, and the lion-shaped shadow soon started to follow them all from behind.

The four young animal friends tried everything they could to escape, but eventually they got trapped all together against a dead end, thus allowing the lion-shaped shadow to catch up with them and have them all surrounded, and when they saw the shadowed lion slowly approaching them all, Opey cried "Please, don't eat us!" and then Georgie added "Leave us alone!", but the shadowed lion appeared to ignore their words as 'he' kept approaching and kept gaining on them, but once 'he' stopped right in front of them and also close enough to them, the shadowed lion suddenly spoke up and then asked them "What are you doing here?".

When they all heard what the shadowed lion said and particularly the way 'he' spoke to them, Opey was the first to ask "W-who are you, Mr. Lion?" as she was shocked to hear 'his' voice, which in fact sounded feminine instead of masculine, and when the shadowed lion stepped even more closer and revealed 'his' colors and appearance, it turned out to be none other than Agatha's maned female friend - Jayma. Then, Jayma said to the four young animal friends "I'm Jayma, Agatha's best friend.", and then she asked them back "And who are you?", and when Opey and her friends all heard what she just said, and then studied her appearance in front of them, the four were all in shock to realize that the lion who is talking to them and is standing in front of them is not a regular male lion but is instead a rare maned lioness.

Then, Opey cried out "Oh my gosh, she's a female!" and then she begged "P-please, don't eat us, Miss Lioness! We're not looking for any troubles! We were just trying to find our way out of this cave!", but when Jayma heard what the young female okapi just said, she then asked "Eat you? Why should I do that?", and then Georgie pointed out "Because you're a big ferocious lioness!", and then Milton added "And you probably don't have the heart to spare innocent young animals like us, do you?", but then Jayma said back "Well, I'm not ferocious, and I don't even eat living animals for food. In fact, I only eat dead animals, and therefore, much like a hyena or even a crocodile, I may scavenge for food instead of hunting down living animals.".

However, when the four young animals all heard what she said about herself being a scavenger (much like Shadie the good female crocodile), they all said together "Ewww! Really?! You're a scavenger?! That's gross!", and this caused Jayma to say "I'm sorry I disgusted you four like this, I didn't mean to.", but then Opey said and asked her "But if you're a scavenger like you just said you are, does that means that we can still trust you?", and then Jayma said back "Obviously, you can. I won't do any of you any harm, and I won't even try to eat any of you either." and then she added and introduced herself "I'm Jayma, and I'm in fact, Agatha's best friend.", and when Milton heard what she said, the young tapir said "At least that maned lioness is someone who we can trust.", and then Opey asked Jayma "Can you please take us with you and show us another way out of this cave?", and then the maned lioness said back "Sure! Follow me, kids! I know the way! I've been in this dark cave before, and I know that there actually is another way out of here!", and then she added and said "Let's go!", and so she turned around and started to walk away in a different direction, and Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie soon followed right behind her back.

Meanwhile, Kyra and Opey's mother have already made it this far all the way to the Peaks of Peril, and so they soon entered the big forest to search for Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie, and while still searching for them, Kyra said as she blamed herself for her best friends' disappearance due to the adult female African bush elephant attacking her and knocking her out cold and then scaring them and chasing them away "This is all my fault! I should've told my friends not to leave home at the Everfree Forest so none of this would've happened to them!", but then Opey's mother lowered her neck and head down to her and then she said to her in order to calm her down "Shhh, it's okay, Kyra. I understand you, but I still must tell you that this is not your fault at all, because everything have already been done even without your doings, but I'm not angry at you for what happened to my daughter and/or to her other friends, and I'm sure that eventually we'll find them all and we'll take them back home, I promise.", and when Kyra turned to see the mother okapi giving her a reassuring smile, she said back "You're right. Thank you, Mrs.", and so the two continued together deeper into the big forest of the Peaks of Peril to search for Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie.

Meanwhile, back in the cave, the four young animal friends have befriended and bonded well with Agatha's best friend Jayma the maned lioness, and the five of them are still searching for another way out of the cave, and in mid-search, Opey asked Jayma "Are you sure you know where we're going?", and then Jayma said back "Trust me, I know this dark cave very well. Surely there's another way out of here.", but then Georgie stopped dead in his tracks when he suddenly started hearing some small and cute sounds, but much to his shock, the small sounds actually sounded like if someone or somebody's crying, and so Georgie ended up splitting up and walking away from the rest of the group as he started to follow the small sounds of crying, and he was also both curious and eager to see where they're coming from.

As Georgie continued to follow in the direction where the small sounds of crying came from, the closer he got to the source of the small sounds of crying, and that is until he ended up stopping as he came to a halt right in front of what appeared to be nothing more than a small wooden log, and at first Georgie said in bafflement "Huh, this is just a small wooden log.", but then he suddenly heard the small sounds of crying coming right from inside the small wooden log, which made the young gorilla confused at first, but then he became both curious and eager to know what or who is crying inside the wooden log, and so he slowly approached the small wooden log, and once he got close enough to it, he stopped next to it and then he decided to take a look inside the small wooden log, which turned out to be hollow, to see what or who is crying inside it.

Much to his shock, Georgie saw three pairs of eyes in different shapes, colors and sizes, but instead of freaking out and running away screaming, the young gorilla slowly lowered himself down and sat down on his butt to make himself less intimidating to what or to who is hiding inside the small wooden log, before he very slowly reached out his left arm and hand to the small wooden log and said as softly as he could with his young, child-like male voice to what or to who is hiding inside it "Hey there, no need to be afraid of me. I won't hurt any of you. Please, come out of there. I promise you I will be extra kind and gentle to all of you.", and then he showed up a kind and reassuring smile on his small and young face so to show to what or who is hiding inside the small wooden log that he's not a threat.

Then, what came out of the small wooden log shocked and surprised Georgie for the most, as the first of the three animals who came out of the wooden log was a cute little baby galago (bush baby), and then the second animal followed behind and came out of the wooden log next, thus revealing the second animal to be a cute little baby fennec fox (kit), and the third and last of the three animals who came out of the wooden log after the first two animals revealed itself to be cute little a baby jerboa, and then all three baby animals approached the juvenile male gorilla, who stayed in his place and didn't moved so not to scare the three little baby animals.

Then, Georgie moved only his arms and hands and he motioned for the three younger animals to come closer to him and said "Here you three go, see? There's noa reason for any of you to be afraid of me.", and then he added "You're really cute little baby animals, compared to me because I'm older than you, thus making me a juvenile animal instead, but I promise you three that I will be as gentle as possible and I also promise to keep you all the company you need.", and then he moved his arms and hands to the sides of his body and showed the three little baby animals his small, young and still undeveloped chest and torso and then he said "Go ahead, little ones. Come over to me and give me a hug.".

However, when the three baby animals saw the juvenile male gorilla's chest and torso, they all looked at him curiously as they studied his shape and also his size, which was slightly larger compared to theirs, but that was only at first, as then they all slowly approached Georgie and so they ended up with the baby galago and the baby jerboa both jumping into his small, young and still undeveloped chest and torso and hugging at him, while the baby fennec fox approached him and ended up licking at his face, thus tickling Georgie a little bit as he then lightly stroked the baby fennec fox on top of the head and down the back with a free hand, thus showing all three little baby animals that he's someone whom they can trust, and thus also gaining the three little baby animals' trust.

Then, when Georgie let go and slowly pulled from the three little baby animals, he then introduced himself and said "I'm Georgie, and it's so nice to meet you three.", and then he asked them "What's your names?", and then the baby galago stepped forward and said albeit a bit shakily "M-Maisie, Sir. M-my name is Maisie.", and then the baby fennec fox stepped forward as well and said in the same shaking tone as Maisie (the baby galago) "I-I'm Riley, Sir. I-it's nice to meet you.", and then the baby jerboa stepped forward and said in the same shaking tone as both Maisie and Riley (the baby galago and the baby fennec fox, who are in fact his two best friends) "H-Hi, Sir. M-my name is Cheeky. I-it's nice to meet you too.".

When Georgie heard the three little baby animals (Maisie, Riley and Cheeky) all calling him 'Sir' as they introduced themselves to him in their respective turns, despite the fact that he already introduced himself and also that he himself is not yet an adult but is instead still a young juvenile, the gorilla said to them "Hey, there's no need to call me 'Sir', little ones. I'm just a young juvenile, and therefore I'm too young to be called 'Sir'. Calling me Georgie is pretty much enough with me, because that's my name and all my best friends knows that, and that's exactly how they call me.", and then he pointed a finger at himself and then he added softly in his young tone "I'm Georgie. Remember that name the next time you talk to me, little ones.", and then he gave them all a gentle and kind smile to show that he's not mad or angry at them for calling him 'Sir' instead of 'Georgie' (his own name).

However, as Georgie looked closely at their looks, he could see that Maisie, Riley and Cheeky have silent fright shaking behind their happy eyes, and this made the juvenile male gorilla worried before he then asked them "So, where are you three from? Where's your parents?", but when the three little baby animals all heard what he just said, the fright behind their eyes exposed itself to their entire bodies and faces as their happy expressions suddenly dropped and were instead replaced with frightened ones, before tears started to form in their eyes and then they all suddenly started to cry in the same way they did before when they were inside the small wooden log.

When Georgie sensed their pain which soon turned out to be a great loss, he soon realized that Maisie, Riley and Cheeky were all orphans, and so the juvenile male gorilla said in shock as he understood how big was their pain "Oh, golly! I had no idea! I didn't know that you're all orphans! I'm so sorry!", but then Riley the baby fennec fox said to him "Y-you have nothing to apologize for, Sir...I-I mean, Georgie. I-it's not your fault that we have suffered so much pain.", but even though Georgie clearly heard what he said, he still felt sorry for all three little baby animals as he then slowly approached them, and once he got close enough to them, he pulled them all into another hug and then he started to stroke softly at their heads and backs as he tried to ease their pain and trauma they all have been through before.

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all calmed down and stopped crying, Georgie stopped touching and stroking them as he then slowly pulled away from them and then he asked them "What happened to you three that made you orphans and caused you so much pain?", before he showed a sad and sympathetic smile as he patiently waited for an answer, and then Cheeky said "O-our mommies tried to save and protect us, a-and they all got crashed and trampled to death!", and when Georgie heard what he said, he asked him "Trampled to death? What kind of animal did that to your moms?", and then Maisie cried "A-an elephant did that to us! A-a big, bad meanie elephant!", before all three little baby animals turned to each other and then they hugged each other as they burst into tears once again, but when Georgie heard what they said, he looked at them all with a shocked look on his face.

"An elephant trampled your moms to death?! What kind of elephant was it?!" Georgie asked in shock, before Riley answered "A-an African bush elephant did that to our mommies!", but when Georgie heard that an African bush elephant killed the three poor little baby animals' mothers, he then asked while still in shock "Was the African bush elephant who trampled your mothers a male or a female?", but then Maisie cried "W-we don't know what was the gender of that big, bad meanie elephant who did that to our mommies! W-we just don't know!", but then Georgie jumped into the right conclusion and then he suggested "If it wasn't Terrence who did that, then I bet the African bush elephant who trampled and killed your mothers was a female!", and when Riley cried "Y-yes! I-I think that elephant who trampled our mommies was a female! I-I heard her talking in a feminine voice when she trampled our mommies under her massive forelegs!", and when Georgie heard what the baby fennec fox said to him about the gender of the African bush elephant being female instead of another male (like Terrence, for an instance), the juvenile male gorilla said "I knew it! Terrence can't be trampling the poor little guys' moms under his massive forelegs because he's not working alone!", and then he added "Only that adult female African bush elephant whom my friends and I we've met and got chased by before could've done that to the poor little guys!".

Then, he turned back to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and then he said to them "Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, come with me!", and then he added "I will introduce you three to my friends, and then I will talk to them for you about what that monster for an adult female elephant did to you and to your poor moms! I promise you that everything will be okay, and I hope that our newest friend, that maned lioness who's name is Jayma will help dealing with her for you and will teach her a lesson for doing that to your moms!", and then he said as he calmed his voice down a little bit "I promise you three that everything's going to be okay. When I will return to my friends with you, I will first introduce you to them and then I will talk to Jayma and I will tell her to make sure to deal with that big, bad meanie female elephant for you.", and then he finished and said with a reassuring smile "I promise.", and then he turned around and started to walk away.

However, Cheeky called for him and said "W-wait, Georgie!", and when he heard what the baby jerboa said, the juvenile male gorilla turned back to look at him and at his two best friends and then he asked "Yes?", and then Cheeky hopped forward and asked "A-are you sure your friends will protect us from that monster elephant who trampled our moms?", and when Georgie heard what he said, another smile formed on his face and then he said back "Of course they will! And if they won't be able to deal with her, our herds, our families and our leaders will!", and then he calmed down his own voice a little bit and then he added and said "I promise.", and when Cheeky heard what he said, he hopped onto Georgie and then he said and declared "W-well, in that case - we're coming with you!", and then Maisie and Riley both went up to the juvenile male gorilla and then they said "Y-yes! P-please, take us with you, Georgie!", and when he heard what the three little baby animals all said to him about willing to come along with him so he can help them deal with the adult female African bush elephant (who is also the elephant who trampled their mothers), Georgie said "Then it's settled! You're coming along with me! Let's go!", and so the four animals started to run in the cave all together and they all started to search for Georgie's friends (as well as for Jayma) in order to introduce Maisie, Riley and Cheeky to them, and also to ask them (and especially and particularly Jayma) to help them deal with the adult female African bush elephant for what she did to their mothers before Georgie met them.


	110. Chapter 109:escaping the cave

Meanwhile, Opey, Albert, Milton and Jayma all still traveled together in the dark cave in search for a way out, but that is until they reached a wooden log bridge which goes above a dark and deep chasm, but then they also saw some light coming from the other side of the bridge over the chasm, and much to their shock and surprise, it turned out to be another way out of the cave, and that therefore they're all very close to the exit, and this is when the maned lioness and the three young animal friends called and yelled happily all together "Yes! We're very close to the exit! It's just over that chasm on the other side of the wooden log bridge!".

However, before they're to cross the wooden log bridge, the four suddenly heard Georgie's voice calling for them from the other side of the bridge, and then he stepped into view and showed himself and he appeared to be alive and well on the other side of the chasm and near the exit, and without him having to cross the wooden log bridge at all. However, when Opey, Albert, Milton and Jayma all saw Georgie standing there and calling for them from the other side of the bridge and standing safe and sound and in one piece on the other side of the chasm, the four gasped in shock to realize that he ended getting separated from them but somehow managed to find a shortcut to get to the other side of the chasm without even using the wooden log bridge to cross over the chasm and to reach the other side.

"Georgie?!", everyone called for him from the first side of the chasm with shocked expressions on their faces, before Opey asked "What are you doing there?", and then Georgie explained "I ended getting accidentally separated from all of you, but I still managed somehow to find a safe shortcut which eventually led me all the way here!", but then Jayma asked him "Is this wooden log bridge safe for us all to cross on to get to the other side of the chasm?", and thenI Georgie called back from the other side of the chasm "Yes! Get across the wooden log bridge! I'm waiting here on the other side until all of you make it here!", and when his friends and Jayma all heard what the juvenile male gorilla said, they're about to go on and cross the chasm on the wooden log bridge all together.

However, before they're about to cross on the bridge all together, another voice which came behind Georgie suddenly called for Jayma and for the three young animal friends "N-no, wait! P-please, stop!", and when they all heard what the small voice suddenly said to them, Jayma soon halted and then she told Opey, Albert and Milton to go back to the first side of the chasm, and when they did so, this is when Jayma turned back and called for Georgie and asked "Georgie, is there someone else in there with you?", and when Georgie heard what she said, he said back "Yes, three of them actually!", but when Jayma heard what the juvenile male gorilla said, she then asked in shock "Three?! Are they're new friends of yours or something?", and then Georgie answered back "Yes, they are!".

Just then, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all stepped (and hopped) forward and came out from right behind Georgie and into view to show themselves to Jayma, and when she slowly stepped forward herself and slowly reached the middle of the wooden log bridge and saw them from a bit closer look, she then asked Georgie "Who are these three little guys?", and then Georgie explained as he introduced, motioned and pointed with an index finger of his on each of the little baby animals "Jayma, I want you to meet my three newest little friends - Maisie *he motioned and pointed at the baby galago first*, Riley *he motioned and pointed at the baby fennec fox second*, and Cheeky *he motioned and pointed at the baby jerboa last*, and they're really nice for animals their own small, cute and lovable sizes!".

Then, he turned back to the three little baby animals and then he said to them "You see? This is Jayma the maned lioness. She may look like any normal male lion because of her long, thick and completely characteristic mane and muscular body build, but despite her male-like appearance, she's definitely a female.", and then he quickly added "But do not worry, my new little friends. You can really trust her. She's really nice like me and she will never want to hurt any of you, and she will never dream of eating any of you either. She's acting and behaving more like a scavenger instead of a predator because she doesn't really likes eating living animals, and she thinks eating dead ones is a much better thing to do because she's unwilling to take away other animals' lives in order to feed herself.", and then he concluded and said "So, let's just say that you three can clearly trust her, and I think that once I tell her about what that female monster elephant did to your moms, I bet she will be determined and very willing to take of her and deal with her for you.", and then he finished and said "That's a promise.", before he gave them all a reassuring smile.

Then, when Jayma approached and stepped even closer as she nearly reached the other end of the wooden log bridge and nearly reached the other side of chasm, Maisie called out for her "P-please, tell your friends that they must cross the wooden log bridge only one at a time! T-the wooden log bridge isn't stable or strong enough for all of you and to cross all together!", and when Jayma heard what the little baby galago (bush baby) said, she then asked her "Are you sure?", and then Maisie said back "Y-yes! I-I'm pretty sure that bridge is stable for only one at a time crossing!".

Then, when Jayma safely made it and reached the other end of the wooden log bridge and made it to the other side of the chasm in one piece, she then turned to look back at Opey, Albert and Milton and then she called for them "Okay, kids! Come on over! One at a time!", and when the three young animal friends heard what their adult maned lioness friend just said to them about crossing the wooden log bridge only one at a time, this is when Milton decided to go on and cross the bridge next, while Opey and Albert stayed behind and watched him going on the bridge and crossing it to get to the other side of the chasm, and they both waited patiently for their own respective turns to go on and cross the wooden log bridge one at a time.

While Milton the young tapir was crossing the wooden log bridge to get to the other side of the chasm, Jayma introduced herself to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and she told them that everything that Georgie told them about her were true and that she will never want to mean them any harm and will never dream of eating any of them either, and she even told them about Agatha and about her strong friendship bond she have with her, and also about how they both came to be friends with each other as she told them the truth about Agatha's past but also about her own past before she came to live as a solitary lioness without the rest of her lion pride, and also about her reunion with Agatha at the Kirin village since her own brother Buldeo tried (but failed) to kill her by throwing her to the river at the bottom of the ravine to drown, but (of course) she ended up surviving and escaping her fate, thus revealing to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky the rest of the things they all needed to know about not only herself, but also about her best friend Agatha, and even about her own evil and traitorous brother Buldeo who betrayed her (because he hated her strong relationships Agatha in the first place).

When Milton the young tapir finally reached the other end of the wooden log bridge and made it to the other side of the chasm safely, this is when Jayma turned her attention away from Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and looked back at Opey and Albert, who waited patiently for her to tell who's going to cross the wooden log bridge next, and then the maned lioness called out for them "Okay, Milton have finished crossing the bridge and he made it to the other side! Now it's your turn, Albert! You're going next!", and when the young Sumatran rhinoceros heard what she said about him having his turn to cross the wooden log bridge after Milton made it to the other side, Albert called back "Okay! Stay where you are, guys! I'm coming to all of you!", and then he slowly started to cross on the wooden log bridge to reach and make it to the other side of the chasm, leaving Opey to stay behind until he reaches the other end of the wooden log bridge and makes it to the other side of the chasm (and have the last turn to cross the bridge).

When Albert the young Sumatran rhinoceros finally reached the other end of the wooden log bridge and made it to the other side of the chasm safely, this is when Jayma called for Opey "Okay, Albert have finished crossing the bridge and he made to the other side as well! Now it's your turn, Opey! You're going next AND last!", and when the young female okapi heard what the maned lioness said to her, she called back "Okay! Stay where you are, guys! I'm coming to all of you!", and then she slowly started to cross on the wooden log bridge after Albert made it to the other side (as well), and so she continued to walk and get across the wooden log bridge to get to the other end of it, but once she reached near the other end of the wooden log bridge, it suddenly started shaking and move out of place, and when everyone saw this happening, Jayma screamed at the top of her lungs "RUN, OPEY!", and when the young female okapi heard what she said, she started to run as fast as she could towards the other side of the chasm as the bridge finally started to break loose and then it started falling, and when that happened, Opey jumped up and tried to reach the other end of the chasm, and she ended up grabbing onto the edge on the other side of the chasm in the nick of time, but unfortunately, however, she still held tightly with her forelegs and with her cloven forehooves onto the edge on the other side of the chasm, and she slowly started to slip away, causing her to cry "Somebody, please, help!".

When all the animals saw their young okapi friend holding tightly onto the edge on the other side of the chasm but is slowly slipping away, they all cried and called out loud for her "OPEY! NOOOOOOOOO!", but when Opey was about to fall down into the chasm, however, this is when Jayma swooped in to save her by quickly grabbing onto and holding tightly at one of her cloven forehooves with both of her own forepaws and then she started to pull her up and save her in the nick of time, and when all the other animals saw her trying to save Opey from falling into the chasm, Albert and Milton soon came behind her and then they started to pull at both of Jayma's hind legs in order to help pulling her backwards so she can pull Opey back up to safety, and once Opey was standing on top of the edge on the other side of the chasm safe and sound and in one piece, this is when Jayma, Albert and Milton let go of her and of each other as they finally relaxed to see that they managed to pull their young okapi friend to safety, which they all barely did in the nick of time.

With all the animals standing alive and well on the other side of the chasm, this is when they all went towards the light that was very close near them, and once they all reached the light, they finally reached the exit which leads out of the cave, and this is when they all finally exited and left the cave and went back to the big forest of the Peaks of Peril. However, before they're all about to continue and go forward, and shortly after they all finally managed to escape and leave the cave, Jayma and the seven young animal friends (four young juveniles and three little babies) suddenly heard something big that is actually moving in the big nearby bushes somewhere around them and is heading towards them all, and this when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all cowered against Georgie, who stood still next to Opey, Albert and Milton, who all stood still right behind Jayma, who looked at the big bushes in front of her and saw something big actually moving towards her inside them, and when the big and mysterious thing started to come forward and move closer to the maned lioness and to the seven young animal friends, Jayma asked and then demanded "Huh? Who goes there? Who's coming towards us inside these big bushes? Show yourself!", and then she drew out her long and sharp claws on her forepaws and readied herself to swipe at and/or strike at whatever is coming towards her and towards the seven young animal friends inside the big bushes standing in front of them.

However, instead of some large animal like another lion, a hyena, a tiger or a bear coming out of the bushes and attacking Jayma and the seven young animal friends, Kyra the young Indian elephant burst out through the big bushes and cried out for her friends "There you are, guys!", thus shocking them all before Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all asked together in shock "Kyra?!", and then Opey stepped forward to meet her elephant friend and then she asked her "Is that you? How are you here? How did you found us?", but then Kyra said "It's a long story short, Opey!", before a familiar adult female voice called for Opey, and that's when the young okapi's mother stepped into view and showed up behind Kyra, before she went around the young Indian elephant to nuzzle her young daughter, before Opey cried "Mommy, it's you!" but then she asked her "What are you doing here?", and then the mother okapi said "Kyra and I we both went looking for you and for all your little friends so we can take you back home to the rest of the herds in the Everfree Forest.".

However, then Jayma stepped forward and said "I saved your daughter when we tried to find our way out of that cave!", but when Opey's mother heard what the maned lioness said, she turned to look at her and then she asked her "Excuse me, but who are you?", and then Jayma introduced herself and said "I'm Jayma, once the queen of my pride, now a solitary lioness who chose to live alone without the rest of my pride! And by the way, I'm a maned lioness, which explains the complete and characteristic mane I have around my neck, as well as my strong muscles and heavier body build which allows me to wrestle my prey, but luckily for all of you, I'm a scavenger, and therefore I choose and prefer to eat only dead animals!", and when Opey's mother heard that Jayma is actually a maned lioness, she gasped in shock before she said "I never seen a maned lioness before! I thought you maned lionesses are all just a legend!", but then Jayma said to her "No, we're not just a legend! Maned lionesses like me are real!".

When Opey's mother heard what Jayma said just a minute ago about saving Opey while they're inside the cave, the mother okapi asked her "And wait a minute, did you just said that you saved my daughter's life?", and then Jayma said "Surely I did, but it wasn't really easy for me, so two of your daughter's friends helped me pull myself backwards so I can pull your daughter up to safety when we were about to escape and leave the cave!", and when the mother okapi heard what the maned lioness said, she lowered her neck and head down to look at her closer in the eyes and then she said to her "Thank you, Jayma! You're such a good friend, and you are indeed to be trusted for who you are!", but then Jayma said "Oh, it was nothing, Mrs. I always used to do such things as that before I even met my best friend, Agatha. But-", but when Opey's mother suddenly heard her saying and mentioning Agatha's name, she cut her in mid-sentence and then she asked "Wait, what? Did you just said that you're friends with Agatha, the white lioness who was once Yigal's lioness, before she ended turning on him for him harassing her over a baby human boy he found?".

When Jayma heard what the mother okapi said about Agatha, the maned lioness sighed heavily and said "Yes, she was once Yigal's lioness, but now - not anymore.", and then she added "She have changed and became a good lioness once she befriended a young Unicorn and a young dragon whose names are Sweetie Belle and Spike and showed them through saving their lives that she wanted to be good after she good banished forever from the villains' side, but my brother, Buldeo, tried to persuade all of Ponyville, as well as the rest of my lion pride that Agatha is still evil and that she's not to be trusted, and he even framed Sweetie Belle and Spike away from everyone else as he saw them as threats to his own evil plans to keep Agatha away, and so he decided that they're to stay and live with Agatha as depressed loners.", and when everyone heard what she said about Agatha's pain and also about how Sweetie Belle and Spike fit in her pain as they both got framed away by Buldeo as well (before they and Agatha worked together to expose him), Opey's mother said as she couldn't believe what she just heard "Poor Agatha, now I really feel sorry for her and for everything bad she have been through! That brother of yours is such a jerk in the way he treated her and these young Unicorn and dragon who trusted and befriended her!", but then Jayma corrected her and said "My brother isn't just a jerk, but is also nothing but pure evil, and he even tried to kill me by throwing me into the fast-streaming river at the bottom of the ravine just because I became friends with Agatha, and then he fooled and tricked into believing that she's the one to blame for my death, despite the fact that I'm still here and now, which means that I managed to survive and escape from a terrible fate of drowning in the fast-streaming river.".

When Opey heard what Jayma said about her own brother's attempted murder on her when he saw the friendship bonds that formed between her and Agatha, the young okapi cried "Your brother is such a monster! I would like to give him one good bucking to the face for doing this to you! You didn't deserve to be thrown into the water, but to him it does!", but then Jayma said "But you don't have to, because Agatha gave him what he deserved - she fought him and successfully managed to throw him off the edge of the cliff into the same ravine and into the same fast-streaming river below, although he survived as well, but luckily, I don't know and I don't even want to know where he is right now.", but just then, an awfully familiar adult male voice suddenly said evilly "Did somebody mentioned me and talked about me behind my back?!", and when Jayma recognized the evil male voice, she said "Oh no, I should've known.".

Just then, Buldeo came out nowhere and appeared in front of all the other animals, but he wasn't alone, as suddenly a female spotted hyena and a male Atlas bear also came out of nowhere and stopped by both of his sides and next to him, and these two are none other than Zenobia and Clayton, and now it seems that all three bad animals are now friends with each other and they're now working together as a formidable team, much to all the other animals' shock when they saw all three villainous animals actually working together, before Clayton the Atlas bear said evilly as he licked his lips "I think I see some lunch!", but then Zenobia the spotted hyena said and added as she suddenly eyed Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and looked at them with hungry and evil eyes "But I think I see some tiny snacks which I can also eat as well!", and then she laughed evilly as she stepped a little closer and kept looking down at the small and terrified little baby animals, who gasped in fright when they realized that Zenobia is determined and willing to eat them for lunch, and so they cowered and hugged at Georgie's body for comfort as the evil female spotted hyena managed to scare them all with the hungry look on her evil face.

However, when Zenobia stepped even closer to Georgie and to the three little baby animals, Jayma and Opey's mother both came out of nowhere and stepped in between them, before Jayma said "Stay away from these youngsters! I'm warning you, you mangy, filthy spotted hyena!", and thenthe Opey's mother added in agreement "If you want these poor little baby animals, you and your two friends have to go through us first!", but then Zenobia said back "No problem! We can easily deal with the two of you because we're a team!", and then she added and warned "Prepare to die!", and then the two good adult female animals (Jayma and Opey's mother) and the three adult evil animals (Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo) started to fight each other in front of the eight young animal friends, who looked at them with shock in and behind their eyes.

However, just then, Opey's mother turned her head to look at her own daughter and at her daughter's friends and then she called for them "Run, kids! Quickly! Run for your lives!", but then Opey asked her "But what about you, mommy?", and then Jayma turned her head to her and toher the seven other young animal friends and then she said "Your mother and I we'll take care of and we'll deal with these three! You go find help!", and then the two continued to fight together against Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo, thus keeping them busy enough to distract them away from the eight young animal friends, who all did as the mother okapi and the maned lioness told them to, and so they all started to run away together to the Kirin village to ask for and find some help.


	111. Chapter 110:goodbye Kirin village

Meanwhile, back in the Kirin village, everyone thanked the Kirins for making for them (and especially for Agatha) a very good and great time and preparing the party especially for Agatha to officially celebrate her redemption in the Kirin village (similar to how the Hippogriffs did with Kenai on Mount Aris), but before they're about to go and leave the Kirin village, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Tah and their friends all suddenly saw the eight young animal friends running towards them and screaming for help, and when Rain Shine and the Kirins noticed them too, they all stayed in place and waited for them to come close enough so they can talk to them and ask them what are they're doing in the big forest of the Peaks of Peril.

When the eight young animal friends all reached the Kirin village and met up with everyone else, Stephan's girlfriend (Bluebell) recognized them when she saw Opey standing in front of her friends, and so the winged centauress came forward to meet them, and once she got close enough, she asked them (and particularly Opey herself) "Hey there, Opey and the other little ones, what are you all doing here?", but then Opey cried "Please, we need your help! My mommy's is danger, and so is our new friend, Jayma!".

However, when Agatha heard Opey mentioning and saying Jayma's name, the white lioness also came forward and stopped next to Bluebell to meet the eight young animal friends and then she asked them "Did you said that you're friends with Jayma?", but then Opey cried "Yes, but she and my mommy are both in danger!", and when Agatha and Bluebell both heard what she said, they both asked in unison "What?" before Opey said and explained "We've met Jayma in the cave and she helped us to escape from there, before we met my mommy and my friend, Kyra, but then our reunion is cut short when three big bad animals attacked us and started to fight both Jayma and my mommy!".

When Agatha and Bluebell heard what she said, Agatha placed a forepaw on the young female okapi's shoulder and then she asked her "Who are these three big bad animals that you're talking about?", and then Opey explained "These three were a hyena, a bear and a lion!", but when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Tah heard her mentioning and saying that two of the three who attacked both her mother and Jayma were a hyena and a bear, it didn't bring them good memories as the four friends knew exactly what Opey is talking about - she and her friends met and got attacked by Zenobia and Clayton.

However, Agatha also understood who the lion who attacked the eight young animal friends was and who he would be - none other than Buldeo himself. When everyone also heard from what Opey just said that Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo all have returned and are now working together as a formidable team of three, they all gasped in shock to realize that Saut and Karoosh are not anymore the only ones whom they all should be worried about, before Tah spoke up and said "I think that now it does make sense why these two evil rhinos, Saut and Karoosh, are not anymore the only ones whom we all should be worried about.".

However, when the Rhinotauress said that, an awfully familiar male voice suddenly said "Did somebody said our names?!", and just then, Saut and Karoosh both came out of nowhere and showed themselves in front of everyone, before Karoosh spoke up and said "It has been a while since we've seen each other, hasn't it?" and then he and Saut both gave everyone evil smirks as they both slowly stepped forward and gave them all evil chuckles, but when the two male hybrid rhinos both turned to see the eight young animal friends, they suddenly focused their attentions on them instead, and so both adult male rhinos started to circle around them while aiming their horns at them, thus scaring and terrifying all eight young animal friends in front of everyone else (including Autumn Blaze, Rain Shine and the Kirins), who all watched them from a distance (and from not too far away).

However, when everyone saw the two big male hybrid rhinos surrounding the eight terrified young animal friends and threatening to attack them with their horns if they try to run away from them, Rain Shine stepped forward and then she said to Saut and to his new best friend Karoosh "Hey, you two big bad monsters! Leave these poor little ones alone!", but when Saut and Karoosh heard what she said to them, they both turned to face her before Saut spoke up and said to her in a threatening tone "I warn you, you filthy Kirin! You mess with us - you're messing up with our horns!", but when everyone heard how Saut insulted and threatened the leader of the Kirins, this is when the mane seven stepped forward before Twilight demanded "Stay away from these little animal children, Saut! And we suggest you shall tell your friend, Karoosh, to do the same as we ask you to do!", and then Rainbow Dash added as she hovered above her friends and looked down at the two male hybrid rhinos "Yeah! Did you both heard what Twilight said?! Leave these little buddies alone, you two big ugly jerks!", and then she readied herself to strike down at both Saut and Karoosh, who both looked up at her with anger rising behind their evil eyes.

However, before they're about to attack the mane seven with their heads and horns, Saut and Karoosh both suddenly heard a shaking little voice crying "P-please, d-don't do it!", but only Karoosh turned around to see Maisie, Riley and Cheeky looking up at him with scared and teary eyes while they're surrounded by their five much larger and older friends, but then an evil idea came in the male black rhinoceros hybrid's mind as he decided to go back to the young animal friends, while Saut still faced the mane seven and readied himself to fight them all by himself.

When Karoosh approached close enough and looked down at the three scared and terrified little baby animals who are standing in front of him alongside the five other, bigger and older animals, he snorted angrily at their very small, cute, lovable and frightened appearances before he asked them in an angry tone "Who are you three stupid little rats supposed to be?!", and then Riley answered in his shaking tone "M-my name is Riley, S-Sir, and these are m-my best friends - Maisie and Cheeky!", but when Karoosh heard what the little baby fennec fox just said, the big male black rhinoceros hybrid yelled and bellowed down at all three little baby animals "STOP YOUR SHAKING IN MY PRESENCE, YOU THREE STUPID LITTLE RATS!", thus causing Maisie, Riley and Cheeky to start crying and wailing at his short temper and at his pure anger and rage which were burning all together in his eyes.

However, when Karoosh saw them crying in front of him, he angrily raised up his right foreleg and then he was about to smash it down, and right at the three crying little baby animals, but before he was about to do so, Karoosh suddenly screamed in pain as something medium-sized jumped up and bit him on the back, and that was none other than Agatha herself, who jumped onto the top of Karoosh's massive back and then she started to bite and scratch at his back in order to get him away from the three little baby animals and from their five much larger and older friends, and while trying to get him away, Agatha yelled at Karoosh "How dare you monster treat these three poor little things like if they're cockroaches?!", and then she added "They deserve to be loved and have family and friends to look out for them, and what are you doing now is trying to crush them under your feet like if they're nothing more than three tiny cockroaches to you! What do you have to say to yourself, you heartless jerk?!", but all Karoosh said back to her is "Get off me, you filthy lioness! Get off me!" as he tried to shake her off his back, but to no avail, before she then raised up her forepaw and then she moved it down swiftly and delivered a powerful slap to the side of his face, thus finally knocking him out cold.

At the same time, the mane seven successfully managed to fight Saut and they all managed to knock him out cold as well, but their victory is short-lived when an angry trumpeting roar was suddenly heard, and just then, a big African bush elephant suddenly came out of nowhere and stormed angrily towards everyone, and much to their shock the big African bsuh elephant who stormed angrily towards them wasn't Terrence at all, but is instead the same adult female African bush elephant from before (who tried to destroy Opey and her friends, knocked Kyra unconscious and killed Maisie, Riley and Cheeky's mothers).

When the adult female African bush elephant stopped dead in her tracks when she saw everyone, she then looked down to see the eight young animal friends looking up at her with fright shaking in their eyes, before she gave them all an evil smile and then she spoke up and said "There you are, you filthy little brats! Now you're all mine, just in where I wanted you all to be!", and then she laughed evilly at them, but when everyone else (including Rain Shine, Autumn Blaze and all the other Kirins) heard her voice and her evil laugh, Rainbow Dash suddenly called in a shocked tone as she hovered in the air "Oh my gosh, she's a female!", thus suddenly getting her attention as the adult female African bush elephant suddenly turned to face her when she heard her calling and saying about her that she's a female and not a male like Terrence, and when she looked at Rainbow Dash in the eyes, she asked her evilly "Who do you think you are, you weird, rainbow-maned talking horse with chicken wings?!", but when the insult hit Rainbow Dash, she angrily said to her "First of all, I'm called a Pegasus! Second, my name is Rainbow Dash! And third, who do you think YOU are?!".

However, when the adult female African bush elephant heard what the rainbow-maned Pegasus mare said to her, she said back "Well, that's funny that you're asking me that kind of question, Pegasus! My name is Topsy, and as you can see clearly, I'm a female African bush elephant! I'm also the last specimen of my own kind in this world!", but when Rainbow Dash heard what she said, she said back to her "No, you're not! You're not the only African bush elephant in Equestria! There's another elephant from your own species who is currently living in Equestria who is just as cruel and as heartless as you are!".

However, when Topsy (the adult female African bush elephant) heard what Rainbow Dash just said about that there's another African bush elephant who is currently living in Equestria (which is this case - none other than Terrence himself), she yelled back at the Pegasus mare "No! I'M the last African bush elephant living in this world!", but then Applejack stepped forward and said "There's another African bush elephant living here in Equestria! He's a male, his name is Terrence, and he's just as cruel and as heartless as you are!", but then Topsy roared at her in the face "NO! YOU'RE LYING TO ME! I WON'T FALL FOR YOUR LIES, YOU ANOTHER TALKING HORSE!", but then Applejack said to her "I'm talking the truth! My name is Applejack, and I'm the Element of Honesty! I will never tell a lie, and I won't accept or tolerate no good liars! If somepony tells a lie, I'm going to know about that!".

However, when Topsy heard what the Earth pony mare said, she yelled at her and at Rainbow Dash "Enough! I don't even understand the both of you!", but when she suddenly heard someone shaking behind her, she turned around to see Maisie, Riley and Cheeky shaking fearfully at her shear size and scary appearance as they knew her very clearly as the elephant who killed their mothers. When Topsy recognized them by their much smaller sizes and appearances, as well as by their shared timid and scared personalities, she evilly said to them "There you are, you three filthy little rats!", and then she started running towards them, thus causing them to scream and run away, but she successfully caught and held up all three of them with her long and muscular trunk, and then she looked at their teary-eyed, shaking and terrified appearances, she yelled at them with anger and rage burning in her eyes "STOP YOUR SHAKING IMMEDIATELY, YOU SNIVELING, FILTHY LITTLE RATS!".

However, what she said made the three little baby animals start crying before Maisie said "Y-you killed our m-mommies, y-you big, old ugly elephant!", and then Riley added "P-please, let us go!", and then Cheeky added "Y-you're nothing but a big, bad heartless m-monster!", but when Topsy heard what they all said, she angrily choked them in her trunk and at them yelled angrily in their faces "SHUT UP YOUR MOUTHS, YOU TINY, USELESS LITTLE RATS! IF YOU DON'T, THEN I WILL HAVE TO SHUT YOU THREE UP MYSELF!", but before she's about to choke the three little baby animals in an even more tighter grip in her long and enormous trunk, Fluttershy flew up to her face and gave Topsy an intimidating look of her infamous stare right to the face, causing to gasp in shock and let go of Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, who started falling back down to the ground, but before they could hit the ground, Kyra ran up to them and saved all three of them at once by going right below them and she let them land safely on her back, thus saving their lives but also shocking them at the same time (since they've been orphaned all together by Topsy (who is an elephant) before, only to be saved by Kyra herself (who is also an elephant)), before the young Indian elephant took the three of them on her back and brought them to everyone else so they can be protected from Topsy's wrath.

However, as she gently brought them and placed them down on the ground safely, Kyra said to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky "Now I gotta go back to help my friends!", but as she turned back to her friends, Maisie suddenly called for her "W-wait a minute!", thus getting her attention before she's about to go, and thus causing her to turn back to them before she asked "Yes? What is it? What do you want now?", and then Riley asked her "W-why did you s-saved us?", and then Kyra said "Because it's what friends do.", but then Cheeky cried "B-but, y-you're an elephant, and an elephant killed our m-mommies!", but then Kyra said back "Well, I may be an elephant, but I won't do any if you any harm. I promise.", but then Maisie said "T-that big, bad meanie elephant c-crushed and destroyed our mommies in f-front of our eyes! P-please, help us!", but then Kyra lowered her head down to look at the baby galago, baby fennec fox and baby jerboa in the eyes, before she then stretch out her trunk for them and then she gently stroked at their small bodies, and shapes and forms with it and then she said "It's okay, little ones. I promise I will talk to my herd about what happened to your mothers, and in return they and the other non-elephant herds will help protect you three from that bigger and meaner elephant who took your mothers away from you. I promise you three that once my non-elephant best friends and I we'll take you back home with us, we'll talk to our herds about you three and about what happened to your mothers, and they will do whatever it takes to keep that bigger and meaner elephant away from you.", and then the young Indian elephant gave them all a reassuring smile before she said "That's a promise, and elephants never forget.", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard what she said, they ran up to her and hugged at her both her trunk and her forelegs and cried all together "T-thank you, K-Kyra! E-even though you're an elephant, y-you're really are a good f-friend!".

When everyone else noticed the newly-formed friendship bond between Kyra and the three little baby animals (Maisie, Riley and Cheeky), they couldn't help but smile and shed tears of joy to realize that the three learned to trust elephants and not fear them (thanks to Kyra helping restoring their faith in elephant kind), before the four finally broke their hug and then Kyra said to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky "Now I have to go and help my friends. You three just stay here so you won't get hurt, okay?", and when they heard what she said, Cheeky said back "O-okay! W-we'll stay here and wait for you to come back to us with your friends!", and this is when Kyra went back to fight Topsy and save her non-elephant friends from her, as Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all watched her while they're standing and looking with everyone else.

Then, when Kyra reached back to her friends, she yelled up at Topsy "Hey, you! Leave my friends alone!", but when the older female elephant heard her saying and yelling that, she slowly turned around to face her and then she said to her "Penalty! Too many elephants on this field! I warned you, you little Asian elephant! Turn around and walk away while you still you're still able to and have your time!", but then Kyra said to her in a defying tone "Well, I don't think so!" and then she added with an expression on her face that is mixed with determination "I'm not leaving without my friends!", but when Topsy heard the younger female elephant saying that, she said back in anger as she fully turned around and looked down at her in the eyes with pure rage burning in them "Alright, you little one! You're asking for it, and now you're going to get it!", and then she quickly wrapped her trunk around Kyra's neck and then she started to raise the younger elephant up as she continued to choke her tighter in her grip, thus causing Opey and the three other young animal friends to cry all together "No! Please, don't do this to her! Don't do this to Kyra!", but Topsy just ignored their cries as she continued harassing the younger female elephant for the second time.

However, when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all saw what Topsy is doing to Kyra in front of their eyes, something snapped inside all three of them as it quickly reminded them of how Topsy already did that to their mothers in the same way she's doing to Kyra, who is now too weak and helpless to fight back or even to raise up her trunk and try to get it close enough to slap the older female elephant in the eyes. The three little baby animals charged towards Topsy all together and then when they reached close enough to her massive body, they all jumped up and started biting onto Topsy's left hind leg, thus causing her to scream and turn around with her head to face them while she's still choking Kyra with her long, enormous and muscular trunk, before she yelled at them "Hey, stop biting onto my leg, you little rats! You're wasting your strength AND your time!", but Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all ignored her yelling and they continued to attack and bite onto her left hind leg in order to keep getting her attention so she will become distracted enough to let go of Kyra and drop her back down to the ground.

However, Topsy decided willingly to throw Kyra off violently, and so she finally let go of her and she willingly threw her aside, thus causing her to hit the ground and get knocked out cold and unconscious once again (and for the second time), before the malevolent female African bush elephant turned back to look at Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and so she angrily reached out with her trunk in order to catch them and throw them away from herself, but while she is distracted by the three little baby animal friends, Bluebell and Tah turned to look at each other and nodded to each other in agreement as they both knew that now they got and have the chance they waited for - which is in that case, to knock Topsy out cold while she's not looking directly at them, and so Bluebell clenched her own hand into a fist and then she lit it up a blue magic aura while Tah just clenched her own larger hand into a fist as well (without magic), before the two went around the distracted cow (female) elephant, and once they reached the right side of her body, Bluebell flew up to her with Tah following behind her in tow as she just stood upright on her own hinder rhinoceros legs, and so the two reached up to the right side of Topsy's head and face, before Tah then placed her rhinoceros forelegs on the cow elephant's right shoulder and neck before she and Bluebell got their fists close to each other and merged them together and then they moved them at the same time and gave a powerful, magical and knocking double punch directly to the right side of Topsy's head and face, barely missing her right eye (as they didn't struck or blinded her), but their merged double punch was enough to make the evil cow elephant dizzy, before she finally collapsed onto her left side, and Maisie, Riley and Cheeky finally let go of her left hind leg and jumped back down to the ground and barely escaped back to safety in the nick of time, and thus Topsy is finally defeated, but that may also reflect back to the time Bluebell alone punched Terrence square in the face with her magic to avenge Simba and Sirga's biological Liontauress mother, shortly before his left tusk was removed and he was sent to Tartarus for his crimes (although he escaped, thanks to Ganda), but the double punch Bluebell and Tah gave together to Topsy's face may tell us that this is a déjà vu.

However, instead of running back to everyone else, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all ran up to Kyra's unconscious body instead, and once the three got close enough to her, they started to hug at her left foreleg and then they started to cry for her and they begged her to wake up as they didn't wanted to lose her like they lost their mothers, and fresh tears were streaming down their eyes as Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all went up to them as well and they too had tears in their eyes as well, as they all looked right at their unconscious friend, and everyone else soon joined in as well as they all looked with sadness right at Kyra's unconscious body.

However, just as things appeared to be bleak, Kyra suddenly opened her eyes and then she coughed briefly before she started gasping for air, and then she slowly moved her head and neck and looked down to see Maisie, Riley and Cheeky crying loudly into her left foreleg, and much to everyone's shock to see that she actually survived being thrown away by Topsy and getting hit against the ground, Kyra slowly reached out her trunk and then she slowly wrapped it very gently around Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, thus getting their attention when they suddenly realized that Kyra is still alive, and when they turned their heads and looked at her, they saw her gently wrapping her trunk around their small forms and slowly bringing them close to her head and face so she can nuzzle against them as gently and as softly as she could, thus causing all three little baby animals to suddenly cry happily to see that she have managed to survive Topsy's second attack on her, and before she knew it, the three jumped out of her trunk and hugged tightly at her forehead as their tears of sadness quickly transformed and turned into tears of joy, and everyone else (including Kyra's non-elephant best friends, as well as Rain Shine, Autumn Blaze and all the other Kirins) were all very happy to see the young Indian elephant still alive after what happened to her.

Just then, Kyra slowly moved her own body and moved on her own, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all let go of her, this is when she slowly got back up on her feet, but once she's up on her feet, Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo all came out of nowhere, but instead of attacking everyone, they went past them all and ended up hitting Saut and Karoosh instead, thus accidentally awakening them from their unconsciousness, but when the five turned to see each other and then to see everyone looking at them while raising their eyebrows, and then the five villainous animals all turned to see Topsy's still unconscious, before they all quickly stood back up and started to run away in different directions - Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo ran together in one direction, while Saut and Karoosh went in another, but no one bothered stopping any of them because they've already caught Topsy and knocked her out cold, as she's from the African bush elephant species (which was extremely rare in Equestria, with and as of now, only two currently living individuals still exist - Topsy the female herself and Terrence the ferocious male).

However, everyone's thoughts about what to should do with Topsy were interrupted when Opey's mother and Jayma suddenly called out for all of them, and then out of nowhere they both appeared (have revealed to have chased Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo away), and when they both saw Topsy's massive unconscious body lying down next to everyone else (as well as next to all the Kirins too), Opey went up to them and called "Mommy! Jayma! Look what we did! We all have caught that big bad African bush elephant!", but as the mother okapi and the maned lioness both got reunited with everyone else, Opey's mother asked "Very well then, you all did a pretty good job, I have to say!", before she added and asked "But what are you wll going to do with her now that she's knocked out cold?", and when everyone heard what she said, Celestia and Luna suddenly appeared out of nowhere and out of thin air using their magic to find everyone, and when the two Alicorn princesses saw Topsy's massive and unconscious body, Celestia said "Do not worry about that, every creature!", and then Luna added "We'll take care of that enormous beast!", but when everyone saw the both of them suddenly here just in the right time (although they all unexpected the both of them to actually come to help deal with Topsy's massive and unconscious body), everyone said and asked out loud in shock and surprise "PRINCESS CELESTIA?! PRINCESS LUNA?!", while Chloe and Aylene simply asked in shock "Mom Celestia?! Auntie Luna?!", thus showing that they're all in shock to see that the two Alicorn princesses actually came to help just in time, before Celestia and Luna used their magic together to make a giant cage appear out of nowhere and surround Topsy's massive (and still) unconscious body and then opened a portal which leads to Tartarus, and then the two Alicorn princesses pushed the cage through the portal to send it (and Topsy) to Tartarus, thus giving the malevolent female African elephant a one-way ticket to a life sentence in Tartarus, before the portal closed behind Topsy and the cage in which her unconscious body is locked inside, thus getting rid of her without killing her in no time.

With Topsy being moved to spend her life in Tartarus, Celestia and Luna then turned to look at everyone and then Celestia asked "Is every creature okay?", and then Twilight said back to her "Yes, Princess Celestia! We just managed to defeat that elephant, thanks to Bluebell, Tah, and also thanks to these three cute little animals!", and then she pointed and motioned with a forehoof at Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, but when they looked up to see Celestia and Luna, they gasped in shock at their beautiful appearances and said "Woah!" all together, before the two princesses approached lightly towards them, and then they both lowered down on all fours and lowered their necks and heads to look at the three little baby animals in the eyes, before Maisie said in her small and timid voice "H-hi there, P-Princesses!", and then Riley added "I-it's nice to meet you!", and then Cheeky said "Y-you both look p-pretty and g-gorgeous!", and when the two Alicorn princesses heard what all three little baby animals said to them, Celestia giggled a bit before she said in her usual nice and motherly tone "Well, thank you three. For some creatures your own sizes and ages, you all seems to have good manners.", and then Luna added "Yes, you three look very polite and friendly, and I truly appreciate meeting such small, yet nice and social creatures as you three.", and then Celestia said "Do not be afraid of us. We will never dream of harming such precious little ones as you three.", and when they heard what the two Alicorn princesses said, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky said back all together "Th-thank you, p-princesses!".

However, when Kyra stepped forward, the three little baby animals went up to her once again and hugged her around her left foreleg and cried "O-oh, K-Kyra! W-we're so s-sorry about what t-that bigger a-and meaner elephant d-did to y-you!", but when Celestia and Luna heard them saying that, Celestia turned her head back to look at the mane seven and asked "What happened to these three little ones that caused them to say something about a bigger and meaner elephant?", and then Luna also turned her head back to look at the mane seven and added "Did something bad happened to them before in which an elephant was involved?", and then Kyra said "Yes.", thus shocking the two Alicorn princesses before they turned their heads to look back at Kyra and at her friends.

Then, Kyra began explaining to Celestia and Luna (in front of everybody else) what happened to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky that left then scared and traumatized when their mothers were killed by a ferocious African bush elephant, but what shocked Celestia and Luna to the very core was when Kyra explained that the African bush elephant who orphaned the three little baby animal friends is not Terrence himself this time, but was instead Topsy the female African bush elephant (who recently arrived in Equestria), thus revealing to Celestia and Luna that now there are two African bush elephants who are currently living in all of Equestria - Terrence the male and Topsy the female.

However, when Kyra explained to the two Alicorn princesses that she saved the Maisie, Riley and Cheeky's lives from Topsy, though it resulted in her nearly getting killed by the older female elephant, that they both still did a pretty good job and appeared just in the right time to lock Topsy up in a cage and then send her through a portal to Tartarus so she won't cause anyone else any more trouble. When Celestia and Luna heard what Kyra said about them playing their important part in imprisoning Topsy the female African bush elephant and sending her to Tartarus to suffer, like they did to Terrence when he caused similar troubles to what she (Topsy) already did, the two Alicorn princesses said back that it was their honor to help imprisoning another evil elephant who is both from the same species and acts and behaves the same way as Terrence himself.

Then, Chloe and Aylene stepped forward and asked Celestia and Luna if they can use their magic to teleport Kyra, Opey and her mother, their friends and the three little baby animal friends back to the Everfree Forest (and back to where all the herds are living together), and when Celestia and Luna said that they're honored to help some more, before the two lit up their horns and then they used their magic together to make Opey, her mother, Kyra and all the other animals (minus Jayma) disappear into thin air, thus sending them all back to the Everfree Forest, and when it was the time for Chloe and for her friends to return home as well, they all said goodbye to Rain Shine, Autumn Blaze and to all the other Kirins, and even to Jayma, who have already found a place to stay and live in the Kirin village (as she chose to never return back to her own lion pride and become the pride's leader again), before Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Starlight, Bluebell and even Rarity used their magic all together to send Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Tah and everyone else (including themselves) back home, thus bidding farewell to Jayma the maned lioness and to all the Kirins from the Kirin village.


	112. Chapter 111:little animals meets Shufai

Now, it was already 60 months (5 years) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 48 months (4 years) since Aylene became her beloved equestrian Pegasus pony sister, and now they and everyone else were all doing fine after three of villains' animals have already reformed and turned good throughout the course of the last 4-5 years - Shujaa, Gilad's former albino orangutan, Kenai, Gilad's former brown panda, and Agatha, Yigal's former white lioness, but now we're going to see what happens next with our three newest little baby animal friends - Maisie the baby galago, Riley the baby fennec fox, and Cheeky the baby jerboa, who are just getting used to their new lives in the Everfree Forest and to their much larger friends and surroundings together.

In the Everfree Forest, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky are all trying their best to show the herds that they deserve to live with them, but even though most of the animals, including the respective leaders of each of the herds (Angalifu, Queen Tukta, Mekong and Sariah), one animal from one of the herds still didn't really wanted to have these three little orphan baby animals around - an adolescent male Indian elephant from Queen Tukta's herd, his name was Shufai, and besides of him being one of Queen Tukta's oldest grandchildren, he's in fact none other than Kyra's older brother, thus revealing that despite he doesn't really wants the three poor little baby animals to stay and live with his family and with the other herds, Shufai is still closely related to the much younger elephant who saved their lives not so long ago.

One day, when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky were playing together with Kyra, Opey, with their best friends and with all the other young animals in the herds, they couldn't see Shufai watching and looking at them all from a distance alongside the other adolescents, adults and elders of the herds, but the adolescent male Indian elephant's face weren't really happy with the three new little baby animals' presence, and instead he eyed Maisie, Riley and Cheeky with pure disgust as he didn't liked them at all, before he went alone to a spot that was a bit far away from all the other adolescents, adults and elders of the herds, and then he spoke up and said to himself in a complaining tone "First, I was so happy to see that my sister is coming back home again, because I truly missed her, but then she and her best friends brought these three stinky little mice to our home to stay and live with us and with our united herds!", and then he added and said to himself "These three don't deserve to stay and live here with all of us! They're too small and useless! Having these three around here in our home is something utterly preposterous! When the right time comes, I will take these three little mice to have a talk with me so I can teach them a lesson and show them how things REALLY work around here in our home!".

The following day, after Maisie, Riley and Cheeky played with all the other animal youngsters, they were about to join them all to eat some lunch with them - which was in that case - fruits and plants. Before they're about to join and eat some lunch too, a voice suddenly said to them "Pssst, hey you three.", and when the three little animal friends turned their heads to look behind them, they saw Shufai standing behind some of the nearby trees and calling for them to come over to him in a low and quiet tone so not to get all the other animal youngsters' attention as well, before he then said to them while keeping speaking in a low and quite tone "Yes you three, come over here to me.", and then he added "We really need to talk.", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky barely heard what he said to them, the three decided to go towards him and see what the adolescent male Indian elephant wants from them that may be so important for them to hear, know and understand for the most.

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all went past the nearby trees and reached up to Shufai, they looked up at his medium-large sized body and appearance, but then he also appeared to be somewhat scary and intimidating to the three little animal friends, who swallowed deeply and nervously at his looks and appearance as he looked scary and intimidating to them as he too looked down at their frightened faces, before a mischievous smile formed on his face before he said "Hi, three little mice!", thus prompting Cheeky to ask "M-mice?", before Riley added and asked "Wh-what do y-you want f-from us, M-Mister E-Elephant?", but then Shufai said back "Oh, I don't want anything. However, I would like to introduce myself to you three, if you don't mind.", and then he added and introduced himself and said "My name is Shufai, and in case you didn't know, I'm Kyra's older brother and one of Queen Tukta's oldest grandchildren.", and when the three little baby animal friends all heard what the adolescent male Indian elephant said to them about himself being Kyra's older brother, Maisie said back to him "W-we didn't know that K-Kyra have a b-big brother.", but then Shufai said to them while giving a meanie smile "You do now!", thus causing the three little animal friends step aback from him as he kept being mean to them in order to 'show' them who's boss.

Then, Shufai said as he took a step forward "You see, my little rodents, I'm a future leader of Queen Tukta's Indian elephant herd, and I don't like anyone that is new here to try and show me up and try to steal my high rank and get to stand above me, do you understand?", but then Riley cried while shaking in fear alongside Maisie and Cheeky "B-b-but we...we...", but then Shufai yelled at him and at his two best friends and said with a hint of anger in his tone "Shut up and be quite!", as he stomped his front right foot down in front of them, thus causing Maisie, Riley and Cheeky to swallow deeply and nervously and shake harder at his appearance and looks, his massive size compared to theirs, but most importantly - his angry face.

Then, Shufai said and warned in his threatening tone "Now, if you three just stay out of my way, I promise you that there won't be any problems, okay you three stupid little mice?!", and then he looked down at all three of them and gave them a fairly meanie and scary smirk, thus prompting Riley to say as he and his two friends nodded and nervously swallowed once again "Y-y-yes, M-Mister Sh-Shufai, w-we promise w-we won't b-bother you or c-cause you any t-trouble, e-ever.", and when Shufai heard what the little baby fennec fox just said, a big meanie smile appeared on his face before he said "Good. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Now that's much more like it.", but then he quickly added "But I'm not done with you three yet, because I have one more thing I still have to say to you little rodents.", and then he spoke up and said the most insulting words he ever said to someone who is much smaller than him in size.

"Do you three really think that my grandmother, Queen Tukta, her good friends and allies, Angalifu, Mekong and Sariah, my own little sister, Kyra, and her friends, and all the other animals in this here forest really cares for you and loves you three so much? Hahahaha, please, you three are just small and useless animals, and nobody really cares for you or loves any of you either, and as a matter of fact, it's all just a facade.", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard what he said, they gasped with shock and with fright as they started to believe his lies.

Meanwhile, Kyra and her friends all started to worry about Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, and so Georgie said "Guys, I'm starting to get pretty much worried about our little buddies.", and then Albert asked him "Should we go looking for them?", before Kyra said "I think we should, because I don't think that _everyone_ here really wants our little friends to stay and live here with all of us.", before Opey added in agreement "Yes, something smells really bad around here, and it seems that at least _one_ animal of our herds doesn't really likes Maisie, Riley and Cheeky because of the small, friendly, cute and lovable animals they are.", before Milton interrupted them all and said "So what are we all waiting for? Let's go look for them right now! Let's go find them!", and when the four other animal friends all heard what their young tapir friend said, they agreed that they should go look for Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and see what's really going on with them.

Meanwhile, back behind the nearby trees, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky were all crying and begging for mercy from Shufai as the adolescent male Indian elephant held them all by their tails with his trunk and at about seven feet above the ground, which was enough to scare then all to death because of their small sizes, before Maisie cried and begged "P-please, M-Mister Sh-Shufai! D-don't do this to us! W-we did n-nothing bad to you!", but Shufai just said back "Ha! Like I even should care about what you and your two friends say, you three little rodents!", and then he added "Now, face the wrath of a bull Indian elephant like me and see for yourself what it's like and also how it feels like!", and then he laughed at all three of them like a bully while he's still holding them upside down by their tails with his trunk.

When Kyra and her four non-elephant best friends all went past the trees, they all gasped in shock to see Shufai tormenting and bullying the three little baby animal friends by holding them by their tails with his trunk and at about seven feet above the ground, and they also saw that Maisie, Riley and Cheeky are shaking in fear and are looking frightened and terrified, while Shufai himself just smiled mischievously at them, before Kyra then stepped forward and called for her older brother "Shufai, stop doing that to them this instance!", before Opey also stepped forward and added "Let them go or else we're telling on you to our elders and to our leaders!", and when Shufai saw the five young animal friends looking with angry faces directly at him, he realized that he's been caught while still bullying Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, and so he carefully moved his trunk down, and eventually he placed the three little baby animal friends on the solid ground safely, thus making them feel calm down from their shaking and fear for a little bit as they're now standing back on solid ground.

Then, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all ran up to Kyra and then they hugged her tightly on her left foreleg and burst into tears, before the young Indian elephant turned to look down at them and then she gently stroked at their backs with her trunk and said "Shhh, it's okay, my three little friends. Don't pay attention to my older brother. He's always behaving like this when he meets someone who is new to him.", before Opey interrupted and added "Yes, but don't worry about him. We won't let him do you three any more harm. That's a promise.", but when Shufai heard what his own little sister and one of her best friends said to the three little baby animal friends about him being mean when he meets someone who is new to him, the adolescent male Indian elephant gave a disgusted look before he turned away with a huff, thus showing that he doesn't likes or wants Maisie, Riley and Cheeky to stay and live with the families and with the herds (including and especially his own family and herd).

Then, Shufai said as he looked down at his own little sister and at her friends (and particularly at Maisie, Riley and Cheeky) "Fine, you're welcome to stay and live with me and with my family, as well as with all the herds in this here forest.", but then he quickly added as he gave them an insulting (yet last) warning "Just don't let me catch you three doing one wrong step, one wrong move, or do something bad to my little sister, to her friends or to any of the families and herds living in this here forest, and I promise you three that you will suffer in the harshest of ways, because who even needs three little mice like you if you (talking to himself) can protect and defend yourself, your family and your entire herd because you're a big animal?!", and then he finished and said to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky "Face it, you three little rodents - you don't belongs with all of us, because this is a place for only big animals like elephants, okapis, Sumatran rhinos, tapirs and gorillas, not for some useless little animals like you three who can't even protect and defend yourselves!", and then he finally turned away with a scowl on his face and he started to walk away from Kyra, her friends and the three little baby animals, who were all in shock to hear what the adolescent male Indian elephant just said about Maisie, Riley and Cheeky.

However, Kyra and her friends soon shook their heads and snapped out of their shocked states before they all turned and then looked down at the three little baby animal friends, before Kyra gently caressed their heads with her trunk and said to them "Shhh, it's okay, our three little friends. We won't let my big brother do you any harm or threaten you like that.", before Opey added as she stroked them down their backs with a free cloven forehoof "Shufai always acts like this way when he meets new animals who are much smaller than him in size, but we won't let him just bully you three and get away with that.", and then Georgie added as he gently pulled all three little baby animals and moved them all close to his chest to hug them (and also to let them hug him back) "It's okay, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky. We assure you all that you're indeed in good hands, and we will never let anyone make you feel pain or make you think that you don't belong here just because of your small sizes. You're the strongest animals that I've ever met, because even though you lost your moms to that big bad female African bush elephant, you're still able to see that not all elephants are ferocious monsters, and when Kyra saved your lives and nearly got killed while doing so, you're still able to see that some of elephant kind still possesses some big good hearts and will never dream of doing to small, friendly, cute and lovable animals like you three any harm. Trust me, and all of my friends.", and then he gave the three little baby animal friends a kind and reassuring smile.

However, when nighttime came, the insulting words which Shufai said to the three little baby animal friends managed to sink deep into their minds and make them all scared and afraid, before Maisie asked her friends "I-is that true, my friends?" and then she added "I-is M-Mister Sh-Shufai really t-telling us the t-truth?", and then Riley said "I-I don't know, M-Maisie, because even though we believe in what our friends said, M-Mister Sh-Shufai still s-sounded really s-serious when he t-talked to us.", and then Cheeky added "W-what M-Mister Sh-Shufai said to us surely f-felt so r-real.", as all three little animal friends once again heard Shufai's voice whispering and saying to them in the whispering winds around them " _Nobody in this here forest really cares for you three, and that's because you're all just useless little animals, so do me and everyone else who lives here a favor and just go away and leave our home and go back to where you came from_.", thus causing and forcing the three poor little baby animal friends to cry themselves to sleep.


	113. Chapter 112:the little animals' runaway

Later that night, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky were all already asleep, but they're not having any good dreams tonight, instead - they're all suffering from a scary nightmare which makes them curl up in balls next to each other as their nightmare just started to hurt them and mess up with their minds. The three little animal friends found themselves in a dark void standing next to each other, but then they started hearing a malevolent laughter before the elephant who didn't wanted them to stay and live with him and with all the herds suddenly appeared out of nowhere right in front of them with a mischievous smile on his face and started to scare the three poor little animals by showing his massive size and also by making deep, rumbling and scary noises with his stomach (elephants often use stomach rumbling as one way to communicate with each other).

Then, Shufai stopped once he was only ten inches away from the three little animal friends and then he said in a malevolent tone "So, do you still think everybody in this here forest loves you three and cares about you so much?! Well, you're wrong, you little rodents! You're dead wrong! I can assure you that nobody really loves you or cares about you three at all! This is all just a facade, and I can still prove you three that it IS!", but when they heard what the adolescent male Indian elephant said to them, Riley cried "P-please, M-Mister Sh-Shufai! P-Please, l-leave us alone!", and then Cheeky added "W-we know everybody likes us, and you c-can't t-tell us otherwise!", and then Maisie said "Y-your sister and her f-friends really do likes us! S-so, please, j-just please, g-go away and leave us alone!".

However, the adolescent male Indian elephant just laughed malevolently at them some more before he said back "You're wrong, you three useless little mice! Nobody really loves you or cares about you three either, and I can prove it to you!", and then he asked them in his deep and scary tone "Do you wanna see for yourselves that I'M the one who is right all along?", but then Cheeky cried "N-no, w-we don't! P-please, g-go away!", but then Shufai said to him and to his two best friends "Very well then, behold when you see THIS!", and then he stomped his front right foot on the ground in front of them, and soon after the adolescent male Indian elephant stomped his foot on the ground, a big crack suddenly appeared on the ground, and then it suddenly spread below Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, and after a few more seconds, the big crack in the ground opened to reveal a big hole below the three little animal friends, and when the three briefly looked down below their feet and saw the hole, they soon started falling down screaming into the big hole which led to underground below, and once they're all in midway of falling down inside the big hole into the underground below, the big hole suddenly closed behind them and disappeared like if it was never there at all.

Then, after they reached the bottom and the other side of the big hole, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky found themselves and each other in the Everfree Forest once again, but no one else is anywhere around them, and the area around them was too quiet, thus making the three little animal friends shake in fear from being just the three of them all alone with only each other around, but that is until they heard someone crying not too far away from them. Out of curiousity, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky decided to follow in the direction where the crying voice came from, and when they finally reached the source of the crying, they found Opey crying near and between some of the nearby bushes standing and growing around.

The three little animal friends grew worried for her and so they decided to approach the crying young female okapi and ask her what's wrong, and once they got close enough to Opey, Riley asked "Opey, are you okay?", but when Opey heard what they said, she stopped crying and turned to look at the three little animal friends, but with a rather angry face instead of a happy smile, but what really scared them for the most was Opey's eyes - they were glowing red bloodshot eyes. Then, Opey stood up on her feet and looked down with her angry face at the three little animal friends, before she asked them in an angry tone "Oh, it's you three again! What do you want?!", and when they heard what she just said, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all started to shake in fear as they never saw her like that before, but that is before Cheeky asked in fear "O-Opey? W-what's wrong? W-why are s-so angry at us?".

However, when Opey heard what the little baby jerboa said, she angry kicked him in the face with her forelegs and sent him rolling backwards and hitting with his back against a big and tall tree, before she then yelled in anger "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!", but then Maisie cried in fear and asked "W-what are you t-talking about, Opey?", but then the young female okapi turned to her angrily and then she kicked her in the face and sent her rolling backwards and hitting with her back against the same big and tall tree next to Cheeky, thus shocking Riley before he turned back to Opey and then he asked her "O-Opey, w-what's wrong? D-did we do s-something bad?", but then he is kicked in the face and was sent rolling backwards and hitting with his back against the same big and tall tree nexy to both Cheeky and Maisie, thus causing all three to cry in pain as they got hurt from Opey's sudden attack on them, but before they're able to run away and escape for their lives, they looked up to see Opey suddenly trapping them between her forelegs and looking down at them with her glowing red bloodshot eyes, before she then yelled in anger "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE WITH ALL OF US, YOU THREE LITTLE RODENTS! DO US OKAPIS A FAVOR AND RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN!".

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard what the young female okapi just said, they started to cry before they started to run away together after they heard the angry and very insulting words that Opey just said, but while they're trying to run away and escape from the sudden wrath of the young female okapi, the three little animal friends suddenly collided and hit with a large woolly foreleg, and when they turned and looked up, they saw Albert the young Sumatran rhinoceros looking angrily down at them with glowing red bloodshot eyes, similar to Opey.

Then, Albert asked in a loud angry tone similar to Opey's "GOING SOMEWHERE, YOU THREE USELESS LITTLE RATS?!", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard him speaking and talking to them like this, Maisie asked him "A-Albert, w-what's going on? W-why are you s-so angry at us?", but instead of answering the little baby galago's question, Albert angrily turned tail and then he kicked her, Riley and Cheeky back with his hind legs, thus sending them landing and hitting back against Opey's forelegs, before the young Sumatran rhinoceros turned around to look at them again, and then he approached them until his face is only an inch away from the three helpless little animal friends, and then he yelled in anger "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE WITH ALL OF US, YOU THREE LITTLE RODENTS! DO US SUMATRAN RHINOS A FAVOR AND RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN!".

When they all heard what the young male Sumatran rhinoceros said, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky tearfully ran away from both Albert and Opey, who watched them leaving before evil smiles grew on each of their faces when they both saw in how much pain the three little animal friends are now, before both Opey and Albert decided to chase after them and attack and harass them some more while still bearing their evil smiles on their faces, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all saw the two much larger juvenile animals coming towards them with more intentions to harming them some more, they knew that they must run for their lives, and so the three little animal friends started to run as fast as they could all together in order to lose Opey and Albert and escape from them while they still have enough time to do so.

Later, after a long pursuit, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky finally managed to lose Opey and Albert and then they tried to find some help in order to have themselves saved from the two much larger juvenile animals' sudden wrath, and after they searched for some help for about a few minutes, they finally came across Milton the young tapir, and so Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all ran towards him and then they called for him and asked him to help them deal with Opey and Albert's sudden wrath, but when the three little animal friends all got too close to him, Milton slowly turned around to reveal an angry face with glowing red bloodshot eyes, much like Opey and Albert, thus scaring them before he slowly approached them and asked angrily in an evil tone "YOU LOST, YOU THREE LITTLE MICE?!", and then he added as he shoved Maisie, Riley and Cheeky to the ground with his forelegs "GET LOST YOU LITTLE THREATS TO BIG ANIMALS AND DON'T COME BACK!", but then Riley asked him "M-Milton, d-don't you r-remember us?", but just then Milton yelled at him and at his two best friends in the faces "REMEMBER YOU?! AH, PLEASE! YOU'RE NOT EVEN RECOGNIZABLE BY ANY LARGE ANIMAL WHO LIVES AROUND IN THIS HERE FOREST!", and then he added "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE WITH ALL OF US, YOU THREE LITTLE RODENTS! DO US TAPIRS A FAVOR AND RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN!", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard him saying the same thing that Opey and Albert already said to them before, tears started to form in their eyes once again before they (again) started to cry and then they started running away from the young male tapir, who then started chasing angrily after them, but after a long chase, they finally managed to escape Milton and then they started searching for someplace to hide in from the three much larger juvenile animals' sudden wrath.

Then, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all turned to see a large bush that was big enough for them to hide in, and so they quickly ran into the large bush and hid themselves deep inside it, but a moment later, they soon realized that they aren't the only ones who are hiding inside the bush, and soon they felt two hairy and humanoid hands touching at their backs before they slowly turned around and asked "G-Georgie? I-is that y-you?", and indeed the creature who was touching the three little animal friends on their backs is none other than Georgie himself, but much like his three other friends, his face was angry and he also had glowing red bloodshot eyes, thus shocking and scaring Maisie, Riley and Cheeky some more before he then suddenly punched them in the faces and send them flying out of the large bush and back outside to the forest, and when they slowly got up on their feet and shook their heads from the attack, Georgie slowly came out of the bush and walked towards them with his face showing that he's still angry at them, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all turned to see him slowly coming towards them and ready to attack them some more, they tried to run away, but then Opey, Albert and Milton all came out of nowhere and then they started to surround and scare the three little baby animal friends while this time bearing evil smiles on their faces, and when Georgie came close enough to them, the juvenile male gorilla angrily yelled at Maisie, Riley and Cheeky in the faces "GET OUT OF THIS HERE FOREST AND DON'T EVER COME BACK, YOU THREE LITTLE RODENTS!".

When they all heard him saying that, Maisie cried and asked "W-what's wrong, G-Georgie? D-don't you r-remember us?", but then Georgie yelled at her and at her two friends "I KNOW WHO YOU THREE ARE, BUT YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE HERE WITH ALL OF US BIG ANIMALS, YOU WEAK, LITTLE, INSIGNIFICANT CRYBABIES!", but when they heard what he said, Cheeky asked him "W-what's g-gone into you, G-Georgie?" and then he added "I-I thought y-you like us!", but then Georgie yelled angrily "I NEVER LIKED YOU, AND I NEVER WILL BECAUSE YOU THREE ARE TOO SMALL TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME AND WITH MY BEST FRIENDS!", and then he added "NOW, DO US GORILLAS A FAVOR AND RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN!".

However, just then, a soft and familiar female voice suddenly asked "Guys, what are you doing? What is going on?", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard the voice, they quickly recognized it as they knew who is coming - it was Kyra. Then, the young female Indian elephant stepped forward and then she looked down to see the three helpless little animal friends with tears in their eyes as they're begging her to show them some mercy, but then she turned back to her four best friends and then she said to them "Oh, my goodness, I hope these three aren't much of a bother.", thus shocking Maisie, Riley and Cheeky when they heard her saying what she just said, before Opey said to her "It's okay, Kyra. These three useless rodents were just looking for trouble, that's all.", before Albert quickly added "But we managed to scare them and teach these three a lesson and show them who belongs in this here forest and who's not.", and then Milton said "You came here just in the right time, Kyra. These three were trying to escape before you arrived.", and then Georgie added "Yes, but we luckily managed to trap them and keep them in place until you come to see them.".

When Kyra heard what her four best friends said, she said "You four did a good job. Now, let me takes of these three, and I know just what to do.", and when the four big juvenile animals all heard what their Indian elephant friend said, they smiled evilly and stepped aback from the three little animal friends so to give Kyra enough space to approach them, and when the young female Indian elephant approached Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, she said in a soft tone which also sounded a little evilly "Hi there, you three little cuties.", before she gave them an evil smirk, thus causing them to swallow deeply and nervously as they looked up at her face and eyes, which started becoming more and more evil-looking with each passing second.

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky saw Kyra's face turning and becoming more and more evil-looking in front of their eyes, they swallowed deeply and nervously once again as they shook in fear at her suddenly threatening, scary and intimidating appearance, before Cheeky asked fearfully "K-Kyra? A-Are y-you okay? I-is there's s-something wrong?", but then her face turned angry and her eyes changed color and became glowing red bloodshot eyes, before she then raised up her trunk and then she brought it down and slapped all three little animals across their faces, and then she yelled "HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU THREE LITTLE RATS TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT?! I WISH I NEVER SAVED YOU FROM THAT ADULT FEMALE AFRICAN BUSH ELEPHANT TOPSY AND BROUGHT YOU THREE BACK HOME WITH ME AND WITH MY FRIENDS!", thus causing Maisie, Riley and Cheeky to shake in fear and terror at her pure anger and rage which was consuming her the same way it already did to all of her four best friends.

Then, Kyra raised her trunk up and then she brought it down and slapped the three little animal friends a second time across their faces before she continued to speak to them with her loud and angry tone "YOU SHOULD DO US INDIAN ELEPHANTS A FAVOR AND RUN AWAY AND NEVER RETURN!", but then Riley cried "B-but, K-Kyra, p-please-", but then he is cut in mid-sentence by Kyra, who then yelled angrily "I MEAN IT! WE ALL MEAN IT! RUN AWAY AND DON'T EVER COME BACK TO THIS HERE FOREST EVER AGAIN! NOW I CAN SEE WHY THAT TOPSY WANTED TO DESTROY YOU - YOU THREE ARE JUST THREE BLUBBERING LITTLE BABIES AND YOUR MOMMIES' DEATHS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!".

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard the young elephant who saved their lives saying such painful and heartbreaking words about them and about their mothers, that was enough to cause them to start crying once again, before they looked to see Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie looking down at them with evil smiles, before the three little animal friends finally started running away again, and they ended up finding themselves and each other in the same place where their nightmare first started (and where they first met and encountered Shufai).

Then, they suddenly heard the adolescent male Indian elephant's mischievous laughter coming from right behind them, and so when the three little baby animal friends all turned around, they saw Shufai standing very close to them, just ten inches away from them, before he took a step forward and said to them with an evil tone "Now you see that I'M the one who's right here and not you, you three little rats!", and then the ground below Maisie, Riley and Cheeky suddenly began to shake before it broke in half just below their feet, thus causing them to fall, but they barely managed to grab and hang onto the edge of the newly formed cliff above the newly formed bottomless chasm, and right in front and above them, Shufai was still present and with a wicked smile creeping on his face as he seemed to enjoy the three little baby animals' helplessness.

Then, when the three little baby animals saw the adolescent male Indian elephant looking down at them from the edge of the cliff, Maisie cried for him "P-please, M-Mister Sh-Shufai! H-Help us!", and then Riley added "P-please, g-give us your trunk and p-pull us to s-safety!", and then Cheeky said and begged "P-please, M-Mister Sh-Shufai! A little h-help, p-please!", but instead of lowering down his trunk to help pulling them up to safety, Shufai said "No!" and then he added "I will rather give you my foot instead!", and then he lifted up his front left foot before he then slammed it down on the edge of the cliff, thus causing it to break apart and set Maisie, Riley and Cheeky (but not Shufai himself) falling down screaming as they slowly disappeared into the dark and bottomless chasm below.

Then, this is when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all finally woke up and snapped out of their nightmare with their eyes wide open as they started breathing heavily as they remembered every single thing that happened in their horrible nightmare, before they turned to see each other very close around, but then they also saw that this is still the middle of the night, about 3 a.m., and they also saw that all the herds are still sleeping deeply and peacefully and having good dreams, before the three little animal friends quietly sniffled and started to shed tears as they couldn't help but still remember the horrible nightmare they just had, before Maisie said and asked "M-maybe what M-Mister Sh-Shufai said is the truth - m-maybe we d-don't really belong here at all?", and then Riley added "I-I have to agree with y-you, M-Maisie. M-Mister Sh-Shufai doesn't really wants us around here, s-so I guess n-nobody else r-really wants us around here either.", and then Cheeky said to them "I-I think w-we should go before it's turning m-morning time, guys.", and then he added "L-let's go.", and when Maisie and Riley heard what their jerboa friend said about that they should run away and leave the Everfree Forest and search together for a new home where nobody will ever be mean to them, they nodded to him in agreement before Maisie said "I-I guess t-that's it. W-we d-don't really belong here at all.", and then Riley added and said "K-Kyra, Opey, Albert, Milton, and G-Georgie, w-we're so s-sorry that w-we're are not big animals like you, like your families or like your entire herds. M-Mister Sh-Shufai was right about us. W-we d-don't belong here with all of you.", and then they slowly started to sneak away, but not before they slowly went up to Kyra and to each of her friends to whisper to each of them for a goodbye while they're all still sleeping deeply and peacefully with the rest of the herds.

The three little animal friends first started with Opey and they whispered softly into her ear while she's sleeping "Goodbye, Opey.", and then they slowly went up to Albert and whispered softly into his ear (while he's sleeping) "Goodbye, Albert.", and then they slowly went up to Milton and whispered softly into his ear (while he's sleeping) "Goodbye, Milton.", and then they slowly went up to Georgie and whispered softly into his ear (while he's sleeping) "Goodbye, Georgie.", and then they slowly (and finally) went to Kyra and then they whispered softly into her ear while she's sleeping peacefully "Thank you so much for everything good you've done for us so far and until now. We love you, and we all do. Goodbye, Kyra.", and then they slowly turned around and slowly snuck away and left her and her friends to continue to sleep peacefully with their respective families and herds, and once they've went far enough and far away from all the herds, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky finally stopped sneaking, but then they started running and bolting away with tears forming and rolling down their eyes and trailing behind them, but that is until they finally reached the edge of the Everfree Forest and once they finally left it, the three little animal friends finally stopped for a short period of time as they looked all together at the wide open outside world of Equestria that was outside the Everfree Forest, and this is when they softly said together "Goodbye, Everfree Forest, and hello, outside world.", before they finally started walking and traveling slowly (and together) away from the Everfree Forest and continued further ahead into the wide open outside world of Equestria as they started to search together for a new home.


	114. Chapter 113:little animals meets Monica

The next morning, the herds woke up and everyone started enjoying the new day...well, _almost_ everyone. When Kyra woke up and stood up on her feet, she went to the spot where Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all slept last night so she can wake them up and say to them a good morning, but when she reached and arrived at the spot where they slept last night, the young Indian elephant gasped in shock to see that the three little animal friends aren't there anymore, and so she started getting worried about them before she called for them and searched for them everywhere, but she couldn't find them anywhere.

Then, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie all went up to her to cheer her up, but that is before she told them what's wrong - Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all ran away from home last night and she couldn't find them everywhere, and when the four other young animal friends understood Kyra is worried about these three poor little animal friends, they decided that they should talk to the adults and to the elders of each of their herds and see what they can do to help searching for Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, finding them and bringing them back home to the Everfree Forest.

Later, when all the other youngsters, all the adults and all the elders from all the herds are enjoying eating together, Kyra and her friends stepped forward and called for all of them to listen to them for five minutes, and when they're given permissions by their respective parents and leaders, as they thought it might be something important for them to hear, and this is when Kyra and her friends started telling all the herds that Maisie, Riley and Cheeky ran away in the middle of the night, thus shocking and deeply concerning all the other animals, except (of course) for one who didn't cared at all - Shufai, Kyra's older brother who doesn't tolerates small animals.

However, when Georgie mentioned that he and his friends saw Shufai mistreating, bullying and abusing Maisie, Riley and Cheeky yesterday because of them being small animals, all the other animals gasped in shock before they all turned to look at Shufai, and some even scowled at him, thus shocking him as he then realized that he's been exposed, though he then tried to defend himself by saying that Maisie, Riley and Cheeky are all small animals and that therefore they cannot live or make friends with the big animals, but then Queen Tukta said to him "Shufai, I'm deeply disappointed in you! How could you tell these three poor and sweet little things that they don't belong here with all of us?".

When Shufai heard what his grandmother and the leader of the Indian elephant herd just said to him, he tried to protest and said "But, Grandma!", but then Queen Tukta said firmly "No buts, Shufai! It was your fault that these three poor and sweet little ones ran away, so now I'm giving you a mission so to teach you a lesson for mistreating, bullying and abusing small, little and helpless animals who just needed a good home and nothing more or less, except for friends and family to look out for them of course!".

When Shufai heard what his grandmother said, he asked her "And what kind of mission would it be?", and then Queen Tukta said with a firm tone "You're going to search for these poor little ones, find them, apologize to them for your actions and bring them back home!", but when Shufai heard what she said, he gasped in shock and said "You can't be serious, Grandma! You can't expect me to find these three little rats! I'm sure that they're already dead by now!", but when all the animals heard him saying that, Kyra cried "No! They're not! They're still alive and they really need us!", and then Queen Tukta said "And you're going to look for them!", and then she turned back to Shufai and she said to him with her firm tone "And I warn you, Shufai! Help finding these three poor little guys, or help finding yourself a new home!", and then she stomped her front left foot on the ground to show Shufai that he's going to help finding Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, apologize to them and bring them back home, because if not - he's going to be kicked out of his own home by Queen Tukta and by the other leaders and will have no choice but to search for a new place to stay and live in and call a new home for the rest of his life.

Just then, a familiar male voice asked "Did somebody said 'searching for someone'?", and then out of nowhere, Lin Raju burst through the trees and said and added as he stretched out his trunk "Take me in, I'll lead the way!", and when everyone saw the Mammophant again after he haven't showed up for quite a long time, all the youngsters ran up to him and embraced him all around his massive body, thus warming up the adults and elders' hearts seeing that they really like Lin Raju, before Queen Tukta stepped forward and asked him "So, Lin Raju, what brings you here?", and then Lin Raju explained "I heard everything you said about searching for some small or little animals, right?", and then Kyra said to him as she looked up at him in the face "We're going to look for Maisie, Riley and Cheeky! They're new friends of ours, but last night, they ran away because of my big brother, Shufai, was been bullying them recently! That's why we're going to find our new little friends and bring them back home!" and she moved her tail from side to side like a happy dog wagging his tail as she was ready to go look for the three little animal friends.

When Lin Raju heard what she said, he turned back to Queen Tukta and said to her "Let me take the lead in looking for these new little friends of your young granddaughter and her friends! I might as well teach her big adolescent brother a few things about how to really treat small or little animals!", and when Queen Tukta heard what he said, a smile formed on her face before she said to the Mammophant "That's an excellent idea and that will help teaching Shufai a lesson!", and when Lin Raju heard her saying that, he said back "Then it's settled! I'm going to be the one to take the lead!", and then he turned to all the other animals and asked them "Who's coming with me?", and then Kyra, Opey, Albert, Milton and Georgie cried and said happily "We'll come with you!", and then Opey's mother added "And so will I!" as she then stepped forward and nodded her head in agreement, thus showing that she's willing and ready to go.

Then, Lin Raju turned to look at Shufai in the eyes and then he said to him "And you're coming with us too!", but then Shufai said "No, I'm not! Who said I even have to look for these three filthy little rats?!", but then Kyra cried "They're not rats! They're our friends, and you made them run away for no other reason than the fact that they're small animals! But they're not pests like you think they are! They're friendly, cute and lovable, and they would never want to do anyone any harm, unlike you, Shufai!", and when the adolescent male elephant heard what his own little sister said to him, he gasped in shock as he felt himself being pushed down from his high ranking and position as a future leader of Queen Tukta's Indian elephant herd, before he then shook his head and looked down at her with an angry scowl and said "Why you!", but then Lin Raju stopped him and said "You shouldn't talk to your own little sister like that, Shufai! You must be taught a few lessons so to help you see the right way!", and then he said to Kyra and to her friends (and, of course, to Opey's mother) "Now, everyone! Let's go find your new little friends!", and then the five young animal friends cheered for him as he then started leading the way and then they (and Opey's mother) soon started following him close behind as they started their long and dangerous search for Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, with Shufai (reluctantly) also following behind with a scowl on his face as he thought that this is all the three little animal friends' fault that he's forced to help the others look for them, although we all know that it's not true at all - Shufai is just bringing this upon himself.

Meanwhile, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky have already traveled and made it this far, as they ended stopping dead in their tracks when they saw a big forest, and this is when Maisie said "That's a big forest standing over there!", and thenthe Riley added "I see it too! It's not the Everfree Forest, but it's still a big forest!", and then Cheeky added "I think we should go there! That big forest over there might be a good place for us to call home, find new friends, but most importantly - get away from that big bad Mister Shufai!", and then the three little animal friends continued and traveled as fast as they could towards the big (and yet unfamiliar) forest, and at some point, they finally reached and entered the forest in search for a good place deep inside it to call a new home.

Later, deep inside the big and unfamiliar forest, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky suddenly felt their stomachs rumbling, which was a sign which told them that they're all hungry, and so they decided to search for some food to eat before they continue their search for a new home, and after a while of searching for something to eat, the three little animal friends ended up stumbling upon a bunch of bushes with edible berries growing on them, and so they decided to pick up, take and eat some of the berries, and Riley was the first to try and eat them so he can feel with his sense of taste (inside his mouth) what does the edible berries really tastes like, and after he finished eating and tasting one of the edible berries, Riley said with a happy smile "Yummy! These berries are delicious!", and then he turned to look at Maisie and Cheeky and then he added and said to them "You should try these berries too! They're worthy to eat!", and when Maisie and Cheeky heard what he said, they soon started eating from the berries and they realized that Riley was right - the edible berries are sweet and tasty and therefore are good and worthy to eat.

Later, after the three little animal friends ate enough berries and became full and satisfied, they decided to pick and take some more sweet and tasty berries so they can save them for later and then eat them (for the next time) when they will become hungry again, and so they found and used a very large leaf like a sack to carry all the berries around with them while they're still searching for a place in the unfamiliar forest to call a new home, and after they created a sack from the large leaf they found to carry the berries which they will eat for the next time, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky continued and resumed their search for a place in the unfamiliar forest to call a new home.

However, while they're still searching for some place in the big and unfamiliar forest to call a new home, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all heard a voice of someone who is crying, and so out of curiousity, they decided to go and see for themselves who's crying, and that was actually a good thing for them, because if they just heard that someone is crying, then that also means that they're not the only animals around, and if that's so - this is their only chance to make new friends with whoever or whatever is crying not too far away from them, and so the three little animal friends followed in the direction of the crying voice to see where is it coming from, until they reached and arrived in a spot at the big forest, and there they found what appeared to be a very young bovine animal with brown fur and no horns who appeared to be sitting down on its haunches and covering its head with both of its forelegs, thus shocking and surprising Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, who then gasped in shock all together to see the larger (and yet still young) strange-looking creature whom they just stumbled upon.

However, the three were shocked even more when they suddenly heard the crying voice coming from the young bovine animal itself, thus showing and revealing to them that the young ungulate is in fact the one who is crying, before they soon shook their heads and snapped out of their shocked states and then Maisie said "So, this is the animal who is crying like this all along!", and then Riley added in agreement "Yes, Maisie! This fixes everything!", and then Cheeky said "The source of the crying is from that big bovine creature whom we just found! It was crying!", but when he said that, the young bovine animal, which soon turned out to be a very young (and yet still hornless) African buffalo calf suddenly stopped crying when it heard the three little animal friends talking and speaking, and so it moved its own forelegs back and moved them away from its face, before it started lifting its head and neck up and so it saw them looking at it with some shock still can be seen on their faces, but instead of becoming shocked and/or curious at the three little animals' presence, the little African buffalo calf suddenly screamed in fright before it stood up on its feet and then it turned around and started to run away from them, thus shocking Maisie, Riley and Cheeky when they saw that despite it was a larger animal compared to them in size, the little African buffalo calf was actually the one who is scared of them, as they seemed rather shocked and curious to meet the new larger animal.

Then, Cheeky called "No, wait! Please, come back!", and then Maisie added "We won't hurt you! We're just looking for a new home, and for some new friends as well!", and then Riley jumped once forward and then he said "We mean you no harm! We just stumbled upon you when we heard you crying like this, that's all!", and when the little African buffalo calf barely heard what they said, it stopped running before it slowly turned around to look back at the three little animal friends, who kept looking at it while trying to show reassuring smiles, since they knew the little African buffalo calf is a stranger.

Then, the little African buffalo calf slowly walked back to the spot where it last cried and directly towards Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, who all tried to look and behave nicely to it, and once it stopped right in front of them and lowered its head and neck a little bit so to look the three animal friends in the eyes, before the little African buffalo calf suddenly spoke up and asked "Who...who are you?", and then Maisie answered "Well, I'm Maisie, and as you can see, I'm a galago, which also means that I'm a primate, and in fact, I'm one of the smallest primates in the world.", and then the little African buffalo calf turned to Riley and Cheeky and it asked them "And who are you two?", and then Riley answered "I'm Riley, and I'm a fennec fox, one of smallest natural carnivorans, but don't be afraid of me, because I'm actually very good and really nice, and so are my friends.", and then Cheeky added "And I'm Cheeky, and it's my pleasure to meet you. I'm one of the smallest rodents in the world.".

When the little African buffalo calf heard what they said when they introduced themselves and also talked a little about themselves for a good start, it talked back to them and introduced itself and said, albeit a bit shyly "Um, I'm Monica, the granddaughter of King Mebaya and Queen Zhenya, the patriarch and matriarch of our family and the leaders of our African buffalo herd.", and when the three little animal friends heard what she (because she turned out to be female) said about herself being a part of a big African buffalo herd, Riley said "Wow, so you must be very lucky to have such a big family who cares and looks for you, Monica.", and when she heard the fennec fox saying that, she asked him "Why are you saying that?", and then he confessed the fact that he and his friends lost their mothers when Topsy the female African bush elephant crashed and killed them in front of their eyes.

When Monica realized that they're orphans, she gasped not only in shock but also in fright before she said "I...I had no idea. I'm so sorry.", but then Maisie said to her "You have nothing to apologize for, Monica. It's not your fault that our mommies our gone.", and then Cheeky added "Yeah, you had nothing to do with it, it was all that female African bush elephant's fault. She did that to us.", but even though she heard what they said, Monica the young African buffalo calf still felt sorry for them, before she then said to them "That elephant you three are talking about, she almost did the exact same thing to me.", but when the three animal friends heard what she said, they gasped in shock before they asked their new bovine friend "Really? How did that happened?", and then Monica explained as tears started to form and roll down her eyes "Well, I was traveling with my family and with my entire herd and we were searching for a new place to call home, but in midway, that female African bush elephant came out of nowhere and she attacked us and she tried to separate us the youngsters from all the adults and the elders so she trample for fun. However, our family and our entire herd fought back against her and formed a defensive and protective ring around us the youngsters so she couldn't touch any of us, but when she used her tusks and trunk and she threw away three of our adults and also three of our elders (six in total), this is when Grandpa and Grandma called for all the others to run away, but I ended up getting separated from the rest of the herd when that female African bush elephant started to chase after me and she managed to separate me from the rest of my herd, but I managed to avoid being caught by her by escaping into this here forest where I can hide between the trees, and that's exactly what made her to give up her chase after me and leave me alone, but then I was unable to find and reunite with my family as well as with the rest of my herd, and I haven't seen any of them for days. I miss them all so much!".

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all realized and understood that Monica is in great pain (much like themselves), they went up to her and then they hugged at her larger body and they tried to comfort her by saying to her that they believe that her family and her entire herd will eventually find her and will take her with them, thus helping calming the young bovine down a little bit as she then tried to stop herself from shedding more tears, and once she finally calmed down and stopped shedding tears, Monica turned to look at her three new friends and so she said to them with a happy smile slowly forming on her face "Thank you so much for comforting me. You three are really good friends and I'm so happy I met you.", but then Riley said "It was nothing, really. We're just doing the same thing that anyone else would've done to comfort someone else.", but that also showed the newly expended friendship bonds and strong relationships between all four animal friends.

Then, however, Monica suddenly said and asked "Guys, I'm kinda thirsty right now, so what do you think about we should go find some good and clean lake to drink from?", and when they heard what she said, Cheeky said to her "That sounds good to me.", and then Maisie added "Then it's settled, my friends.", and then Riley declared "Let's go find some water so we can drink!", and with these words said, the four animal friends - Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica decided to go find some good and clean lake where they can drink some water before they continue their search for a new place in the big and unfamiliar forest to call home.


	115. Chapter 114:Shufai and the meerkats

Meanwhile, while Lin Raju, Opey's mother, Shufai and the youngsters are all still searching for the three missing little animal friends (Maisie, Riley and Cheeky), and by now they've already left the Everfree Forest to look for them more further away, Shufai is trying to slow everyone else down by showing endless signs of complain, carelessness and disgust about and towards the three little animal friends, but all of his plans failed when Lin Raju decided that it is time to teach the adolescent male Indian elephant some life lessons which will help him change and dump his rotten nature as a bully behind his back.

Then, Lin Raju went back to Shufai and so he said to the younger male elephant "Well, I guess it is my time to teach you some life lessons about caring for small animals, Shufai.", but when Shufai heard what the Mammophant said to him, he said back "No, thank you! I don't take any advices from a half-mammoth like you! All I see in small animals like those three are for an instance is nothing more then some three sniveling little rats! A big animal like me must trample and crush underneath his massive body all small animals around him if he wants to show them that he's a rightful ruler!".

However, when Lin Raju heard him saying that, the Mammophant shook his head in disbelief and disapproval before he then said back "Well, Shufai, I guess it is time to take you with me so I can teach you to be nice, kind and gentle to small animals.", but then Shufai growled "You won't dare!", but just then Lin Raju turned back to all the other animals and then he called and said to them "Now, you all continue without me! I promise I will catch up with you later! It is time that I will shove some sense into Shufai's mind to help him see the right way and show him how he should really treat small animals!", and when they all heard what the Mammophant said, Opey's mother said back "Okay, Lin Raju! My daughter, her friends and I we'll continue searching and looking for the cute little guys, while you take care of Shufai and teach him how to be a real good elephant!", but this made Shufai scream "No! I don't want to stay all alone with that filthy and disgusting half-mammoth creature here! I wanna go home!", but then everyone else continued to walk and they all continued together their search for Maisie, Riley and Cheeky (with Opey's mother taking the lead), while Lin Raju stayed behind and all alone with Shufai, before the Mammophant said to the adolescent male Indian elephant "Now it is time to teach you some life lessons, my new student.", but this caused Shufai to scream out loud at the top of his lungs "NOOOOOOOOO!", but Lin Raju just ignored his scream as he then started pushing and shoving at him, but very gently so not to end up hurting him, and once the adolescent male Indian elephant turned away and was now facing in a different direction, this is when Lin Raju pushed forward at his butt and said "Now we're going to get you to understand and become nice, kind and gentle to small animals.", and so he forced the stubborn Shufai to eventually start walking forward in the different direction in which he was now facing, and once he started walking, Lin Raju came and started to walk right in front of him and so he started to lead him away in the different direction in which he's facing, before a proud but also gentle smile started to grow on the Mammophant's face before he said to himself " _Time to teach young Shufai to be a good elephant and teach him to respect and accept all the small animals in the world around him_.".

*A quarter an hour (15 minutes) later*

Lin Raju and Shufai arrived at a sandy desert area where they finally stopped, before Lin Raju then started calling for someone and said "Hey! Come on out, my little friends! I got some visitor with me who really wants to meet you!", and after the Mammophant said that, a very small carnivoran mammalian creature (not a fennec fox, however) suddenly popped out through a small hole in the sandy ground and then it went up to Lin Raju and then it hugged at his long (and partially hairy and woolly) trunk, before it then said "Oh, Lin Raju! It's you! Thank you so much for coming to visit us at our home again!", and then Lin Raju return the hug by wrapping his own trunk around the small animal before he gently brought it up to look at it in the eyes and then said with a gentle smile "And it's my great honor and pleasure to come to your homeland to meet you again, my little buddy.", before the Mammophant added "Because I brought here with me some special guest who really wants to meet you all.".

When the small animal, which was in fact an adult male meerkat heard what the Mammophant said, he asked "Really?", but then Shufai yelled "No! I don't want to meet any of your friends at all, you filthy little rat!", but when the adult male meerkat heard what the adolescent male Indian elephant just said, he jumped out of Lin Raju's grip and then he went up to the younger elephant and asked him "You're the special guest?", but then Shufai yelled at him "Say that one more time and I will crush you under my foot, you stupid little rat!", but then Lin Raju said "Now, now, Shufai! It's not how you should talk to a new friend!", but when Shufai heard the Mammophant saying that, he screamed at him in anger "I'M NOT AND I WILL NEVER BE FRIENDS WITH THAT FILTHY LITTLE CREATURE!", but then Lin Raju said to the adult male meerkat "Hey, my little friend, please tell all your friends to come out. I'm sure Shufai would like to meet them.", but then Shufai screamed in anger "NO, I, DON'T!", but it was too late for him as the adult male meerkat went back underground to call and talk to all of his friends, and just a minute later, he returned outside with all of his friends, which were in turn all the other meerkats, from small-sized adults to tiny, cute and lovable youngsters, much to Lin Raju's joy, but also to Shufai's pure disgust.

Then, when all the meerkats saw Lin Raju, they all recognized him by his half-woolly appearance and then they all said together in unison "IT'S YOU, LIN RAJU! WELCOME BACK!", but when Shufai heard talking and saying that out loud and all together, it caused him to step aback a little bit and shake his head as he felt a bit of pain when he heard all their voices talking and speaking out loud all together, but Lin Raju ignored and didn't looked back at him as he kept looking down at all the meerkats with a happy smile before he said to all of them "Today, I bring you all a special guest who wants to meet you all!", and when all the meerkats heard what he said, one of them, an adult female, asked him "Really? Who that guest you're bringing with you might be?", and then he slowly turned his head and looked back at Shufai and said "The one special guest I want you all to meet is right there behind me! Say hello to Shufai, one of Queen Tukta's oldest grandchildren!", but when he heard the Mammophant saying that, Shufai screamed out loud in anger "NOOOOOOOOO!", before one of young meerkats, a young male, stepped forward and asked Lin Raju "Is he nice? Will he like to play with us? Will he like to be friends with us?", and then Lin Raju said back "Of course he'd like to make friends with all of you! He's a really nice Indian elephant, and once he'll get to know you're all worthy to him as friends, I'm sure he'll warm up to you!", but when Shufai heard him saying that, he screamed in anger "NOOOOOOOOO! PLEASE, STOP THAT!".

However, this is when all the young meerkats looked at him, but they're all rather excited than afraid to meet him, and so they all started running towards him, thus causing Shufai to scream in fright and even in terror when he saw all the tiny young meerkats coming towards him and trying to interact with him, and at some point, when some of the young meerkats started to climb up onto his legs (and even tail) and tried to reach up to top of his head, neck and back, Shufai actually screamed like a little baby elephant before he started shaking his own body from side to side wildly so to throw all the young meerkats off his own back, and after a few times, it seemed like all the tiny young meerkats fell off his back, but they all luckily landed on the sandy ground safely, but then they, the adults and Lin Raju were all in shock to see Shufai is actually so afraid of small and little animals for the first time in his life, before the adolescent male Indian elephant turned around and started running away from Lin Raju and from all his meerkat friends, but instead of following, catching up with him and/or restraining him, the Mammophant just let him go, before another smile formed on his face and then he said to all of his meerkat friends "We should let him run away, he'll warm up to small animals with the course of time.".

Meanwhile, in the big and unfamiliar forest, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica were all searching for water, until they finally came across a big lake with clean and clear water which appeared to be good enough for them to drink, and so they all went over to the big lake to drink some water before they will continue together with their search for a new home, but then they didn't noticed a large female southern white rhinoceros drinking from the same lake not too far away from them, and that rhinoceros was none other than Ganda herself, but luckily for the four animal friends, she's not yet noticing them around and/or nearby either, as was too busy drinking water from the lake to fill her dehydrated body and massive stomach, and when the four animal friends started drinking from the water, they all seemed to be completely unaware of the evil female rhinoceros' presence, who also drank from the same lake nearby and didn't noticed them either.

However, once they're all done drinking water from the lake, Monica accidentally stepped on a twig, thus getting Ganda's attention as she heard the twig snapping, and so she quickly raised her head out of the water and then she turned her head to the left and saw the four animal friends were about to leave, and that's when she started growling in anger as she then started approaching them from behind, and once she got close enough, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica all felt her snorting and also heard her growling angrily right behind them, and so when they turned around, they all saw the ferocious female rhinoceros standing in front of them and looking at them with angry and evil eyes, thus causing them all to scream in fright and step aback as Ganda also started bearing her teeth at them like an angry bear would do when threatening his prey, especially when it comes out to be an unarmed human.

When they all witnessed and felt that Ganda is threatening them, Maisie spoke up with her usual shaking "P-please, d-don't hurt us!", and then Riley added "W-we're not looking f-for trouble!", and then Cheeky said "W-we were just trying to d-drink from this lake!", and then Monica added "We were just thirsty, that's all! There's no reason for you to be angry at us, Miss!", but when Ganda heard her calling her 'Miss', she said back while still showing angry and evil eyes to the four animal friends "Well, thank you for calling me that, little African buffalo calf! But there's no reason for you to call me that way! I'm Ganda, and as you and your little friends here can see, I'm really a female! But, I'm also a southern white rhinoceros, which makes me the largest out of all five remaining extant species of rhinos!", thus shocking and scaring them all when they heard her evil voice and soon realized that Ganda is really a female and that Monica was right when she called her 'Miss', before Cheeky cried "Oh, my gosh! She's really a female!".

However, when Ganda heard the tiny baby jerboa saying that, she looked down at him and snapped at him in anger and said "Shut up your mouth or else I will be trampling you under my feet, understand?!", and this made Cheeky say "O-okay, I-I'm so s-sorry, M-Miss G-Ganda!", but when Ganda heard him saying that, she asked "Excuse me? Who do you think you are, you little rat? Do you think that I'm dumb and that you're smarter than I am?!", but then Cheeky cried and said "N-No, M-Miss G-Ganda! J-just p-please, d-don't hurt me or my best f-friends! W-we have n-nothing to do w-with you! Y-you're just scaring us, that's all!", but then Ganda said back with a hint of insult in her tone "Is that so, huh, little rat?! You're thinking that rhinos like me are all scary beasts who likes to eat small creatures like you, don't you?!", and then she added "Very well then, but whatever you and your friends do, don't make me lose my temper, because I will be the one here who will take you all away and will mean you harm, and that's a warning, so remember that!", and when Cheeky and his friends all heard her saying that, they said back all together in agreement "We will, Miss Ganda!".

However, Ganda was not done with the four young animal friends yet, for she have got another evil plan in her mind, which was in that case - to make them useful to her and to all of her evil friends, and so she said with a fake smile on her face "Well, listen here, kids! How about I will take you all to a good new home which I'm sure you all would like! I also have there some good friends of mine and I'm sure they'll be eager and willing to see and meet you all!", and then she asked them "Would you like to come with me to meet them? They're really nice!", but when the four young animal friends all heard what she said, Monica soon asked "Are you sure they will like us?", and then Ganda said "I'm pretty sure they will like all of you!", and then she added "Now, come with me, kids! I know where my friends live, because I also live with them all as well!", and then she shoved them with her head and horns (without harming them) and said "Let's go now!", and when they all heard what she said, Monica turned back to the three much smaller animals and said "Did you guys heard what Miss Ganda just said? She's willing to show us where she lives! We're going to live with Miss Ganda and with her friends! Yay, we're going to meet these other rhinoceros friends of hers! We'll get and have so many big and defensive friends who will protect us from that big bully Mister Shufai and from his bad attitude!", and so this is when the four animal friends started to follow Ganda, who started to lead them all to where she and all of her evil friends live - into their cave.


	116. Chapter 115:unilateral friendship bonds

Meanwhile, after a long run and escape from Lin Raju and from all the meerkats, Shufai finally arrived and then he entered the big and unfamiliar forest to search for a new place to call a new home, for he have decided to give up searching for Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, and so once he entered the forest, this is when he slowed down and started walking at a normal speed before he said "I guess that this unfamiliar forest will be a good home for me. Just for me and me alone, with nobody else around here with me.".

However, Shufai, moments alone were all short-lived when he suddenly heard a tiny female voice calling for him, thus causing Shufai to move his body and look all around to see who's calling for him, but when he looked back at his own tail, the adolescent male Indian elephant suddenly saw a tiny young female meerkat which was holding tightly and grabbing onto his tail, thus revealing to him that that tiny young female meerkat who is holding tightly and grabbing onto his tail is the only young meerkat who didn't fell off him when he shook all her friends off his own body and back, before Shufai screamed and then he kicked at his own tail with his right hind leg and foot, thus releasing the grip of the tiny young female meerkat, who then fell down but luckily landed on her feet and on solid ground safety.

However, once the tiny young female meerkat was standing on the solid ground of the big and unfamiliar forest, Shufai lowered his neck and head and he looked down at her to look at her in the eyes, before he then asked out loud with shock but it also mixed with anger at the same time "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE WITH ME, YOU LITTLE MEERKAT?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WHEN I RAN AWAY FROM THE DESERT AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO THIS HERE FOREST?!", but when the tiny young female meerkat heard him yelling that in her face, she rather said back happily with excitement in her voice rather than crying in fear "Well, Hi there, Mister Elephant! My full name is Desert Flower, but everybody simply calls me Flower!", but when Shufai heard her talking to him with happiness and excitement and without any fear or nervousness in her cute and beautiful eyes, he sighed before he said back to Flower (which was the tiny young female meerkat) "Very well then, 'Flower'. I'm so surprised that you're not even afraid of me after I just yelled at you like this, and I'm in so much shock as well to hear you willingly introducing yourself to me. That's something that I will never be able to forget.".

Then, Flower said to him back "Thank you so much, Mister elephant! You're really nice!", and then she added and asked "What's your name?", and then Shufai said to her "I'm Shufai, and as you can see I'm an Indian elephant.", but then Flower interrupted him and said "Wow! You're so big for an Indian elephant!" and then she asked him "Are you an adult elephant?", but then Shufai said back in his usual unpleasant tone "No! I'm just an adolescent, you stupid little meerkat! Now leave me alone!", and then he turned around and started to walk away, but as soon as he started to walk away, Flower soon started to follow behind him.

Later, on the way of finding a new home in the unfamiliar forest, Shufai spotted two humans, an adult male and a little baby boy having fun sitting down and eating foods fit in perfectly for their own ages as they're having their own picnic, and these two humans are none other than Yigal and his adopted little son, Dan Ashmor. Besides them, Shufai saw a large male purely black tiger sitting down and eating wild boar meat from a bowl next to both humans, and it was none other than Tony Black himself, but as Shufai got a little closer, he saw a large male crocodile crawling on the ground and slowly approaching them while they're all unaware of his presence, and that is none other than Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile, who is willing to eat them all, but his eyes and vision are mostly focused on baby Dan, as he was willing to eat the little baby human boy first.

However, Shufai had a plan in mind as he also wanted to take on both humans and on their black tiger, and once Lysander was close enough to attack baby Dan and snatch him out of Yigal's arms and hands, Shufai trumpeted and roared as he charged towards them and managed to expose Lysander to the humans and tiger's eyes, before he then said and declared "These humans and tiger are all mine! Go find your meal somewhere else, you ugly crocodile!", but when Lysander heard him saying that, he angrily snapped at him and said "I think you're underestimating the wrong opponent, young elephant!", before he then used his magic to transform himself into Shufai in front of Yigal, baby Dan, Tony Black and the real Shufai, before he then said with an evil tone "So, if you want to, let's fight! One-on-one!", but at first, Shufai was shocked to know that his new opponent was able to transform, but his shock state was soon washed away when the adolescent male Indian elephant snapped out of it and his eyes became determined as he became willing enough to fight Lysander, before he then said "Alright then! Bring it on!", and this when the two started fighting ferociously in front of Yigal, baby Dan, Tony Black, and even Flower (who followed behind Shufai the whole time).

However, despite Lysander was strong and powerful enough to defeat Shufai, the adolescent male Indian elephant successfully managed to pin him down to the ground and defeat him first by trapping him under his forelegs and front feet, thus forcing him to transform back to his true form as a crocodile as he looked up at Shufai with a look of defeat in his eyes as the shape-shifting crocodile got defeated by an animal who is much younger than him, before Lysander then begged "Please, let me go, young pachyderm!", but then Shufai said to him "First, tell me who you are, crocodile. Then, I will let you go.", and thenI Lysander said "Alright, alright! I'm Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile, but I don't want to look for any more trouble now that you took on me and actually won before I can transform into something else!", but when Shufai heard him saying that, he said back "Well, it's very interesting to meet you and get to know why you're able to transform like you just already did, Lysander. I'm Shufai, the future leader of Queen Tukta's Indian elephant herd and one of her oldest grandchildren. Well, I was until she banished me away from my home in the Everfree Forest.".

However, when Lysander heard him saying that, he said and asked him "I'm so much in shock! Really? I thought you're a part of that pachyderm's herd and great family! Why did she banished you?", and then Shufai said to him back "Because of these three insolent little rats! Grandma said to me to find them, apologize to them for my actions and bring them back home, because if I don't - I will not come back at all! Now I don't have anymore any place to live in for the rest of my life!", but then Lysander said to him "Hey, it's okay, big guy! I think I can help you out with dealing with your pain! You can live with me and with all my friends at our home! It's not too far away from here! Let me show you!", and when Shufai heard him saying that, he finally lifted his own forelegs and front feet off Lysander's back and let him go, but before Lysander was about to lead him to the cave, the shape-shifting crocodile said "And Shufai, one more thing, and it might be the last - bring that little meerkat of yours with you!".

When Shufai heard what he said, he gasped in shock before he turned to his right and looked down to see Flower the tiny meerkat standing by his side and next to him, before he then said to her "Oh, not you again!", but then Flower said "I wanna come with you! It's going to be so much fun!", but then Shufai said "No! I don't want you to come with me! It's not even your business because you're just too small and too young to understand everything!", but then Flower said "I promise I will not be a trouble for you!", and then she asked in a high tone while showing up big, cute and lovable eyes "Please?!", and this made Shufai to finally give in as he sighed in defeat before he said, warned and asked "Fine then! You're in! But remember, I'm warning you! You do me some trouble, and I'm crushing you to death! Is that understood, little meerkat?", and when she heard what he said, Flower said back without any fear in her eyes as she had a cute and lovable smile on her face "Yes, Mister Shufai! I promise I won't do you any trouble!".

When Lysander the shape-shifting crocodile heard them saying these things to each other, an evil smile crept across his snout and face as he thought to himself " _Hmmm, these two are such an odd couple! Maybe I can use this to my own advantage to destroy both of them! However, I will first have to talk to my friends to help me so we can take them down together when it's time! That cute little meerkat likes him so much, but he hates her for the most! It's so delightful! I bet even my African bush elephant friend, Terrence, will enjoy watching these two and will be satisfied with their unilateral friendship bonds! It's going to be so satisfying! Mwahahaha!_ ", but then he soon interrupted and said to both Shufai and Flower "Now if you both excuse me, I have to go back to my home, because my friends were all waiting for me! And I suggest you two should come along with me because it's going to be so much fun!", and when Flower heard him saying that, she jumped up and down in excitement and said "Oh, yes! Please, take us with you! I'm so excited to meet all these crocodile friends of yours! It's going to be so much fun!", and when Lysander heard her saying that, he gave her a fake smile before he then said "Well, then it's settled! You two are coming along with me to my home to stay and live with me and with my friends as much as you want!", and then he turned tail and started to crawl away, and Shufai and Flower soon followed behind him as he started to lead them to his and to his evil friends' home - into their cave.


	117. Chapter 116:Shufai feels ashamed

Meanwhile, deep inside the cave, Lysander and Ganda's evil friends are still waiting for them to return back, and after no more than a quarter an hour (15 minutes), Lysander and Ganda finally returned back to the cave to meet up with each other and with all of their evil friends, but then they also entered the cave from opposite entrances of the same cave to meet each other and their evil friends, which tells very clearly that Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica are all coming into the cave soon, but at the same time - so are Shufai and Flower.

Just then, after no more than two short minutes, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica, Flower and Shufai all entered the villainous animals' cave (from opposite entrances), and when the six ended up running into each other, they all gasped in shock before Maisie, Riley and Cheeky cried in shock "Mister Shufai?!", but then Shufai yelled back "Little rats?!", and then they all asked each other out loud at the same time "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!", but just then, Lysander's evil voice interrupted them all when he said and asked "So, you all know each other, do you?", but then Shufai said "No, I don't know any of them! And by the way, what's with that little cow here?!" as he seemed to clearly notice Monica with the other animal friends.

When Monica realized that Shufai was asking about her (and in a rather insulting tone), she said to him "Well, Mister elephant, I'm Monica, the granddaughter of King Mebaya and Queen Zhenya, the patriarch and matriarch of our family and the leaders of our African buffalo herd.", but then Shufai yelled at her back "Shut up your mouth, you little cow! I'm Shufai, the future leader of Queen Tukta's Indian elephant herd! If you make me angry, I will make sure you and all of your little friends will all regret it!", but when the four animal friends noticed Flower standing next to the adolescent male Indian elephant, this is when Maisie asked her "Hey, who are you?", and then Flower introduced herself and said "Oh, hi there! I'm Flower, and I'm a meerkat! I like to make friends with other animals, and I'm also Shufai's best friend!", before she then hugged at his left foreleg.

However, Shufai clearly didn't liked anything she said, before he then angrily threw the tiny young meerkat away from his left foreleg with an almost brute force, thus causing Flower to fly up in the air and then land on the cave's floor in front of Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica, but luckily, she didn't got hurt when she landed, and therefore she's okay, but that is before Shufai then yelled down at all five younger animals "I was searching for a new home for a while, so may I suggest you all should leave now or else!", but then Cheeky cried "But we're also searching for a new home, Mister Shufai!", but this only made the adolescent male Indian elephant angrier as he then stomped his left foreleg and foot against the cave's floors and looked down at all five young animals with bloodshot eyes, as he appeared willing to attack all of them at once.

However, before something bad could really happen between Shufai and the five youngsters that will cause the adolescent male Indian elephant to mean further more harm to them, Ganda then stepped forward and then she interrupted them all and demanded and said "Enough with the violence! All of you! Now it's time to meet our friends! Lysander and I we're both sure that they all would like to meet all six of you!", and when Shufai heard her saying that, he huffed and then said "Fine!", but then he turned back to the five youngsters and said to them in a threatening tone "But I warn you - if any of you dares to mess up with me, I will make sure that the last thing you all will ever see will be the bottoms of my feet!", before he then turned away from them and started to follow Lysander and Ganda as he was eager to see their friends, as he thought they might be crocodiles and rhinos like the both of them, and Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower all soon followed behind Shufai and the two evil shape-shifting animals, as they also wanted to know what Lysander and Ganda's friends are all really like.

However, when they all reached the right spot and the exact place inside the cave where all of Lysander and Ganda's evil friends are all still waiting, this is when the shape-shifting crocodile and rhinoceros started calling for all of them to come out of the darkness and the shadows so they can meet the new guests as well, and after a long half a minute, Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo are the first to run towards them all so they can meet the new guests. However, when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all saw the three large mammalian carnivores, they soon recognized them (since they already met them before), and so they fearfully stepped aback, and Monica and Flower also did the same, since they too were both afraid of Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo (despite the two haven't yet seen or met them before), but when the three large mammalian carnivores saw the five young animal friends shaking in fear, they soon gave them fake smiles as they slowly approached them and tried to fool then into believing that they won't do to any of them any harm.

Zenobia was the first to speak to them and so she said "Welcome to our home, little guests! If you like it here, you can all stay and live here with all of us! Just take your time and eventually you all may like it here!", before Clayton also approached the five animal youngsters and said "Yes! If my friend, Zenobia, accepts you all to stay and live here with all of us, then I'm with her too!", and then Buldeo stepped forward as well and said "Feel free to explore this cave and also feel free to stay and live here with all of us! I promise you all that everything will be fine!", and when Monica heard what the three large mammalian carnivores said, she said back "Okay. If you're all going easy on that.", and then Buldeo said to her "Well, little one, I'm pretty sure that the rest of our friends would also like to meet you and your four little friends!", and then he smirked evilly but didn't showed that to any of the animal youngsters, and neither to Shufai himself, who just stood there looking at all three large carnivores and rolled his eyes when he heard the lion of their team speaking up and talking to the five animal youngsters about his other friends would like to meet them all and accept them and let them stay and live in the cave with all of them, which are in that case - the other evil animals in Lysander's great animal team who haven't yet met the youngsters and Shufai himself - Sayla, Akeno and Terrence.

However, just then, an adult female gorilla came out of the darkness and the shadows and it was indeed none other than Sayla herself, and when the gorilla saw the five youngsters and Shufai standing there and looking at her, she said "Well, I see we have here some visitors, isn't it?", but then Shufai asked her "Who are you?", and then Sayla said as she introduced herself "Well, I'm Sayla, and as you can clearly see, my pachyderm friend, I'm a gorilla!", but then Shufai asked her "Did you just called me your friend?", but before she can answer him, Riley interrupted and said "Wow! You're a gorilla just like Georgie!", but when Sayla heard him saying that, she looked down at the five young animal friends and said with a fake smile "What do we have here? Some little baby animals who got lost in the woods and ended up here?", and then Riley introduced himself and said "Well, I'm Riley, and it's my pleasure to meet you, Miss Sayla!", but when she heard him saying 'Miss', the female shape-shifting gorilla couldn't help but chuckle at what he said, thus confusing Riley and his friends, but Shufai didn't seemed to mind that at all, for he wanted to stay away from the five little animals for all he cared.

"He just called me Miss, hahahahaha!" Sayla laughed before she then said back to Riley "There's no need to call me that, kid! My friends simply call me Sayla, and that's exactly my name, so just calling me Sayla will be enough!", and when Riley heard her saying that, he simply said "Okay, Sayla. If you say so.", but then, an evil male voice suddenly yelled "Sayla, who is that?!", but then Sayla turned her head back and called back and said "Some new guests!", but when Shufai and the five youngsters all heard the evil male voice coming from the darkness and from the shadows of the cave, Cheeky asked in a bit of fear "W-who is that?", and then Sayla looked down at him and said "That's Akeno! He's a friend of mine and of all my other friends as well!", and then Shufai asked her "Is he nice?", and then Sayla said back "You'll see very soon!".

Just then, Akeno the okapi trotted heavily towards Sayla to meet the new guests, and when he saw the five little animal youngsters, he asked with a hint of boiling anger "Who is that little cow and who are these little rats?!", and when Sayla heard him saying that to the five little animal youngsters, she said "Well, this is Riley *she pointed and motioned to the little fennec fox with an arm and a hand of her own*, and these four other animals are his friends!", and then Riley said "Hi there, Sir! I'm Riley, and these are my friends - Maisie, Cheeky, Monica and Flower!", and then all four other animal youngsters said to Akeno in unison (without Riley himself) "Hi there, Mister Okapi! It's nice to meet you!".

However, when Akeno heard them all saying that to him, he just said "Ah, please! My name is Akeno! And by the way, I'm giving you all a fair warning - if you mess with some things up, then may I suggest that you should all leave the cave and never return! Is that understood?!", and when they all heard him saying that, Monica said back without the others "We promise you that we'll make ourselves useful!", and then Shufai said to the okapi "And I promise you that I will be a much better assistant than these five little babies! After all, I'm much larger and stronger than all five of them at once!", but when Akeno heard what he said and then he turned to look at him, the okapi asked "What are you? An Indian elephant?", but then Shufai said "I'm not just AN Indian elephant, I'm Queen Tukta's chosen grandson! I'm among her oldest grandchildren, and I'm supposed to be the future leader of her family and of her entire herd!", and when Akeno heard him saying that, he said back to the adolescent male Indian elephant "Very well then, you can be much more useful even more than these five little brats!", and when they all heard him saying that, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower all said in unison "Hey!", but Shufai said to him "Thank you so much!".

Then, Akeno said "Now, I'm pretty sure that my friend, Terrence, would like to meet you! He's really nice once you get to know him!", and when Shufai heard what he said, he asked "Are you sure he would like me?", and then Akeno said back "Yes, he would! He would like to make friends with another elephant like you!", but then Monica suddenly interrupted and asked "Wait, what? Is that Terrence who is a friend of yours ANOTHER elephant like Shufai himself?", and when Akeno heard what she said, he lowered his head and neck down to look at her and at her four smaller friends in the eyes and then he said to them "Sure he is! But don't you dare make him really angry, because he can be very hostile when someone messes up with him, even if that someone is some stupid little animals like all five of you!", thus shocking the five animal youngsters when they all heard the okapi saying that to all of them.

Then, he turned to look back at Shufai and then he said "Follow me!", and then he turned around and started to walk away and deeper into the darkness and into the shadows of the cave, and Shufai and the youngsters soon followed behind him to see where he's going, or better to say - where he's actually leading them to. After they followed Akeno for about three minutes, Shufai and the youngsters all ended up meeting with all of Akeno's evil friends (all the other evil animals), but just then, they all suddenly heard loud and heavy footsteps as well as trumpeting roars coming from the darkness and from the shadows of the even deeper parts of the cave right in front of them.

When the heavy footsteps got closer and the trumpeting roars got louder, Shufai, the youngsters and the seven evil animals all saw Terrence coming out from the darkness and from the shadows of the even deeper parts of the cave right in front of them, and when Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower all saw the adult male African bush elephant coming closer and closer, they fearfully went below Shufai and hid all together underneath his huge underbelly because they were all afraid of his (Terrence's) even larger size, which was indeed even larger than Topsy's, who is an adult female African bush elephant, but Shufai just gasped in shock and surprise to see Terrence coming towards him, before the older male elephant ended up stopping just about ten feet away from him and looked at him in the eyes to inspect him (particularly - his face).

Then, Terrence asked him "Who are you, Indian elephant?", and then Shufai answered "My name is Shufai, and as a matter of fact, I'm one of Queen Tukta's grandchildren and the chosen heir of her Indian elephant family and herd.", but then he added as he frowned down and looked away from the older male elephant "Well, I was until my own grandmother chose to banish me away from my family, from my herd and even from my own home for good, so you can say about me that I'm looking for a new home.", and when Terrence heard Shufai saying that, the adult male African bush elephant asked "Why did your own grandmother dared to banish you away from your own home?", and just then, Shufai felt the five small and young animal friends shaking underneath his standing body and hiding behind his forelegs, and so he angrily looked down and stepped aback so he can show them all to Terrence, and then he pointed down at them threateningly with his trunk and said "Because of them!", thus causing Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower to gasp in shock and cower in fear all together as now both Shufai and Terrence are looking down at all of them.

Then, Terrence said "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. What do we have here?", but then Maisie cried "P-please, go away!", but then Terrence said "Well, even little animals like you CAN sense evil!", and then he added and said "I'm Terrence! One of the eight members of this animal team! The largest member of them all!", but then he quickly added with the nicest voice he ever talked with "But it's also a pleasure to meet you all, little ones!", and then he tried and pretended to be nice to them, thus making Shufai feel disappointed as he thought that even an elephant (particularly an adult male) who is bigger than him (much like Lin Raju the Mammophant himself) would actually be that kind of friendly to these five little animal youngsters, before he then stepped aback to give them some space and turned with his own head away with a huff.

However, when Terrence stopped pretending to be kind and gentle to the five animal youngsters, he then turned to his friends and said to them in a demanding tone "My friends, Please take these new little guests to the spot where they'll all be sleeping tonight!", and when Sayla heard him saying that, she said back "Affirmative!" and then she went up to the five animal youngsters and said to all of them "You heard what Terrence said? Let's go get you to your sleeping spots!", and then she started taking them away from Shufai, who became relieved to see them moving with Sayla leading them away from him, but then he's suddenly being approached by Ganda and Lysander and then they both said evilly to him "Come with us and we'll show you where you're going to be sleeping tonight, big guy!", and Shufai said "Okay.", but then he was also unsure if to really trust the crocodile and the rhinoceros, so he reluctantly started following behind them.

However, after he walked with them for about a few minutes, Shufai, Lysander and Ganda all reached one of the two entrances of the cave, and in that case - it was the one through which the young animal friends (minus Flower, who went with Shufai from the other entrance) came and went into the cave, and once Shufai, Lysander and Ganda exited and left the cave, Shufai asked "Where am I going to be sleeping tonight?", and then Lysander and Ganda turned back and yelled out loud at him together "OUTSIDE!", and when Shufai realized that he's not going to be sleeping inside the cave tonight, he asked in shock "What?! Why?!", and then Ganda said to him "Because our cave isn't yet fit in for you to stay and live in!", and then Lysander added "Yeah! Come back when you're feeling ready!", but then Shufai said "But I am feeling ready!", but then Ganda said to him "No, you're not!" before Lysander added "And tonight, you will be sleeping outside!", and then they both went back into the cave and they used their evil magic to levitate a massive rock and then they used it to block the entrance back to the cave so Shufai can no longer go back inside the cave and sleep inside it for tonight, thus causing him to frown in shame as now he have no other choice but to sleep outside for tonight.

Later, when nighttime came, everyone slept inside the cave, Kyra, Opey and her mother and the rest of the searching party got reunited again with Lin Raju and then they all went to find someplace to sleep for the night before they will resume their search for the missing youngsters in the next morning, and so they ended up finding a good place to sleep under some big and tall trees, but Shufai, however, is sleeping outside the cave with a pained expression on his face, thus showing that now he's the one who is suffering and is in great pain, and he's not having any good dreams either, instead - he's having bad ones, but this one, however, would prove to be his worst nightmare he ever had.

In his nightmare, Shufai found himself in a dark an empty void, which soon changed and turned into the Everfree Forest, and when he turned to his left, Shufai saw his family and his entire herd minding and tending to the five youngsters and paying no attention to him at all, thus making Shufai confused as he didn't know what's going on, and so he went up to all the others to see for himself what's really going on, and when he reached close enough to his herd, Shufai asked "What's going on, everyone?", before he looked down to see the five youngsters playing and having some fun with his own little sister Kyra, and when he saw them playing and having some fun with her, Shufai asked his little sister "Hey, little sister. What's going on?" and then he touched Cheeky down on the back with his trunk, but when he did so, something scary and disgusting suddenly happened in front of his eyes - the moment he touched the little jerboa, he started melting into goo in front of his eyes before becoming nothing more than a tiny puddle of goo, thus causing Shufai to yelp and step aback in fear when that suddenly happened.

Then, when Maisie, Riley, Monica, Flower and even Kyra saw what happened to Cheeky, they looked up at Shufai with fear in their eyes, and when Shufai tried to reach out his trunk and asked "Little sister, what's going on? What did just happened?", Kyra and the four other youngsters stepped aback from him before Kyra cried "Please, stay away from us, you big bad bully! If you touch us - THIS will happen to us!", but then Shufai said "I didn't mean for this to happen to your little friend! Please, forgive me, Kyra! You're my little sister!", but Kyra kept herself away from him and than she cried "No! I won't ever forgive you, Shufai! You're not my big brother anymore! You're a ferocious and unforgivable monster!", and when Shufai heard his own little sister saying this to him while fearing and hating him at the same time, he gasped in shock as he felt himself, and particularly his heart being crushed by a boulder to a million pieces, thus causing tears of heartbreak and great pain to start forming in his eyes as he couldn't believe what his own little sister just said to him, especially when she actually called him a monster.

Then, Maisie, Riley, Monica and Flower all stepped forward and then they all said and demanded all together "Go away and don't come back, you big bully!", and then they turned to run away from him, before Shufai cried and said "No, wait!" and then he stepped and went forward after them as he reached out his trunk and so he ended up touching at the end of Maisie's tail with the tip of his trunk, thus causing her to scream as she soon started melting into goo like Cheeky did, and once Maisie became a puddle of goo, Kyra and the three other youngsters cried all together "MAISIE!", before they turned back to look at him and then they yelled "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!", but then Shufai said "I didn't mean for this to happen to her! It was all just an accident!", and then he stepped forward and reached out with his trunk as he wanted to touch them, but then Kyra screamed at the top of her lungs "EVERYBODY, RUN!", and then she, Riley, Monica and Flower all started to run away, but then Shufai started chasing after them and he called and begged as more tears started forming in his eyes "No, wait! Please, come back!".

During the chase, he ended up touching Riley, Monica and Flower, thus resulting in them melting into puddles of goo, and when Kyra noticed that, she called Shufai a monster again as she then resumed her escaping from him and continued to run for her life, but that is until she ended up running towards a tall cliff above a bottomless chasm, but luckily for her, she managed to stop herself dead in her tracks just seconds before she can go over the edge of the cliff. However, Shufai soon managed to catch up with his little sister and then he said to her with tears in his eyes "I'm so sorry for everything bad I said to these poor little friends of yours! I didn't know they're all in pain! I'm so sorry!", but then Kyra cried "Too late! Now leave me alone or else you'll turn me into goo like you did to all of my new little friends!", but then Shufai stepped forward and approached her, and once he was close enough, Shufai reached out his trunk and then he touched, grabbed and held tightly at the end of Kyra's smaller trunk, and then he said to her tears and begged "Please, don't hate me, little sister! I love you, and I'm so sorry for everything I did! Please, forgive me!".

However, just like all the youngsters, Kyra started to melt into a puddle of goo as well upon being touched by Shufai, and when he saw his little sister melting into a puddle of goo in front of his eyes, Shufai cried "No! Please, Kyra! My lovely little sister! Don't leave me!", but it was too late as Kyra already became a puddle of goo, thus causing Shufai to finally break down in tears as he couldn't them back in his eyes anymore, before he then stepped forward towards the edge of the tall cliff above the bottomless chasm and then he yelled with great pain in his heart "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!", but then, shortly after he yelled that, the edge of the tall cliff which he was standing on suddenly broke apart and fell right below his feet, thus soon sending Shufai falling down the tall cliff and plummeting into the dark and bottomless chasm below, and while falling down into his doom, Shufai screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as he soon disappeared into the darkness of the bottomless chasm below.

However, this is when Shufai quickly opened his eyes and snapped awake from his horrible nightmare and then he started to breath heavily as he felt like he almost really died, before he then started to look him and found himself still outside the cave and that it's still the middle of the night, and just in the exact same place where he fell asleep, but when Shufai remembered his horrible nightmare happening all over again in his mind, he then said and asked himself "Maybe it's true? Maybe I am a ferocious monster?", and then he added as he soon jumped into false conclusions "Now I think I see the real truth - I don't deserve to return to live with my own family and with my entire herd back in my home...ever again...", and so he thought that now nobody, not even his own family and/or his entire herd wants him around anymore, before Shufai felt tears forming and rolling down his eyes and then he started to cry, as for the first time in his life since he was just a little baby calf, Shufai felt completely helpless and he started having regrets for all of his bad actions he already have done against all kinds of small (or young) animals during his own life, with the last ones were against the five animal youngsters, and when Shufai realized all the huge mistakes that he have done so far in his life, he said to himself "What have I done...?" as he then cried himself back to sleep.


	118. Chapter 117:Shufai's apology, 1st song

The next morning, Lysander and all of his evil friends woke up and then went up to check on Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower and try to wake them up and tell them that it's already morning, while Shufai woke up again (and while he's still outside the cave) and when he saw it's already morning, he slowly stood back up on his feet and looked around him to find himself still outside the cave, but just a few minutes after Shufai have awakened, Lysander and Ganda used their evil magic to remove the massive rock and get it out of the way as they unblocked the entrance to the cave (the one which was very near Shufai), before they both walked outside the cave to meet Shufai and see how did he coped with sleeping outside the cave.

However, Shufai wasn't feeling happy to see them again at all, because he couldn't help but still remember the horrible nightmare he had last night, and this is when tears started forming and rolling down his eyes before Shufai asked himself "What have I done?", and then he started to cry once again, thus giving Lysander and Ganda nothe choice but to walk up to him to see what's wrong with him, and once they're both close enough, Ganda placed a forefoot of hers on the side of Shufai's medium-large sized body and then she asked "What going on here, kiddo?", and then Lysander added and asked "Did you have a bad dream?", and when Shufai heard them saying and asking him these questions, he took a deep breath in order to calm himself down for a little bit and then he spoke up and said to the two evil shape-shifting animals "This is the worst nightmare I've ever had! It's all my fault I'm suffering like this! I don't deserve to live in this world anymore!", but then Lysander asked him "What are you even talking about?", and then Shufai said "I don't know how to treat little animals properly, and therefore I'm a really bad elephant! I may be 17 years old, but I'm still a really bad animal for who I am, even if I'm not yet a full grown adult like you two and like all of your friends!".

However, before he's about to cry some more out of shame and pain for everything bad he have done, Ganda stroked with her forefoot on the side of his medium-big sized body frame and then she said "Now, now, Shufai, you're a not a bad elephant. You've just done some mistakes that caused your family and your entire herd to banish you away from home, that's all.", but then Lysander quickly added and said "But you still have to let go of the past, Shufai. You still have a future waiting for you to come for it, and you don't have to remain stuck on what you did back there in the past. That was your choice and not your fate, do you understand?", and when Shufai heard them saying these things to him, the adolescent male Indian elephant sniffled with tears still stinging in his eyes as he looked down at Lysander in the eyes and then he said "Thank you, Lysander! You're a really good friend!", before he then turned with his head to look back at Ganda and said to her "And you, Ganda, you're a really good friend too! I like you guys so much!", but then Ganda said "It was nothing, really.", and then she and Lysander showed him the way back into and inside the cave so he can have some time with the others if he wants to ease his pain some more, and Shufai finally accepted their offerings for alliances with him as he then followed Lysander and Ganda back into and inside the cave to have some time with them and with all the others (minus the five youngsters) so to ease the pain in his heart and mind.

Meanwhile, Kyra, Opey and her mother, their friends and Lin Raju all continued and resumed their search for the missing youngsters, and in midway to the big and unfamiliar forest, Kyra said "If my big brother isn't helping us look for our little friends after what he have done to them and caused them to run away from us all like this, then he's not my big brother anymore! He's such a jerk and I'm afraid he may never change from the bad elephant he is now! He's been causing poor little animals like our little friends nothing but trouble! He don't deserve to come back home with us once we find our little friends! He deserves to go far away and never come back!", but then Lin Raju said to her "It's okay, Kyra. I know you're so upset for what your own brother did to the poor little guys, but it's still okay, because I still believe that he can change the bad elephant he is and become a good elephant, and that, I suppose, will eventually happen to him someday. I promise you, Kyra. It will happen.", but then Kyra said to him with tears stinging in her eyes "I hope you're right." as they and the rest of the group continued searching for missing youngsters.

Meanwhile, back inside the cave, as Shufai was walking behind Lysander and Ganda, he could barely see them grinning evilly to each other before he then barely heard Lysander whispering evilly to Ganda through his teeth and saying to her as quiet as can "Ha! Did that filthy big dummy really thought that he can really trust us?! We don't even need him here at all! Who needs a teenage elephant like him that we already have a true friend and best partner like Terrence?! When the right time comes, we'll destroy him and these filthy little animals and then Zenobia, Clayton, Buldeo and I we can all feast on their tasty meat!", but when Shufai barely heard him evilly whispering all that to Ganda, who then nodded to him in agreement, the adolescent male Indian elephant was shocked to realize that Lysander and Ganda just had him fooled, and so he thought to himself " _So, that's what you guys really think about me, aren't you?! Very well then! When I prove to these little animals that I can change, we'll see who eats and who starves! Nobody tricks me into becoming a fool who doesn't even stands a chance in the outside world! When I become friends with these little ones, you and your friends will all pay for being such jerks, tricksters and inexcusable liars!_ ", and so Shufai decided to show the animal youngsters that he finally wants to be friends with them and accepts them for who they all are.

Meanwhile, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower were all playing inside the cave all together with Sayla watching them, as the female shape-shifting gorilla was put in charge of all of them so to make sure that none of them leaves the cave, but once they all suddenly turned and saw Shufai coming back into the cave and walking inside it and also coming towards them, the animal youngsters (save for Flower) quickly decided to run away and Sayla soon followed after them, but Flower herself was the only one out of the five who wasn't even afraid of Shufai at all, for she have liked him from the start (even though he didn't liked her too), and so she willingly stayed behind and let Shufai come to her, but then she suddenly realized that he's not anymore the grumpy and unpleasant elephant he was when she met him before when she started liking him so much, and when Shufai came close enough and stopped right in front of Flower, he looked down at her in the eyes and said with a hint of a change of heart "Little meerkat, I owe you an apology for being so grumpy towards you before, and not to mention - from the start. I have to admit, I've changed. I don't want to be mean to you anymore, and I don't want to be mean to any of your little friends either, now that I realize that what I did before was wrong, and I just hope it's not too late for me to change and become a good elephant who likes, accepts and respects all animals, big and small.".

Then, Shufai lowered his trunk down to her and then he asked her "So what do you say, little meerkat? Do you still want to be friends with me?", and when Flower realized that this time Shufai is serious about what he's saying, a wide and joyful smile formed on Flower's tiny, cute and lovable face before she quickly jumped up and leapt into his trunk and cried happily and said to him in her usually loud voice "Oh, Shufai! I knew you wanted to be my friend! Thank you so much for warming up to me! I like you so much!", and when Shufai heard what she said, he couldn't help but shed some tears of joy as he finally started seeing and walking the right way to becoming a good elephant, but after a minute, he suddenly felt two tiny hands touching at his face and wiping the tears away from his eyes, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Flower looking at him right in the eyes while still showing her happy, cute and lovable smile beaming on her tiny face.

Then, the next thing Shufai said to her was the most unexpected thing that he have ever said to any small or little animals before - he said to Flower "Thank you, Flower! For helping me see the right light! I like you so much, and you're indeed a true friend! I will never forget you!", and then he raised up his trunk and touched very lightly at her tiny chest (and directly - at her tiny heart) with the tip of his long and muscular trunk, before he then wrapped his trunk around her tiny body and he brought her up before he gently placed her down on top of his own head and then he said to her "Now let's go find your friends! We need to talk to them right away! It's an emergency!", but then Flower asked him "Shufai, wait a minute, what are you talking about? What's going on?", and then Shufai said back "I'll explain on the way! Now let's go!", and then started to run as fast as he with Flower riding on top of his head, and after a few minutes, they left the cave and started searching for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica in the forest so not only to tell them and show them that Shufai wants to apologize to them for his cruel mistakes, but also to warn them all and tell them about what he heard when he barely listened to everything Lysander said to Ganda about his evil plan to have them all as fresh meat for dinner, with Shufai to serve as the main course for him and for the other three carnivorous members of the villainous animals' evil team - Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo.

Meanwhile, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Monica all have escaped Sayla and went into the big forest, and right now they're all sitting close to each other for comfort as they couldn't help but remember what Shufai did them (before and after they met Monica) and how mean he was all the time, though not as mean as Topsy or Terrence themselves, who are both adult elephants, while Shufai himself, however, is only an adolescent elephant, and therefore he was less mean and/or dangerous than either older elephants. Then, Maisie said "I wish my mommy was still alive!", and then Cheeky cried "I want my mommy too!", and then Riley added "If it weren't for that monster for an adult female African bush elephant (Topsy), our moms would still be alive!", and then Monica joined in and said "Yeah! And not to mention - she separated me away from my family and from all the rest of my herd and she tried to harass me and kill me for fun! She's a complete monster, even for an elephant!", and then she added "And that's not enough - we still have that abusive Shufai who wants us to get away and stay away from all other animals as far away as possible!".

However, unbeknownst to the four animal youngsters, Shufai barely arrived (with Flower on top of his head) just in time to find them, but he didn't yet heard what they said as he and Flower arrived a little bit late, and therefore - Shufai didn't heard anything of what they said about Maisie, Riley and Cheeky being orphaned by Topsy and about Monica being separated from her own family and from the rest of her own herd by that same cruel and heartless adult female African bush elephant, who (much like Terrence himself) likes to abuse, harass and even kill all none elephant youngsters, even though she even tried to kill Kyra twice before (but failed), which is something that even Terrence didn't even done to an Indian elephant before.

Just then, when Shufai heard and saw the four animal youngsters crying and shedding tears over the traumas that they all have experienced because of Topsy and her pure evilness (for a female elephant), he came out from behind the nearby trees and walked up to them very slowly with his trunk moving down lightly and he also flapped his medium-sized ears very slowly and walked very lightly as well so not to appear too scary and/or intimidating, but when the four animal youngsters saw him coming slowly towards them, they stopped crying but instead they started cowering in fear and stepping aback as the adolescent male Indian elephant approached them all, before he then said to them in a gentle tone (as gentle as possible) "Oh, there you are, little ones.", and then he added "We've been looking all over for you.", but then Maisie screamed up at him "Stay away from us, you monster!", and then Cheeky added "You're here because you want to abuse us some more, aren't you?", and then Riley warned him and said "We're warning you, Mister Shufai - get away from us and stay away from us!", but then Shufai said back "No, wait a minute! I just want to talk to you all, and that's all I want from you! Nothing else and nothing more, except for only that - just to talk!".

However, the four animal youngsters didn't seemed to believe in his words, and then Monica asked "Why should believe you? How do we know that you're not lying to us?", and then Shufai sighed heavily and confessed "Because a friend of yours is now also a friend of mine.", but when the four animal youngsters realized that he just mentioned Flower, Cheeky asked him as he threatened to attack at his trunk and forelegs "What have done to Flower? Where is she?", but then Flower called for the others from the top of Shufai's large back, neck and head and said "I'm over here, guys!", and then she jumped up before she started sliding down on Shufai's long and muscular trunk and landed on the ground safely in front of the other animal youngsters, much to their shock to realize that now both Flower and Shufai are friends with each other.

Then, Shufai let out another heavy sigh before he then said "Look, I know I should've treated you in a much better way than I actually did from the start, because being so mean to innocent youngsters is wrong, and also because your friend here (referring to Monica) is going to be a big animal one day, but she's still much smaller than me in size.", and then he quickly added "I mean, when I was your age, I was abused and bullied by cows (females) and bulls (males) from my own herd who were adolescents at the time I was just a young inexperienced calf who didn't know any better, and for years, they forced me to act badly towards helpless little animals like all of you, and so that's how they managed to twist me up into becoming that bad elephant who bullied you all.".

However, what Shufai said next caused all five young animal friends to gasp in shock, and they all gasped in shock and they were all surprised when he said "But the truth is, that deep inside my heart, I do care for the feelings of small and helpless animals, and there's one reason which explains why - I'm sensitive.", and when all the animal youngsters heard him saying that he's actually sensitive despite he appeared scary and intimidating at first, they all gasped in shock as he nodded his head in agreement with his own words, before Riley said "So, that's why you've treated us so badly in the start - you've been bullied by someone older than you before!", and then Shufai said to him "Yes, kiddo, you're right, and I'm so sorry for who I have become.", but just then, Monica went up to him and then she raised up a cloven forehoof and started stroking lightly at Shufai's much larger forelegs before she to him "We all understand you now, Shufai, and we all feel sorry for you and for what you've been through too.", but then she quickly added "But you should still know that there's still one thing that you didn't know you could've done - you could've told your mother or anyone else who is a good friend or family member of yours about what you've been going through because of those who bullied you. Shufai, listen to me, it's not too late.".

When Shufai heard her saying that good advice to him, Shufai gently wrapped his trunk around Monica's body and then he slowly brought her up to look at her in the eyes, and that's before he said to her with tears forming and rolling down his eyes as he showed his true sensitive side to her and to the four other youngsters, before he sniffled a little bit and then he said and asked "Thank you, little one, for reminding me of that useful advice. Because I was bullied for years, I completely forgot it even exists, but tell me one more thing - who taught you to use that advice against bullies?", and then Monica said "Well, my Grandpa, Mebaya, told me that if someone bullies me or wants to make me feel really bad, I should just go to him or to Grandma Zhenya and tell them about it and they will help me by taking care of the bullies for me.", and when Shufai heard her saying that, he said back "I didn't know what to do back then, and now I feel really bad and I'm also ashamed of myself for the bad elephant I am because of those bullies.", but then Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all went forward towards him and then they said together "It's okay, Shufai, we all forgive you, and it's not your fault that you became a bad elephant, because it wasn't even your choice, you were forced against your own will to act like that and be so bad to others and care about only yourself, but now that you know you could've changed that, you would've become so mean and cruel to others.", but then Shufai said back "But then I wouldn't have ever met all of you, because without all of you in my life, I would've never decided to reform myself and become a good elephant again as my life would've never changed. I like you all so much, and I'm so sorry for everything bad I've done to all of you.".

Then, when they all heard what Shufai said, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky accepted his apologies, as Monica and Flower have already forgave him for his mistakes, but once Shufai lowered down his trunk and then gently unwrapped it from around Monica's body, this is when she, Flower and the three other animal friends all started hugging tightly and lovingly at both of Shufai's large forelegs, thus showing the adolescent male Indian elephant that they all accept his apologies and know that he has a change of heart as they all already know he didn't wanted to be a bad elephant anymore after he realized his mistakes, and as they all hugged at Shufai's large forelegs, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower all felt his warm blood traveling up deep inside his forelegs and eventually going into his warm-blooded, massive heart.

However, Shufai was suddenly hit with the realization and he soon found out and realized that there's still one thing he haven't yet told the animals youngsters about, and so he quickly pulled away from the five of them and broke the group hug and embrace away from them, thus surprising them when they realized the sudden change in Shufai's behavior as they looked to see the terror lurking behind his eyes, and they soon realized that something is wrong, before Monica then asked him "Shufai, what's wrong?", but then Shufai said "Oh, I almost forgot! There's still one more thing I have to warn you all about!", and when the five animal youngsters realized that the adolescent male's senses are telling him that there's a danger coming for all of them, Monica asked him "What are you talking about?", and then Shufai explained that they all need to run away and leave the forest all together and go back home to the Everfree Forest because he heard Lysander talking to Ganda about having the youngsters as snacks, and also about the shape-shifting crocodile's evil idea of not only having them all for a meal to eat, but also to have Shufai himself as the main course of his and the other three carnivorous animals' dinner, thus shocking all animal youngsters (minus Flower, who already heard him talking about it when he explained to her about the upcoming danger while they're in midway of finding the others) as they soon realized that Lysander, Ganda and all their evil friends aren't who they all thought they were.

Then, Shufai quickly lowered himself down to his elbows and knees and then he said to the five animal youngsters "Come on, little ones! Climb on my back! We're leaving this forest! We're going back home!", and when they all heard him saying that as he gave them all a firm look which told them that he seriously (really) wants them to climb onto his back as he's showing no regret to his own words, as now he's really willing to save the youngsters and himself from getting eaten all together by Lysander, Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo as their dinner AND main course.

Then, when the five youngsters all realized that he's willing to save them all alongside himself from getting eaten at evening, they all quickly climbed up onto his back, and once they all sat down on top of Shufai's large back, neck and even his head, this is when Shufai slowly stood back up on his feet so none of the youngsters will fall off his back, and once Shufai was up on his feet and is now fully standing up on all four legs, this is when Shufai said to all the five youngsters who are now riding on his back "This forest isn't safe for us! If we stay here, we all will get eaten for dinner! Let's go back home!", and when they all heard what he said, the five youngsters nodded as they looked down at him in agreement, before Shufai started walking slowly with everyone on his back, but then, after a few minutes, Shufai started to walk faster and faster until he was actually running as fast as 40 miles per hour (which is the maximum running speed of almost all elephants), thus giving all the youngsters who are all still riding on his back a fast ride out of the forest and back home (to the Everfree Forest).

Later, the six are still traveling in the unfamiliar forest and the youngsters on Shufai's back started getting extremely bored, but that is until Flower came up with an idea how to cheer them all up and make the ride on Shufai's back much more fun, and so she went up to the top on Shufai and then she whispered to his left ear to tell him to slow down a little bit, and when Shufai slowed down the pace, he asked Flower what's wrong, and then she explained to him that the other youngsters are feeling bored and that she have a wonderful idea how to make the ride on his back much more fun, and then she told him to walk at a medium speed and make a certain pace of steps, and so to make it have a singing voice, Shufai started singing as he kept walking at the medium speed and kept making same certain pace of his large footsteps.

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

Then, Flower joined the song as she started singing as well, thus slowly getting the other youngsters' attention as she spoke and sang up in her tiny and cute, yet high and beautiful voice.

 _In the jungle, the mighty jungle_

 _The lion sleeps tonight_

 _In the jungle, the quiet jungle_

 _The lion sleeps tonight_

When the four other animal youngsters heard the sounds of footsteps of Shufai's footsteps with his voice being the cue voice of the song and with Flower's voice singing the words of the song (at the right place and at the right time), they all started cheering up a little bit as they gave Flower happy smiles when they heard her tiny and cute, yet high and beautiful voice singing the song's words to them in order to cheer them all up from their bored states.

Shufai continued singing his own part as he kept walking up at a medium speed and stepped forward in the same certain pace as he walked in the forest in search for a way out.

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

Then, Flower continued singing the next words of the song to cheer the other animal youngsters even more so to make them all feel very happy.

 _Near the village, the peaceful village_

 _The lion sleeps tonight_

 _Near the village, the quiet village_

 _The lion sleeps tonight_

Just then, after the meerkat sang these words of the song, many other animals slowly started walking towards them and joined them by their sides as some of them walked at the same walking pace as Shufai and some even made funny sounds which made the song sound much more funny but also very cheerful, as Shufai continued singing his own words of the song (repeatedly, and again).

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

Then, Flower started singing the last words of the song to make the other animal youngsters feel even more happier.

 _Hush my darling, don't fear my darling_

 _The lion sleeps tonight_

 _Hush my darling, don't fear my darling_

 _The lion sleeps tonight_

When the other animal youngsters heard her singing the last words of the song, they all started clapping their hands, paws and cloven hooves as the song was able to cheer them and make them all happy to the point they even decided willingly to join the song as well, and Shufai kept singing his own part of the song (repeatedly, and again) while he's still walking up at a medium speed and stepped forward in the same certain pace as he walked in the forest in search for a way out.

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

 _A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh_

However, a big loud lion roar was suddenly heard as it came out of nowhere, and when all the animals heard the lion roar, they all gasped and screamed in fright before they all started running away in different directions, thus leaving Shufai and the five animal youngsters alone with only each other for support. Then, the six all heard something moving towards them in the bushes, thus causing Maisie, Riley, Cheeky, Monica and Flower to cower in fear on top of Shufai's back, while Shufai himself readied himself to attack whoever or whatever is coming towards him and towards the five animal youngsters.

Just then, an adult lion with a beautiful dark brown mane suddenly jumped out of the bushes and stopped right in front of Shufai and the five youngsters who sat down on top of his large back, but when he (the lion) spoke up and asked "Huh? Who goes there?", Maisie, Riley and Cheeky soon recognized and realized who is the lion standing in front of them once they heard his feminine voice - it's Jayma. Then Maisie, Riley and Cheeky asked the maned lioness "Jayma? Is that you?", and when she recognized the three little baby animals by their cute and sweet little voices, she looked up to see them on top of Shufai's back and then she asked "Little ones? Could it be?", but then Shufai suddenly interrupted them all and asked "Wait, what is going on? How do you know the little ones?", but then, instead of answering his question, Jayma just stood there in place and gave Maisie, Riley and Cheeky a sign by nodding up to them with her head and neck to jump off Shufai's back so they can fall down and land safely on her dark brown and warm mane, and without second thoughts, that's what they did, and so Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all jumped off Shufai's back and fell down and landed safely on Jayma's dark brown and warm mane, before they started to cry happily as they're overjoyed to see her again, and then they started hugging tightly at the back of her neck (but not too tightly so not to choke her), thus shocking Shufai but also confusing both Monica and Flower (who still sat down on top of his large back and looked down at the maned lioness with confused expressions on their faces).

Then, when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all broke their hug and let go of Jayma, they jumped down and landed safely on the ground in front of Shufai and the two other animal youngsters, and that's when Jayma said as she introduced herself and also explained about the reason she looks like a male but is actually born a female "Hi there. I'm Jayma, and these little ones are friends of mine, but it's also a pleasure for me to meet you three as well. Don't worry about me, I won't bite you. I may look like a male because of my beautiful mane, but I was born a female and started developing my mane when I was just a young cub, throughout the years and all the way up to maturity until that beautiful dark brown mane started covering my neck and gave me a male-like appearance, not to mention that I'm also muscular like a male and my roar is deeper and more masculine, and these allow me to scare and intimidate my enemies and save innocent animals if necessary.".

However, when Flower heard her saying that she's an extremely rare maned lioness, the tiny young meerkat quickly climbed down from Shufai's large back, and once she landed on solid ground safely, she quickly ran up to meet the extremely rare female big cat from a closer look, and once she stopped right in front of Jayma, she looked up at her in the eyes and then she said with excitement in her voice "Hi! Who are you, Miss? I'm Flower, and I'm a tiny, friendly, cute and lovable meerkat! Do you like making friends? I love to make friends with big animals like bears, lions like yourself, and elephants, and tigers, and-", but then Shufai cut her in mid-sentence as he quickly pulled her back from Jayma and then he placed the tip of his trunk over and against Flower's mouth in order to shush her up as he saw that Jayma now looking down at her with a surprised and confused, yet also a bit disturbed look as she started feeling a bit uncomfortable with the tiny and talkative meerkat.

Then, Shufai said back to Jayma "It's okay, Jayma. Flower is just a bit too excited when she meets big animals.", and when she heard him saying that, Jayma said "It's okay, although I still must ask you something.", and when Shufai heard what she said, he asked "And what is it?", and then she asked him "What's your name?", and then Shufai answered "Well, I'm Shufai, one of Queen Tukta's oldest grandchildren and Kyra's older brother. I'm 17 years old.", and when Jayma heard that Shufai is 17 years old, she said back "Oh my, you're almost an adult, aren't you? Very well then, it's nice to meet you too, Shufai.", and then he said back to the maned lioness "Likewise.".

Then, Shufai lowered down on all fours to let Monica to climb off his back so she too can meet Jayma, and once the little African buffalo calf climbed off his back, she went up to Jayma, but then she also felt nervous about befriending her for one good reason we all know because it's already happening in real life - back on planet earth, lions often hunt and eat African buffaloes, not just the calves but also the adults as well, and therefore African buffaloes often hate lions, for these large and ferocious apex predators hunting and eating them for lunch and for dinner.

However, Jayma assured Monica that she can trust her, even if she (Jayma herself) is a lioness, since she's already good friends with Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, and she's best friends with Agatha the white lioness (who already have reformed), and when Monica started feeling safe around Jayma, Shufai was also in relief, for he knew that Jayma is someone whom he and the others could trust, before he then stepped forward, finally let go his trunk and moved it off and away from Flower's mouth and then he asked "So, Jayma. Please tell me something we all need to know - do you know a way out of here?", and when Jayma heard him saying that, she said back "Sure, let me lead the way. I know exactly where to go.", and then she turned around and started walking away from Shufai and from the others, who all soon followed behind her as she then started leading them after her in search for a way out of the forest.

Meanwhile, Kyra, Opey and her mother, Lin Raju and the others (Kyra and Opey's friends) have arrived at the forest, and so they all finally stopped dead in their tracks, before they decided if to enter the forest or not, and for a few long minutes, they all considered what could possibly happen if they enter the forest, but then they all suddenly heard the youngsters' voices calling for them, and then, a few moments later, everyone else saw them all coming and making their way out of the forest and then coming towards them with Shufai and Jayma leading them, and thus everyone got reunited with each other at last.

Then, Shufai explained how he apologized to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky and how they made new friends with Monica while he himself made friends with Flower, thus also introducing both African buffalo calf and tiny young meerkat to everyone else, but even though everyone became satisfied with Shufai's apologies to the small animals, as well as satisfied with his final redemption, as they're all about to leave and go back home to the Everfree Forest all together, they all suddenly came face-to-face with Zenobia, Clayton, Buldeo and a large African bush elephant who looked a bit different than Terrence himself, and when Shufai looked closer at the African bush elephant standing in front of him and in front of the others, Shufai soon realized that the African bush elephant is none other than Topsy, because as soon as he noticed her smaller size, both of her tusks intact on her face and no scars and/or notches on her left eye and left ear - she soon turned out to a female instead of a male, but then she also started smiling evilly at him before she said "Oh, what a pleasure to meet you, bigger, yet more stupider Asian elephant!", and then she laughed evilly at him, thus also scaring Kyra, Opey, their friends and the animal youngsters, who quickly hid behind Jayma, Lin Raju and Opey's mother, who also stared right at Topsy's evil face.

Then, Jayma asked in shock "Wait, how are you now roaming around freely?!", and then Opey's mother added "I thought the princesses sent to a life sentence in Tartarus!", but then Topsy said "Thanks to these three nice, shape-shifting carnivores here *she looked down and motioned towards Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo with her trunk* I was able to escape from my doom!", and then Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo's foreheads suddenly started glowing in the same evil red magic as Lysander and the four other evil animals from his evil team, thus revealing to everyone that they're now three new shape-shifting animals who can use magic at last (which is the reason why they're able to rescue Topsy from Tartarus and bring her with them to the forest so she can meet Terrence and show him that he's not the last African bush elephant living in all of Equestria anymore).

Then, Buldeo evilly explained to everyone "We got our newfound magic when we arrived in Tartarus, before we spotted that nice, big and friendless female elephant standing there and trapped in a cage next to these pathetic Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow, and when she saw us, she begged us to set her free, and in return for breaking into her cage and freeing her from imprisonment, we took her back with us so we can introduce her to our elephant friend, Terrence!", and then he, Zenobia and Clayton all laughed evilly all together, thus shocking everyone as they realized that now the evil African bush elephant's reign of terror has grew up in number from just one to two evil African bush elephants who are currently living and roaming in all of Equestria - Topsy and Terrence.

Then, Zenobia said evilly "Time to go home for dinner!" and then she used her newfound evil magic alongside Clayton and Buldeo and then the three together transported themselves, Topsy and everyone else back to the cave in the villainous animals' forest, and once they all arrived back at the cave after the teleportation spell worked, Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo used their evil magic together to make a massive cage appear out of thin air and that massive cage was good enough to keep all the good animals imprisoned so they all can be later eaten not only for dinner, but also for the whole next week.

Then, with all the good animals imprisoned, Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo turned their attentions back to Topsy and then Buldeo said to her "Now it's time for you to meet our elephant friend, Terrence. He's going so happy to know that now he's no longer the last African bush elephant living in all of Equestria!", but then Jayma called and yelled at her evil brother from inside the massive cage "You won't get away with this!", but then Buldeo said back to her "But unfortunately for you, we already have!", and then he and his two best friends laughed evilly once more, before they and Topsy went together deeper into the cave to introduce her to Terrence and to the other evil animals so Terrence can choose her as his mate, thus leaving all the good animals stuck and trapped all together inside the massive cage (and also - with no way out).

However, at first, everyone were relieved because they all thought that at least now they're all together, but a minute later, they soon realized that something is very wrong when Maisie said "At least we're all together now. right, Cheeky?", because Cheeky didn't answered Maisie's words, which means that he's missing. Then, Maisie started calling and searching for Cheeky, and Riley, Monica, Kyra, Opey, Albert, Milton, Georgie and even Shufai and the grownups (adults) all started searching inside the massive cage they're all locked up inside for Cheeky, but for some reason, they couldn't find him anywhere inside the massive cage, which means that he's indeed missing.

However, Shufai is the one who suddenly became frightened for the most when he suddenly realized that Flower is also missing and is nowhere to be found either, thus showing him that she's missing as well before the adolescent male Indian elephant said "I don't see Flower around here or anywhere else either! She's indeed missing too, just like Cheeky!", and then he turned to Lin Raju and said to him "Lin Raju, we have to go find them! Now!", but then the Mammophant said back to him "No, we can't! We're all locked up together inside this massive cage, and therefore - there's no way out of here!", and when Shufai realized that he and everyone else were all still locked inside the massive cage, he asked as realization hit him "So, you're saying that they're going to save us?", and then Lin Raju said to him "Yes, Shufai. All of us. Now we all depend on the tiny paws, hearts and minds of Cheeky and Flower. They're both our only hope now.".


	119. Chapter 118:Marjan's redemption

Meanwhile, in the middle of a barren desert, Cheeky and Flower (who are the only ones who weren't captured but were transported into somewhere else instead) found themselves and each other in the hot and barren desert to which they accidentally got transported (by mistake), but they're able to survive in the desert, since both jerboas and meerkats are mammals which have adapted to life in large, hot and deserted areas, which were no places suitable for most other animals (most other mammals, birds and reptiles), and so the two decided to search together for a way out of the desert in order to find some help and then go and save all their friends who got captured by the eight evil shape-shifting animals.

While traveling together in the desert in order to find some help and then go and save all their friends, Cheeky said to Flower "We must keep going forward! All of our friends are counting on us! We must save them all!", but then Flower asked "Wait, what's that?" as she suddenly stopped and pointed with a tiny finger of hers at something that looked like a bovine animal which resembled Monica, but it looked much bigger and older than her, as Flower saw that the bovine have horns growing on top of its head, moving to the sides and then curving back towards the head and pointing at each other, which makes them bigger, longer and much heavier than the ones of a domestic cow or bull, and therefore the bovine animal which was standing in front of Cheeky and Flower (albeit also a bit far away from them) was none other than an adult African buffalo (from the same species as Monica herself).

Just then, however, the adult African buffalo suddenly turned its large and horned head and turned to barely see Cheeky and Flower standing in front of it (and also a bit far away from it), before the adult African buffalo started running lightly towards them, but rather than running away for their lives, Cheeky and Flower decided to stay still and wait for the much larger animal to come close enough so it can see them much more properly than it barely did just now, and once the adult African buffalo got close enough, it stopped dead in its tracks right in front of them and then it lowered down its head and neck to look at them in the eyes, and when Cheeky and Flower looked up at it and gave it an eye contact, the adult African buffalo suddenly spoke up and said and asked in a feminine voice "Oh my goodness! Who are you two? What are you both doing out here in this barren desert all alone by yourselves?", thus shocking Cheeky and Riley as they realized that the adult African buffalo who just talked to them is actually a female and not a male.

However, the two little animals soon snapped out of their shocked states before Cheeky said first "Hi there, Miss. We're looking for some help and also for a way out of this here desert.", and then he asked "Can you please help us and take us with you?", and when the adult female African buffalo heard what he said, she said back "Well, I know a way out of here. My family and my herd have been here before.", and then she raised up a cloven forehoof and then she pointed southward and explained "They all went that way, to the south.", and then she turned back to look at Cheeky and Flower and then she added "Come with me, little ones. Jump onto my back and I will take you to meet my family and my herd. My father and my mother are the leaders of my whole herd, and their names are King Mebaya and Queen Zhenya. I'm sure they would like to meet you two, because they're both really nice to all kinds of animals other than just themselves and the rest of our own kind.".

However, when Cheeky and Flower heard the adult female African buffalo saying that King Mebaya and Queen Zhenya are her parents, since Monica is their granddaughter (or at least one of many grandchildren), the two gasped in shock for a second time when they realized that the adult female African buffalo might be somehow related to Monica herself, but then they (again) snapped out of their shocked states and looked as the adult female African buffalo lowered down on all fours so to let them climb up onto her back and also to give them a ride out of the desert in order to find King Mebaya, Queen Zhenya, their family and all the rest of their African buffalo herd.

However, when she saw the two small animal friends are still standing there right in front of her and looking at her but doing nothing else, the adult female African buffalo asked them "Is there's something wrong?", and then Cheeky said "Well, I'm kinda curious to know if there's any connection between you and a friend of ours whom we've already before.", and then Flower asked her "I'm curious too, because I wanna know one important thing before we leave the desert with you to meet with the rest of your herd - do you know our friend Monica?", and when the adult female African buffalo heard the tiny meerkat saying that, she gasped in shock and looked down and very close at her in the eyes before she then asked "You know my precious Monica?", and then Flower said back "Surely, we know her, and she's a good friend of ours and we're all really happy to have a friend like her.", and then Cheeky asked "Do you know Monica?", and when the adult female African buffalo heard what he said, she said back "Well, of course! I'm her mother!", but when she said that, Cheeky and Monica jumped together in shock before they asked together in high voice tones "What?! You're Monica's mother?!", and then the mother African buffalo said back and then asked "Well, yes, I am. After she got separated away from the rest of the herd, I also left and started searching and looking for her. Where's my precious little daughter at?".

When Cheeky and Flower both heard Monica's mother asking them about her daughter's whereabouts, the two sighed heavily before Cheeky explained "Your daughter and all our other friends are all imprisoned by Lysander, Ganda and all their evil friends.", and when she heard what the little baby jerboa just said, Monica's mother gasped in shock before she asked "What? Why do they want from my precious daughter and fromI all of your other friends?", and then Flower explained "They want to have them as a meal for all the carnivores in their animal team - Lysander himself, Buldeo, Zenobia and Clayton, which may last them for at least two weeks (or so), with Monica and our adult friends also included.", and when Monica's mother heard what the tiny meerkat just said, she snorted angrily and said "These monsters will suffer if they dare to touch my precious daughter, but what will make me even more angrier at them is the fact that they also want to eat other young and helpless animals for dinner!", and then she added and said to the two small animal friends "Climb up onto my back, kids! I will take you both out of this desert to meet my parents and the rest of my herd!", and when Cheeky and Flower heard her saying that, they nodded and said together "Right!" and then they climbed up onto Monica's mother's back, and once they sat down on top of her back, she slowly stood back up on her feet and then she started running really fast (and as fast as she can do) with the two small animal friends riding on her back as the three animals started traveling together through the barren desert in search for the rest of the African buffalo herd.

Meanwhile, back at the evil animals' cave in the forest, everyone else are still trapped and locked inside the cage with no way out, and it didn't took long before Terrence and the rest of his friends returned to meet them with Topsy following very close behind Terrence himself in tow, thus showing and revealing to everyone's shock that now both evil African bush elephants are mates, and therefore their chances of bringing evil baby African bush elephants to Equestria is now possible, but when Topsy looked down and saw Kyra, Opey, their friends and even Maisie and Riley, she quickly recognized them and then she gave them all an evil smile, thus scaring them all as they went close to Shufai and to the three other (adult) animals for comfort.

However, when Topsy saw the youngsters and the older juveniles cowering in fear and hugging the adolescent and the three adults for comfort, the adult female African bush elephant just laughed evilly at them before she said "You'll never escape your doom, stupid little kids! My new mate's best friends will eat you all for dinner!", but when she saw Maisie and Riley with the other young animals from an even closer look, she laughed evilly once again before she said to them "And you two will end up meeting your stupid mothers! But, I still must admit and say that it was my pleasure to crush them to death for not respecting me!", but when Shufai heard what she said and realized that Maisie, Riley and Cheeky lost their moms and got orphaned all together by Topsy herself, the adolescent male Indian elephant yelled at her "How dare you?! How dare you do that to these sweet little ones, you monster!", but when Topsy heard him yelling at her, she turned to face him and then she looked at him in the eyes and asked "And what do we have here besides these stupid little brats?", but then Shufai yelled at her "What did you just to me?!", but then Topsy said back "Oh, you're another Asian elephant! Just like the stupid little one behind your back!" and then she motioned towards Kyra, who is standing and cowering in fear next to Shufai and against his larger body for comfort.

However, Shufai yelled back at the older female elephant "Enough! I will not tolerate someone who is as bad as you are, and I will not let you call me, my little sister or any of her friends any insulting names, do you understand me?!", but then Topsy said back "Just shut up your mouth if you wanna last longer than you actually will!", and when she said these words, she indeed managed to shock and scare Shufai a little bit, but he still stood tall and proud with confidence and looked Topsy right in the eyes as he wanted to attack her for orphaning Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, for insulting and harming his little sister, and for harassing his sister's non-elephant friends for fun, but deep inside his heart and mind, he clearly knew that he can't attack her (yet) because he's still locked up with the other good animals inside the cage, but Topsy wasn't done with him and with the young animals yet, and when she saw Monica from a closer look, she gave an even scarier and more evil-looking smile as she quickly recognized the African buffalo calf by her appearance and by the frightened look in her eyes, before Topsy then said evilly "And it seems like that stupid little African buffalo calf is here with all of you too! Just the way I really like it, especially after I separated her away from her family and away from the rest of her herd and tried kill her to show what real elephants do and what is our true destiny in life!".

When Shufai heard what Topsy said about what she herself did when she separated Monica from her family and also from all the rest of her herd just in an attempt to destroy her, the younger male elephant felt himself boiling in his own anger before he yelled angrily at her in the face "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK AND HARASS OTHER ANIMALS WHO DID NOTHING TO YOU?!" as he suddenly managed to push one of the cage's bars from a normal, upright-standing shape into a twisted shape that was moving a bit forward by using his own head and also his still-growing tusks, thus shocking and surprising not only Topsy herself, but also Terrence and all his seven evil non-elephant friends, but then Terrence said back to him "You're such a dumb animal for an Indian elephant! We African bush elephants we're much more bigger, stronger and smarter than you!".

However, Shufai said back "No! What you're saying is absolutely ridiculous and wrong! You don't know what poor innocent baby animals, ponykind's foals and even little children all around this world are going through because of your pure malevolence! You two don't deserve to have kids of your own after everything bad you've already done for all this long and unforgettable time!", but then Topsy entered with only her trunk into the cage and then she slapped Shufai three times across the face before she said "We will see about that, you big, filthy Asian elephant!", and then Terrence added "You don't even know with how many elephants you're even messing up!", and then he turned to Akeno and said to him "Akeno!", and then the evil okapi turned to him and asked "Yes, Terrence?", and then Terrence said to him "Please, bring me, my new mate and my other friends all the adult and elder okapis whom you have brainwashed after we destroyed that worthless Asha!", and when Akeno heard him saying that, he said back "The great honor is all mine!" before he then went back into the darker and deeper parts of the cave to call all of the brainwashed okapis to come with him so one or two of them can help guarding the cage so the good animals won't be able to escape until Lysander, Buldeo, Zenobia and Clayton all will receive and have their meal at dinner time (when evening comes).

Later, after a few minutes, Akeno returned with all of the brainwashed adult and elder okapis (whom he brainwashed after he destroyed Asha) and then he showed them all to Terrence, Topsy and all the other evil animals, who grinned evilly and proudly at him, but when the good animals also saw all of the brainwashed okapis from behind the cage's bars, they (and particularly Opey and her mother) were all shocked to see them all like this (ever since Asha had died), and both Opey and her mother recognized all of the brainwashed okapis as all their family and herd members whom Akeno had taken away from them (and from all the other okapi youngsters) to his side to work for him and for all of his non-okapi evil friends.

Then, Akeno called for three of the okapis to come forward, and when these three okapis, two males and one female, came forward, Akeno smiled evilly at them before he turned back to the cage to see Opey and her mother's shocked and frightened expressions, and then he said and then asked the three brainwashed okapis whom he called to come forward "You three, you stay here and guard the cage so that our prisoners won't be able to escape, understand?", and when the three brainwashed okapis all heard him saying that, they nodded in agreement and said together "Yes, our strong and beloved leader Akeno!", and when he them saying that to him, he nodded in agreement before he said back "Good, now you three start guarding the cage, while my friends and I we're all going to discuss with each other and think about what do we want to prepare and have for our dinner!", and when they heard what he said, these three brainwashed okapis went together to the cage and started to guard it to prevent the good animals who are all trapped and locked inside it from having any chance to escape, but as Akeno and his friends (now including Topsy) were about to go away and leave the three brainwashed okapis in charge or the prisoners, Akeno said to them "Oh, and one more thing - do not interact with the prisoners or talk to any of them, because they're able to manipulate you against your will into setting them free, so do not let any of them mess up with you, okay?", and then he laughed evilly and started to walk away with all the other brainwashed okapis following behind him and behind all of his non-okapi evil friends, before theythe all disappeared into the darker and deeper parts of the cave, thus leaving the good animals trapped and locked all together inside the cage with the three brainwashed okapis (whom Akeno chose to guard them and their cage) guarding them and their cage so they won't be able to escape.

Meanwhile, Cheeky, Flower and Monica's mother all have already left the desert and they're now searching for the rest of the African buffalo herd, but it didn't took them very long before they finally found them all still traveling southward in search for a new home, and so this is when Cheeky, Flower and Monica's mother all went up to them and finally caught up with them, and when King Mebaya and Queen Zhenya turned their heads to see their daughter coming towards them, the two ordered the rest of the herd to stop so the patriarch and matriarch can both come to meet their daughter and reunite with her again, but the happy reunion was cut short when they noticed that their daughter didn't yet found Monica, but when they noticed the little jerboa and meerkat sitting and riding on her back, this is when Cheeky and Flower started introducing themselves, and they also told King Mebaya, Queen Zhenya and all the rest of the African buffalo herd how do they know Monica as their friend, but then they also told them about her whereabouts - she's held hostage alongside all the other good animals in the villainous animals' cave and is to become the dinner for Lysander, Buldeo, Zenobia and Clayton.

When all the African buffaloes heard what the little jerboa and meerkat just said about Monica's going to become the dinner for the carnivorous members of the evil animals' team, all the young calves who were all around Monica's age gasped with fright while all the adolescents, adults and elders were all in shock, but that is until King Mebaya came up with an idea and made a wise decision - go and bring all the rest of his herd to fight the evil animals and save Monica and all the other good animals from the cave, and so he told everyone (all the African buffaloes) to come with him to the forest to save Monica and all the other good animals from the evil animals' cave, and when they all heard him saying that, this is when his mate, Queen Zhenya, went up to him and asked "My dear Mebaya, won't we get hurt trying to save our little granddaughter and her new friends from those evil animals?", but then King Mebaya gave his mate a reassuring smile before he said "We won't. There are many of us, and the more we are is what makes us stronger than our enemies.", and then he turned to the rest of the herd and called for all of them "Everyone, we're going to save my precious little granddaughter and her new friends from those evil animals who wants to eat them all for dinner!", and then he demanded "Let's go!", and so King Mebaya, Queen Zhenya, their daughter, Cheeky and Flower, and all the rest of their African buffalo herd went all together to the forest to save Monica and all of her friends from becoming dinner for Lysander, Buldeo, Zenobia and Clayton (the four carnivorous members of their own evil animal team).

Meanwhile, back in the cave, all the good animals are still trapped and locked inside their cage with the three brainwashed okapis guarding them from outside it, while at the time, they're trying to prevent themselves from interacting with the prisoners and/or talking to them, but Opey and her mother still recognized one of the brainwashed okapis, which was in that case - one of the two males, very well, as they both knew exactly who he really is - the adult male okapi whom Opey and her mother recognized and knew for the most out of all the three brainwashed okapis is none other than Marjan, Opey's father and her mother's mate.

When Opey and her mother both recognized their father and beloved mate Marjan (while he and the two other okapis are still brainwashed), Opey quickly went up close to the bars of the cage and called for him "Daddy!", thus suddenly getting his attention, but then he quickly stepped aback when he saw the young female okapi who was his own daughter looking right at him in the eyes and started bearing his teeth at her like an angry carnivore, and when all the other animals saw Marjan looking down angrily at his own daughter (while he's still brainwashed), Maisie, Riley and Monica all went up to the mother okapi and then they asked her "Mrs, who is that adult male okapi who is looking angrily at Opey?", and when she heard what they said, Opey's mother turned and lowered her head and neck to look down at them in the eyes before she said and explained "This is Marjan, my beloved mate and my little Opey's father!", and when they, Opey's friends (minus Opey herself) and even Shufai heard what the mother okapi said about Marjan being her mate and Opey's father, they all gasped in shock before they said out loud in unison "WHAT?!".

Then, Opey cried again for her brainwashed father and said "Daddy! It's me, your daughter, Opey!", but then the brainwashed adult male okapi (Marjan) asked her "Who are you?", and then Opey cried "Daddy! Don't you remember me? I'm your own daughter! I'm Opey!, but then Marjan said back to his own daughter "That name means nothing to me, prisoner! I don't have a mate OR any children! Tell me what do you really want, and make it quick, because I'm not supposed to interact with the prisoners or even to talk to them!", and when Opey heard what her own father just said to her, she gasped in shock and then she cried "Daddy! I can't believe you completely forgotten both mommy and me! I'm your daughter! And I love you!", but then Marjan yelled at her in the face "Shut up your mouth, prisoner! I don't even have a daughter! Akeno is my leader and master! I don't yet have any children!", but then Opey cried and yelled to her father as tears of sadness started to form in her eyes "No! Akeno is not your leader or your master! He's a vicious traitor who betrayed our family!", and then she added "Don't you see that, Daddy? Akeno has brainwashed you and all the adults and elders, and he's fooling you all to make you think that he's the rightful leader of our family!".

However, Marjan said to his daughter "What are you even saying, prisoner?! Akeno is our family's rightful leader!", but then Opey cried "No! You're wrong! Asha is our family's rightful leader! She may be gone, but we should never forget all the good things she have done to us before what Akeno did to her! Don't you see, daddy! Akeno destroyed Asha and then he took you all under his lead against your own will!", and then she cried out loud "YOU DON'T KNOW ME ANYMORE, DADDY!", and then she finally burst into tears, and so her mother, her non-okapi friends, Jayma, Lin Raju and even Shufai all went up to her and hugged her all around her body to comfort her.

However, after no more than just three minutes, something started to happen to Marjan - he suddenly started to recall and remember all the good memories he had with his mate and daughter so far, from the moment his daughter Opey was born to just before Asha's death, and at first, Marjan struggled and didn't know who he should trust and believe and/or what to choose, but after having an inner struggle for a few moments, he finally made it up in his own mind and then he managed to snap out of Akeno's evil magic and redeem himself back to normal, thus finally setting himself free and becoming the second adult okapi who managed to snap out of his brainwashing and free himself from Akeno's evilness.

Then, Marjan shook his head from side to side to shake away the dizziness he got when he snapped out of his brainwashing for a few moments, and once he got his vision and eyesight cleared from the dizziness, he looked down and saw his daughter crying with her mother, friends, Lin Raju, Jayma and Shufai all around her and trying to comfort her, and this made the okapi father gasp in shock before he quickly lowered down onto his haunches and then tears started to form in his own eyes to see his own daughter this very sad, and then he softly and kindly asked "Opey?", and when Opey heard her father's soft and kind (and gentle) voice speaking to her again for the first time since before Asha's death, Opey sniffled before she looked up to see her father sitting down and looking at her with some tears forming in his own eyes, and when she saw and realized her father is no longer under Akeno's vicious influence, Opey quickly got up on her feet and then she ran towards the cage's iron bars and then she cried "Daddy!", and when the others also noticed that Marjan has reformed from Akeno's evil control, Shufai went up to Opey and gently pushed her out of the way for a moment, before he then rammed his own head and tusks at the single iron bar which he twisted earlier (but didn't yet broke free from the rest of the cage) and after a few times, Shufai successfully managed to break the single twisted iron bar free and out of place and sent it flying out of the rest of the cage (without accidentally harming Marjan in the process) and landing and hitting the cave's floor, thus leaving a larger gap wide enough for Opey to stick her head and neck and try to interact with her father.

Then, when Shufai moved out of the way and walked back to the rest of the group, Opey stuck her head and neck through the new gap to get much of herself out of the cage as possible and then she cried again "Daddy!", and then Marjan responded back by lowering his own head down to her and then he started to nuzzle Opey's face and he tried to calm her down by saying "Shhh, it's okay, Opey. It's alright, everything's fine. Your Daddy's back.", and then Opey cried to her father "Daddy! I truly missed you! I thought you don't love me anymore!", but then Marjan tried to calm his little daughter down and said to her "But I do love you, and I always will. You're my daughter, and just like your mother whom I love so much, I also love you too with all my heart.".

When all the good animals saw the touching moment between Opey and her own father, they all couldn't help but cry tears of joy, but the moment became even more touching when Opey's mother joined in to let Marjan nuzzle her face like he did with Opey, thus showing everyone a touching moment between a father, a mother and their little child who just got reunited with one another, and when Opey calmed down thanks to her now redeemed-back-to-normal father, Marjan then asked her and her mother "What is this horrible place?", and then Opey said "It's Akeno and his friends' new cave, he brainwashed you and all the adults and elders, and then he and his evil friends took you all here, but thanks to me, you're now free from his influence, and that's exactly how I also managed to save Mommy before!".

However, when Marjan heard what his daughter Opey said, he gasped in shock and asked "Where's Asha? Is she okay?", but then Opey's mother said "She's gone, Marjan! Akeno destroyed her!", and when Marjan heard what his mate said, he gasped in shock once again, before he then growled in anger and said "How dare he?! That traitor dared to kill our family's beloved leader! How he couldv done such thing?! How could he turn us adults and elders on our own children and make us leave them all alone and join him just like that?! He's so barbaric!", and then Opey said to him "Please, Daddy! Help us get out of here!", and when he heard what his own daughter said, Marjan said back "Oh, yes! Of course! I will get you, your mother and all of your friends out of here in no time!", and then Opey said back to her father as she her mother smiled at him "That's my dad!".

Then, Marjan thought about a plan to get his own daughter, his mate, their friends (the other juveniles and youngsters), as well as Jayma, Lin Raju and Shufai out of their cage so he can set them all free and then escape from the cave with all of them, and just then, Terrence and Topsy came by and returned to check on him and on the prisoners, and so Marjan decided to pretend to be scolding his own daughter, his mate and all the others in front of them (Terrence and Topsy themselves) in an attempt to fool the two evil African bush elephants into thinking that he's still brainwashed, but then Topsy (this time, instead of Terrence himself) cleverly looked very close into his eyes and saw that Akeno's influence doesn't have any effect on him anymore, thus causing her to yell "You snapped out of control! You're back to normal! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!", and this caused Opey, her mother, her father (Marjan), her friends, Shufai and the good adult animals (Jayma and Lin Raju) to gasp in shock all together when they realized that much like Terrence himself, Topsy is not fooled by the okapi father's trick at all and that she found out that he snapped back to normal, thus promoting Marjan to then push and force her first to charge into the cage and destroy apart of it without having anyone getting hurt in the process, and then he did the same thing with Terrence, thus causing the two African bush elephants to accidentally create a big hole that was big enough for everyone (including Lin Raju) to escape, and thus also finally setting Opey, her mother, her friends and the others free, and they all got out from the broken cage, seconds before Marjan then tripped the two brainwashed okapis (who are still (of course) brainwashed) together with his even-toed forehooves, which causes them to lose their balance and fall down and hit against Terrence and Topsy's faces, as the two evil elephants barely turned around to face them and see them coming, but neither of them had any time to react, thus getting both Terrence and Topsy knocked out cold and unconscious.

With Terrence and Topsy (and the two brainwashed okapis who haven't yet redeemed or reformed) knocked out cold and are unable to move, Opey, her mother, her father (Marjan), her non-okapi friends, Shufai and the good adult animals (Jayma and Lin Raju) all saw this as their chance to escape from the cave, and so Kyra and Shufai the Indian elephants cried "We can finally escape from the cave!", and then Marjan said to everyone "Come with me, everyone! Let's get out of here!", and then everyone nodded in agreement before they all started to run away together and they all started to search for their way out of the cave, but they all knew that they must do so quickly, or else the villainous animals will capture them all again, and this time - they will imprison Marjan himself as well alongside the children, Shufai and the other adults (including his own mate, and also their little daughter, Opey) for snapping out of his brainwashing and for betraying Akeno and all of his evil friends.


	120. Chapter 119:Shufai returns home

Meanwhile, King Mebaya, Queen Zhenya, their daughter, Cheeky and Flower and all the rest of the African buffalo herd are all still traveling and running together as fast they all can towards the forest to find Monica and her friends, and at the same time, King Mebaya thought of the perfect plan and of the wisest decision which will help saving Monica and her friends from Akeno, Terrence and all their evil friends, which (of course) will be that the herd will stand against the enemies and fight all together against them (since Akeno, Terrence and their evil friends, with Topsy included, are just nine animals in total).

Meanwhile, back in the cave, Shufai, the youngsters, the parents (with Marjan is now included) and the two other adult animals are still searching for a way out of the cave, but that is until they all suddenly saw a source of sunlight coming from right ahead of them, and so they all quickly ran towards the light and finally found themselves out of the cave and back outside in the forest, but then they still continued to travel and run away as fast as they all can in order to get themselves very far away and to disappear from the evil animals' eyesights in case they come out of the cave to look for them (in case they realized that they've already managed to escape from the cave).

Later, after a few minutes of running really fast to escape from the villainous animals, the good animals finally slowed down until they all started walking at the normal pace instead, and as they continued to walk in the forest, Shufai said "If anything bad happens to that poor little meerkat, I will never forgive myself!", but then Lin Raju placed his trunk on top of his back and neck and then he said to him "Hey, it's okay, Shufai. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for something that Akeno, Terrence and all their evil friends have done. I'm sure Flower is fine and that she's probably trying to find us all, and so, I bet, is Cheeky also okay and is also looking for us as well.", and then he added "Don't blame yourself for their disappearance. I'm pretty sure that they're both still alive and well and that they're fine and looking for all of us right now. So, what am I saying here is that it's not your fault at all. I promise you that you did nothing wrong to cause Flower and Cheeky's disappearance. That's all I have to say to you about it. Nothing more and nothing else.".

Meanwhile, back with the African buffalo herd, they (and Cheeky and Flower) all finally managed to reach the forest, after they traveled for a few long minutes, and then King Mebaya said tothe the rest of his herd to follow behind him as he was the first to enter the forest in search for his granddaughter and for her friends, with Queen Zhenya (his mate) soon following behind him, and then the rest of the herd slowly entered the forest and started to search for Monica and for her friends (with Cheeky and Flower coming along).

Inside the forest, the whole African buffalo herd started searching for Monica and also for her friends everywhere, and then Cheeky and Flower called out for her and for the other, but just then, as soon as Cheeky and Flower screamed for their friends, they and the whole African buffalo herd all suddenly heard loud rumbling sounds of footsteps running fast and coming towards them, and with each passing minute, the loud rumbling sounds of footsteps got stronger and closer, and that is until they all suddenly heard a loud trumpeting roar which Cheeky and Flower soon recognized as they both knew who's coming for them, and after no more or less than three minutes since the trumpeting roar was heard, everyone saw Shufai coming towards them with all the others (including Monica) following behind him, and when they saw Monica for the first time since she got separated from the rest of her herd, King Mebaya, Queen Zhenya and their adult daughter all went up to meet her and her new friends (and also to reunite with their precious Monica).

However, as they finally got reunited with each other, something really funny (yet also a bit painful) suddenly happened - Shufai suddenly grabbed Flower away from Monica's mother's back with his trunk, and then he wrapped his trunk around her body and waist and then he started crying hysterically and he said "Oh, Flower! I missed you so much! I thought I lost you forever! Please forgive me for me not being able to hold you up in my trunk so you wouldn't have gotten transported somewhere else!", but while he's crying hysterically (and exaggeratingly), Shufai didn't even realized that he's accidentally choking Flower in his trunk, but that is until she barely cried and pleaded "Shufai, I'm okay, but right now you're choking me with your trunk! I can't breath! Please, let me go!", and when Shufai realized that she's almost unable to breath because of him wrapping his trunk too tightly around her body, he gasped in shock before he quickly lowered down with his forelegs and then he unwrapped his trunk from around the young meerkat's tiny body so to let her catch her breath, but still, Shufai was indeed extremely worried about Flower, as she was the one who managed to make him the soft, friendly, kind and sensitive elephant he was when he was just a young elephant, before he was bullied by older elephants into becoming the bad elephant he was for years (but that is of course - until now).

As for Monica, she finally got reunited with her mother, her grandmother (Queen Zhenya), her grandfather (King Mebaya) and the rest of the African buffalo herd, but shortly after they got reunited with one another, one of the African buffaloes, and adult male (who is also part of the herd) suddenly asked "We found our young Monica, and that's one thing. But, where do we go now?", and then another adult male African buffalo agreed with the first one and said and asked "Yeah, we found Monica at last, But where do we gonna live?", and when Shufai heard what they both said about they and their entire herd's searching for a new place where theythe can all live in peace, the adolescent male Indian elephant suddenly interrupted and asked King Mebaya "Can I speak and talk to you and to your entire herd for a minute, Sir?", and when King Mebaya heard what he said, he said back and then asked "Sure, but what for?", and then Shufai said back to the African buffalo patriarch and beloved male leader "You'll hear very soon, and it's really important.".

Then, King Mebaya called out for his entire herd "Everyone, listen up! This young male Indian elephant here have something he wants to say to all of us! Let's hear him out!" and when all the African buffaloes heard what their patriarch and beloved male leader said, they all stood still and looked directly at Shufai like a huge crowd, and this is when Shufai spoke up and said "Okay, everyone! Listen up! I just heard two of you talking about your searching for a new place where you all can stay and live in peace for the rest of your lives, is that true?", and then one of the adult male African buffaloes said "Yes! Our own home was destroyed a few weeks ago!", and when Shufai heard what he said, the adolescent male Indian elephant said back "Hey, It's okay though! Because I know a place where you can all stay and live in peace with all of us - and that is in the Everfree Forest!".

When all the African buffaloes all heard what Shufai said about all of them going to live with the other herds of the Everfree Forest and becoming one of them, all the African buffaloes agreed to go with him and with his friends to the Everfree Forest to have a new home and a place to stay and live in peace, before Shufai said and added "But listen to me, you won't be alone in there! You're going to have many new friends once we get back to the Everfree Forest! There are Indian elephants like me, there are also Gorillas, and there are also Sumatran rhinos, tapirs and even okapis, but then I also have to tell you all that the okapis are leaderless after what one of their own kind did to all of them!".

When all the African buffaloes heard him saying and coming up with the part which will tell them all about what happened to the okapis that caused them to become leaderless, they all suddenly gave him curious looks as they suddenly became interested in what he's going to say next. Then, Shufai said and explained "The matriarch and beloved leader of the okapis, Asha, was a good leader who cared for her whole family and for other animals too and she had a kind heart, but now she's gone because one of her own nephews, a rough, cruel and heartless adult male named Akeno killed her, because she banished him for not letting go of his past and for abusing both humans and ponies just to avenge the deaths of two of his kind, his older brother and his only son, which over time consumed him to the point he became evil!".

Then, Shufai quickly added "After that disgraceful and despicable Akeno killed poor Asha, he used evil magic which he gained and received from his evil friends to brainwash all the adults and all the elders of her family and take them all under his lead so they can be useful for him and for his evil friends in times they need them, but then he decided to leave all the poor okapi youngsters alone without their parents and their elders to care for them, to protect them, and most importantly - love them for the most, as he believed that if he cannot be respected and/or loved for him being evil, then neither will all the okapi youngsters in Asha's family!".

When all the African buffaloes heard what Shufai said about Akeno and about his mad and unforgivable actions, all the adults and all the elders gasped in shock while all the youngsters (all the calves) gasped with fright, before all the adults and elders' eyes quickly filled with anger, and then a random adult female African buffalo (not Monica's mother) said "Such a terrible okapi that Akeno is! And for a herbivore!", and then an adult male added "I wish I can find him and then poke him in the butt with my horns right now!", and then another adult male said "No one deserve such abuse and to have their family separated from them! Especially not some poor little okapis who still need their parents and their elders for the most!", and then a second female African buffalo said with tears of anger forming in her eyes "When I see that evil okapi, I'm going to break his neck! He really deserves it!".

However, Shufai stopped them all and said "Everyone, please! I haven't yet finished everything I wanted to say! What I will say next will shock you all that you all would want to live in the Everfree Forest!", and when they all heard him saying that, all the African buffaloes turned back to look at him again, and that's when Shufai cleared his throat and said "However, ever since Asha's death, my family and my whole herd united with the other herds of the Everfree Forest, and together we all decided to help the young okapis and take good care of all of them so they all will be safe and sound and no harm will come to take them down! They're all safe from the local predators, like Timebrwolves for an instance, and we all make sure that they all get all the respect and love they all truly deserve for the most!".

When all the African buffaloes all heard what Shufai said about that all the herds in the Everfree Forest are working together to protect and take care of all of the young okapis, they all gasped in shock and they were all surprised before one of them, an elderly female, said and asked "If all these poor little okapis have someone to take care of them like all of you, do you think it will be okay if we also help you with taking care of them?", and when Shufai heard what she said, he said back "Yes, of course you can all help! Having all of you as our newest neighbors will mean a 24/7/ protection for all the young okapis!", but that is before Opey suddenly interrupted and said "Well, except for me of course! I already have managed to get both my mommy and my daddy back to me! But I can assure you that they too will help us all protect and care for all the rest of my herd-mates who are all around my own age!".

Then, Shufai said as he introduced both of Opey's newly reformed and redeemed parents to all the African buffaloes "Everyone, these two adult okapis are the mother and father of Opey, my little sister's okapi friend, and they both have managed to snap out of Akeno's brainwashing and they're now on our side! They too will be coming back with us to the Everfree Forest to help us protect and care for all the rest of the young okapis who still have their parents and elders still under Akeno's control!", and then he added "If you all come along and unit your own herd with our herds, we'll be able to fight all together against some of our worst enemies who wants to wipe all of us out and take control of our entire world!".

However, just then, a familiar elderly female voice suddenly called out Shufai's name, and when everyone suddenly heard that voice, Shufai swallowed nervously as he knew to who that voice belonged - it was his grandmother (none other than Queen Tukta herself), and when he looked over all the African buffaloes, Shufai saw Queen Tukta and his mother following her in tow as both female Indian elephants approached to meet him again, but when Shufai saw mother and his grandmother again, he shook in fear and stepped aback before he said "Grandma?! Mom?! What are you both doing here?!", and then Queen Tukta said to him "We came here looking for you and for the others and see if you finally managed to make friends with the poor little ones whom you bullied and chased away, and also to see if you apologized to them for your actions!", but then Shufai and Kyra's mother added "But instead of only doing that, you also found an entirely new herd of African buffaloes who can join us and live with all of us back home in the Everfree Forest!".

However, when Shufai heard what his grandmother and his mother both said to him, he stepped aback a little bit more and then he said "It's not what you both think! I just made a huge mistake that cannot be fixed! I don't deserve to see you both again after what I've done!", but then Queen Tukta approached him and then she stroked at the top and at the back of his neck with her trunk and then she said "Shufai, I'm so proud of you! Now that you learned to be a good elephant and love and befriend other animals, both big and small, I'm glad to say that you deserve to take my place and become the leader of my herd after I'll die!", but when Shufai what his grandmother said, he quickly backed away from her and cried "No! I don't deserve to be the leader of your family and/or of your entire herd! I'm a complete monster! Just like these Topsy and Terrence already are!", but then his mother said "Shufai, you're not like these two no good African bush elephants who already have done things worse than you did! I know you're a good elephant, but you just didn't wanted anyone to see that you're good! I know that, because when you're younger, I saw you being bullied by the older elephants in the herd into becoming who you aren't!".

However, Shufai cried "No! I don't deserve anything anymore! I was a bad elephant before, and therefore you don't really love me or forgive me for who I was back then!", but then Kyra said "But I love you, big brother! Ever since I was born, I always looked up to you and I also liked you so much, even if you didn't really liked me that much back then!", but then Shufai cried "Enough! I don't know what to think anymore!" and then he started running away from everyone else and started searching for a way out of the forest, and when they all saw him leaving like that, they all decided to follow him and try to show him that Queen Tukta and his mother really do loves him and forgives him for his mistakes which he have done back then when he was a bully.

After a few minutes of chasing after Shufai, everyone (and Shufai himself) finally managed to find their way out of the forest, but then that's also when everyone caught up with Shufai and tried to show and reassure him that Queen Tukta and his mother are not angry or mad at him, but then an awfully familiar female voice suddenly called and said to him "Hey you, Asian elephant!", and when everyone (including Shufai himself) heard the voice, they all turned to see Topsy with Terrence following her in tow, and right behind them - all the other evil animals are following them, but rather than coming to re-imprison them all (with all the African buffaloes now included) the villainous animals stopped just a few yards away from the army of good animals, with Topsy staring Shufai right in the face before she then said "Let's see how strong you are for an elephant! I may be a female, but I'm still challenging you to a duel, because you have a pair of tusks on your face just like me!".

However, when everyone heard what she said, Kyra cried "You leave my big brother alone, you monster!", but then Topsy said "I was not talking to you, you dummy little calf!" and then she looked again at Shufai and said to him "What do say about us having a duel? Huh? Just the two of us! It's going to be just YOU and ME!", and when Shufai heard what she said, he stepped forward and then he said "Okay, that's fine! I'm in!", but then his and Kyra's mother said with a worried look on her face "Shufai...". Then, Topsy said to Shufai "This is going to be a fight of one-on-one, you got it?!", and when he heard what she said, Shufai nodded and said "Right!", and then Topsy said "I will make a deal with you, Okay? If I win, you and all of your filthy friends are coming along with me, with my mate, Terrence, and with our friends!", but then she quickly added "But, if you win, you and all of your filthy friends are free to go back home!", and then she said and asked evilly and also a bit loudly "Is that understood?!", and when Shufai heard what she said, he nodded again and said "I understand!", and when Topsy heard him saying that, she said back "Okay then! So let's fight!", and then all the other animals quickly stepped aback to give both Shufai and Topsy enough space so they can fight.

Then, Shufai and Topsy started kicking and digging in the battlefield ground while facing each other and started moving their heads up and down and then left to right to prepare themselves to fight each other, and once they're ready, Shufai and Topsy charged towards each other and then they started fighting in front of everyone's eyes, as both the good and the bad animals watched from both sides of the battlefield and saw how Shufai is willing to defeat Topsy in order to show everyone (the good animals, on his side) that he's worthy to live as a strong elephant and that he deserves to be the future king of the Indian elephant herd.

During the fight with Topsy, Shufai said to her as he kept fighting against her "I will never give up to you, Topsy!", and then he rammed his head down at her left foreleg and added "I will save my family and all of my friends!", and then he said as he went up to her side and then kicked her in the stomach with his right hind leg "You're such a coward, and a vicious monster!", and then he finished as he went up to her other side and then kicked her on the other side of the stomach with his left hind leg "And I will DEFEAT YOU!", thus causing Topsy to cry in pain from his attacks, though she was also shocked at the same time by his will to keep standing up to her and fighting her to save his family and all of his friends from her, from Terrence and from the rest of the evil animals' team.

Then, after a few more long minutes of fighting each other, both Shufai and Topsy are both seriously injured, and Topsy seemed to be weaker than Shufai is, but that wasn't before the two charged and then pushed as hard as they still can with their heads and tusks against each other in other to take the other opponent down, and after a head-and-tusks-pushing struggle, Shufai finally came out the winner when he managed to push Topsy as hard as he could and with all his might and caused her to eventually lose her balance and fall down onto her side, thus defeating her in their duel.

When all the good animals saw Shufai winning against Topsy (who was also an opponent who was much bigger than him in size, despite she's a female), they all cheered for him as he slowly turned around and walked back to join everyone who were on his side, and once he got back to everyone, Shufai got swallowed by a massive group hug from everyone else on his side. However, when Terrence saw his mate lying down defeated after she lost in the duel against Shufai, he looked at Shufai with anger burning in the older male elephant's remaining right eye, before he then suddenly charged angrily towards Shufai, but then Lin Raju noticed him coming and so he quickly pulled away from the rest of good animals and then he quickly stopped Terrence by using his mammoth-like tusks and his sheer size to fend him off and then forcefully push him away, before he then stomped his left foreleg and foot against the ground and said "Run! Run away, Terrence! Run away with all of your evil friends, and never return!", and when Terrence heard what the angry Mammophant said to him, he gave Lin Raju a sour and scowling face and then he said "You will pay with your own life! You haven't seen the last of us! We'll all be back, Lin Raju the Mammophant!", before he angrily turned around with a huff and walked away and went back to his friends, and then he used his magic to carry Topsy along to somewhere safe where she can heal from her wounds (since she's injured but not killed), and so Terrence and all of his evil friends all left in anger as they got Topsy defeated (but not destroyed) by Shufai.

Once the villainous animals are gone (for now), Shufai said to both his grandmother and to his mother with tears in his eyes "I'm sorry I ran away from you like this! I was just ashamed of myself, and I wanted to prove myself to you and to everyone else here that I'm a strong elephant who deserves to be the future king of our family and of our whole herd, that's all!", but then Queen Tukta and her adult daughter wrapped their trunks around his own trunk and held tightly onto it, before the Indian elephant queen said "It's okay, Shufai. I understand. We all do understand you. You're a good elephant and you do deserve to be the king of our family and of our whole herd when it's my time to go and leave you all behind, but even so, I will still be with you deep in your heart. I promise.".

With these words being said, everyone finally started to go back home all together, and on the way home, Shufai also said goodbye to Flower as he and everyone else first stopped by the meerkats' homelands to give Flower back to her own family and friends, and despite Shufai was sad when he said goodbye to Flower as he returned her back to her own family, he knew that they will still meet each other again someday, and after he and everyone else left the meerkats' homelands, they all continued on their way back to the Everfree Forest, and after a few more hours of traveling together, everyone finally arrived back home in the Everfree Forest all together (and at last), and even though it has already turned nighttime by now, everyone were all tired, but they were also very happy to be back home at last, and the African buffalo herd officially became the Everfree Forest's new inhabitants and united themselves together with the five other herds, thus representing more animals and giving more life to the Everfree Forest.


	121. Chapter 120:Stephan's new disguise

Two months have passed since the events have happened (which we all already know of), and the first thing we know from the last events is that Shufai have learned to become a good elephant to other animals (both big and small) and he ended up befriending the tiny animal youngsters whom his herd and the other herds had already taken in for adoption, the second thing was that the African buffalo herd which is led by the elderly patriarch, King Mebaya, and the elderly matriarch, Queen Zhenya, came to live in the Everfree Forest and officially became apart of the united herds (as the African buffalo herd has united with the five other herds of the Everfree Forest), and the third and last thing was that Marjan (Opey's father) have managed to reform from Akeno's evilness and managed to snap out of his evil control and returned back to the Everfree Forest to live with his mate and daughter, as well as with all the other young okapis who all still have all their parents and all their elders under Akeno's evil control, thus making Marjan the second adult okapi to have reformed from Akeno's evilness (after his own mate, of course).

However, we're going to leave the Everfree Forest's animal herds for now, because right now, it's time for us to go back and see how Chloe, Aylene and Stephan were all doing together, and it's already 62 months (5 years and 2 months) since Chloe arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 50 months (4 years and 2 months) since Aylene became her sister, and they're both happy to have each other and Stephan like a formidable team, but they're not the only ones who are in the same team - Tah and her little son, Trog, were also official members of their team, and ever since Trog was born, the formidable and inseparable foursome have become a fivesome (a group or a team of five).

However, the most inseparable out of the fivesome are Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, and they're all going to experience Nightmare Night, which is coming four days later (but will be celebrated at evening and nighttime), and so Chloe and Aylene went to Carousel Boutique to ask Rarity to take their measurements so they can have disguises to wear for Nightmare Night, but they didn't went there alone because Stephan also joined them so he too can have his measurements taken and later have a disguise that fits right in for his own size for Nightmare Night, and also so he can celebrate Nightmare Night with Chloe and Aylene.

At Carousel Boutique, Rarity took the measurements of both Chloe and Aylene first so she can make their disguises for Nightmare Night, and after three hours of hard work, Rarity finished creating Chloe's disguise, which was in that case - a black panther suit and mask, and at the same time, she also finished creating Aylene's disguise, which was in that (second) case - a lion suit and mask, but creating their disguises was easy, because taking Stephan's measurements would mean that creating his disguise for Nightmare Night is something that would be far more ambitious (because unlike Chloe and Aylene who are both a human and a pony, respectively, Stephan himself is a centaur, and therefore - creating his disguise will be much harder than making and creating a disguise for either a normal pony or a regular human being).

However, despite Rarity is now facing with a dilemma, Stephan decided to go to her (with Chloe and Aylene following in tow) to cheer her up and once the three went up to see what's going on with her, Stephan asked "Rarity? Are you okay? What's going on?", but then Rarity said "Stephan, I'm so sorry, but I couldn't take your measurements or make you a disguise that fits right in for your own size!", and when he and his two female best friends heard what she said, Aylene suddenly asked "What? Why?", and then Chloe added "Why can't you take Stephan's measurements and create and make him a disguise for his own size?", and then Rarity said back "Because he's a centaur, and I've never created or made disguises or even outfits to centaurs before!", but when the three friends heard what she said, Stephan first approached her and then he stopped right next to her, and then he knelt down to her level before he placed a hand on the side of her face (on her cheek) and said to her "It's okay, Rarity. I'm not asking you to do for me very much at all. You can take my measurements first, and then you can think about what do you want to create and make up for me as my disguise for Nightmare Night.", and then he gave the Unicorn mare a gentle and yet also a reassuring smile to show her that it's okay with him and that she can take his measurements first and then choose whatever she wants to create and/or make up for him as his disguise for Nightmare Night.

When Rarity looked at Stephan and saw his gentle and reassuring smile, she had tears of joy forming in her eyes, before she then wrapped her forehooves around his upper human body and chest and then she hugged him and said "Thank you, Stephan! You're really nice and gentle, even for a centaur!", but then Stephan said back "Hey, it's okay. Take it easy. I'm not mad or angry at you at all, Rarity. I'm okay with waiting for my disguise for Nightmare Night to be made, but first, you need to take my measurements, and that's all you need so you can create and make my disguise.".

Then, the teenage male centaur gently caressed and stroked Rarity's face (on the cheeks) and mane so to help her calm down, and when Rarity finally pulled away from Stephan's larger body, she finally calmed down and said "Let's take your measurements, Stephan." and then she finally started taking Stephan's measurements, and once she finished, she told him that he and his friends can go now and return back tomorrow, and when Stephan heard what she said, he gave Rarity another gentle and reassuring smile before he said to her "It's okay, Rarity. I know you can do that. There's always a first time to try something new. We all know you can.", and then he added and said as he, Chloe and Aylene were about to leave and go and have fun with each other "Goodbye, Rarity. See you tomorrow.", and then he, Chloe and Aylene all left Carousel Boutique and went to have some fun together, thus letting Rarity think of something that he (Stephan) may like to wear as his disguise for Nightmare Night (since she already took his measurements), and then, after fifteen minutes, she came up with an idea of what to do and make up for him as his disguise for Nightmare Night, but then she also knew that she have to be extremely creative when it comes to making a disguise that actually fits right in for a centaur's larger size (compared to both ponies and humans).

The next day, it was now three days before Nightmare Night will come, and Rarity have already started creating Stephan's disguise after she took his measurements the day before, and that's because she thought of something big, scary and yet handsome-looking disguise that will make Stephan look really happy and pleased with her extremely creative choose to create and make him his disguise (and also with all of her hard work she may have to spend on it), and so Rarity decided to create a giant dragon disguise which fits right in for a centaur's large size and body frame, and she also decided to make the dragon with six limbs (two arms and four legs), since like all centaurs, Stephan have six limbs (two arms of a human, and four legs of a horse).

Rarity chose to create the dragon disguise in a red color, because she thought Stephan would like it that way, and also because she thought that making the dragon disguise red would make it look beautiful, but then she also started adding more nice and beautiful details to the disguise by making the dragon's lower jaw, throat, underbelly and the underside of the tail in a yellow color in order to make the disguise even more attractive, but when Stephan, Chloe and Aylene all came and entered Carousel Boutique to see how Rarity is doing and also how she's going with creating Stephan's disguise for Nightmare Night, Rarity stopped working on the disguise for a moment so she can talk to Chloe, Aylene and (mostly) to Stephan and tell them that the disguise is not yet finished.

When the three friends heard that the special disguise for Stephan isn't yet finished, Stephan was still okay with that as he then said to Rarity "It's okay, Rarity. Nightmare Night comes only about three days later, and therefore I believe that you still have enough time to finish my disguise before Nightmare Night comes.", and then he added "I'm really patient with you on this one, Rarity, and I also know how it's hard for you to create and make a disguise which fits right in for a centaur's size, but it's okay though, because I may be the first centaur to whom you're making a disguise for Nightmare Night, but I know you can still do that.", and when Rarity heard what Stephan said to her about his patience being strong and thick enough and that he's eager to keep waiting patiently until she finally finishes creating his disguise for Nightmare Night, the white Unicorn mare gave him a smile before she said "Thank you, Stephan! You're really patient and eager to wait more time than I've expected you to wait until I finish your disguise! Even for a centaur, you're really nice and I really do appreciate making something good for you in return for being so nice!".

The following day, when it was now two days before Nightmare Night comes, Rarity started adding more details to the dragon disguise by adding the dragon's claws, horns and teeth (in black and white colors, respectively), and after she finished with these parts of the dragon, she started adding two large, orange (and fake) eyeballs for the dragon's eyes, put and attached to the inside of the dragon's mouth a pink, triangular-shaped cut piece of cloth, which soon became the dragon's tongue, and once Rarity finished the details on the dragon's head, she soon started to move to the parts which she haven't yet created to make the dragon disguise more attractive (the dragon's wings.

However, creating the giant dragon's wings has proven to be a challenge for Rarity, as she wanted the dragon's wings to keep standing upright and whole and not fall downwards when Stephan will start moving while wearing the disguise on his large body, and so, after Rarity finished creating the shape of the wings (which were red and yellow like the rest of the dragon's body), Rarity decided to fill the inside of the wings with cotton lumps in hopes that the wings will stand upright and whole like the wings of a dragon-shaped plush toy, and once she finished filling the wings with cotton lumps to make them stand up properly, Rarity started stitching up and attaching the wings to the lower body half of the dragon (where Stephan's lower horse body would be fitting right in when he wears the disguise on his whole body), and after she finished stitching up and attaching the wings to the lower half of the dragon's back, Rarity cut and made a big hole on the front of the dragon's neck (just below the head in where Stephan's head would be fitting right in when he wears the disguise so he could see from inside it (and also because if Rarity didn't make the hole at the front of the dragon's neck, Stephan wouldn't be able to breath due to the lack of air inside the disguise), and once she was done with all the details of the dragon disguise, Rarity cut open the dragon's belly from the lower half of the body and all the way up to just below the breathing hole in the dragon's neck so she can stitch up and attach the opening zippers and their long rail to the cut on the dragon's belly, chest and torso (so Stephan can both enter and get out of his disguise with (almost) no problem).

Another day have passed, and it was now only one day before Nightmare Night comes, but luckily for Rarity, she successfully managed to finish her creation, which was in that case - creating and making the giant dragon disguise which fits right in for Stephan's size, and right now, all she wanted to do is just to wait for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to come check on her and see how she's doing, and when the three friends finally came just like she expected them to, Rarity let them in Carousel Boutique and then she told Stephan alone to come with her to the dressing room so he can see the disguise first, and then she'll leave him alone in the dressing room so he can have all the privacy he needs in order to wear his new disguise (without being watched by someone else from behind his back).

However, when Stephan is left alone in the dressing room so he can privately wear his new disguise, the teenage male centaur was shocked to see what does his new disguise looks like, and when he saw the zippers and their long rail on the dragon disguise's underbelly, this is when he touched and then moved the zippers (by their handles) away from each other so to open up the dragon's underbelly, and once Stephan reached both ends of the zippers' long rail, this is when he slowly started to enter with his whole body into the dragon, and once his head was looking through the breathing hole on the front of the dragon's neck, this is when his whole body is already inside every part of the dragon's body (with his human upper body controlling and moving the dragon's head, neck, arms, hands and upper chest and back, while his lower horse body is controlling and moving the dragon's lower chest, torso, lower back, lower legs and tail).

Then, once Stephan is already inside the dragon's body (with his whole body controlling and moving inside it), he called for Rarity to come back for a moment so she can help him close the zippers on the dragon's lower body and underbelly, and once Rarity heard his voice calling for her to come and help him for a moment, she opened the door again and trotted in to see how Stephan is doing with wearing his new disguise, and then Stephan told her that the disguise of is amazing and that he truly appreciates all of her hard work she spent on it, but then he also told her that she needs to help him close the zippers on the dragon's lower body and underbelly so his whole body can settle very well inside the disguise, and once she helped Stephan to close the zippers on the dragon's lower body and underbelly so his whole body (except for his head and face) won't be exposed to the eye, Rarity took Stephan with her to the mirror so he can look at himself while he's wearing the disguise on his whole body, and when Stephan saw himself in the mirror while wearing the disguise on himself, he couldn't help but smile as tears of joy formed in his eyes, since it was the very first disguise he ever wore on his whole body (not including his regular shirt, which he always wore on (only) his upper human body).

Then, after Stephan finished looking at himself in the mirror (while still wearing his first ever disguise), he turned away from the mirror and looked to the door while at the same time, he wiped away the tears in his own eyes and tried to calm himself so he can show up to Chloe and Aylene in his new disguise, and then he started to walk slowly towards the door with Rarity in front of him (as she wanted to announce and introduce him to his friends while he's wearing his new disguise), and once Rarity opened the door and showed up in front of Chloe and Aylene, she announced and said to them "Chloe and Aylene, prepare yourselves to meet your new friend, which I know you both already know who he would be! Chloe and Aylene, embrace yourselves to meet the first ever centaur to wear a full-size disguise which fits right in for his very own size! I'm glad to introduce you to Stephan the Dragontaur!", and then she moved and stepped aside and raised up a foreleg and a forehoof as Stephan slowly stepped through the open door and showed himself in front of Chloe and Aylene in his new dragon disguise which Rarity have already created and made for him, and when Chloe and Aylene saw their centaur friend wearing his new disguise and displaying himself with it in front of their eyes, the teenage human girl and the teenage Pegasus mare both gasped in shock and looked at him in awe, and when Stephan saw their reactions, he couldn't help but give his two best friends a happy and loving smile, as he (too) was really happy to watch them starting to like him in his new disguise.

Then, Rarity said and asked "What do you two think about the Stephan the Dragontaur?", but when she said that, Chloe and Aylene suddenly started laughing together and even Stephan couldn't help but laugh with them as well, thus shocking Rarity for a moment, but then she understood why - because she said and mentioned (again) the word 'Dragontaur' (because Stephan is a centaur and he's wearing a disguise in the shape of a dragon), but Dragontaurs don't even exist in Equestria, and therefore - when she called Stephan a Dragontaur, that's what made him and the girls laugh when she said that specific word (also because it sounded to Chloe, Aylene and (particularly) to Stephan pretty much ridiculous).

However, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan noticed Rarity's shocked expression she had on her face, the three friends immediately stopped laughing and then Stephan said "Please, forgive us for laughing like this, Rarity! But I have to admit - that word you just said about me actually sounded ridiculous!", and when Rarity heard what he said, she asked "Pardon me? What kind of word I said which sounded ridiculous to you?", and then Stephan said "The word 'Dragontaur' sounded so funny and ridiculous at the same time!", and when Rarity heard him saying that, she asked "Pardon me for asking that, but why are you saying that the word 'Dragontaur' is ridiculous?", and then Stephan said back and explained to her "Because Dragontaurs don't even exist here in Equestria!".

When Rarity heard what the teenage male centaur just said about Dragontaurs don't even exist in Equestria, she said back "Well, I don't know what to say! I had no idea! Pardon me for saying that word to you, Darling!", but then Stephan said back "It's okay, Rarity! I'm not angry at you at all for saying the word 'Dragontaur' to me and to my friends! That word might sound ridiculous, but it was actually very funny as well! I have to admit - the word 'Dragontaur' is so hilarious!", and when Rarity heard what he said to her, she said back "Well, thank you, Darling!".

Then, Stephan said "Well, now I think it's time for us to go back to our homes so we can prepare ourselves for Nightmare Night.", and when they heard what he said, Chloe said "Oh, yes! Of course! We need to be prepared for Nightmare Night to come!", but before they're about to go, Rarity pulled out a large and empty sack and said to Stephan "Wait just for a minute, Stephan!", and then she used her magic to open the disguise and then she carefully removed it away from Stephan's body, and once she finished removing the disguise, she carefully put it right in the large and empty sack and said "Now here you go!", but when Stephan saw the disguise is now in the sack instead of on himself, he asked her "What's that for?", and then she said "I want it to be a secret for now!", and then she quickly added "It's okay, though, because I'm going to give you your disguise just before Nightmare Night comes!", and when Stephan heard what she said, he said back "Sure, why not? I'm not planning to wear it on my whole body right now! I'm planning to wear it for Nightmare Night! It's coming only tomorrow at night!", and then he added "I'm sure I can wait at least one more day before you'll deliver me my disguise to my home so I can wear it again for Nightmare Night!", and when Rarity heard what he said and realized that he's willing to wait patiently for the disguise to come to his home just before Nightmare Night comes, she said back to Stephan "Well, I must say that you're really a very nice and patient centaur, Stephan Darling!", thus causing Stephan to blush when she called him that way (although he quickly managed to hide his blushing face from Chloe and Aylene).

Then, Stephan said to Rarity "Goodbye, Rarity! I hope you'll deliver me that beautiful disguise to my home just before Nightmare Night comes!", and then Rarity said back "I will! I won't forget to deliver it all the way to your home so you can wear it for Nightmare Night at tomorrow's night!", and then Stephan, Chloe and Aylene all left Carousel Boutique, but then they stopped and turned around again to look back at Rarity before they called for her for yet another goodbye and waved for her, and once they finally stopped, the three friends turned around and continued to walk away from Carousel Boutique and went all the way back to their respective homes, and deep inside her heart, Rarity promised to Stephan that he will be able to celebrate and have fun in Nightmare Night with his best friends and will be able to show himself to everypony and to every creature's eyes all around with (and in) his new disguise when the right time comes.


	122. Chapter 121:the disguise arrives

Later, the following day, it was the day before Nightmare Night comes (at nighttime, of course), and Rarity decided to deliver the dragon-shaped disguise to Stephan's house so he can pick it up and wear it on himself when Nightmare Night comes, and so Rarity thought of a plan in order to send and bring the disguise all the way to Stephan's house (without doing any damage to the disguise in the process), and so she called for her friends to help her, and after a while, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and even Spike and Starlight all came to Carousel Boutique to help Rarity deliver the disguise to Stephan's house in one piece.

Then, the mane seven and Spike all started traveling together all their way to Stephan's house to bring him his disguise, but what they didn't know is that the worst centaur whom Stephan and the twins fear and hate for the most is following them - Howard (Stephan and twins' evil father) is back once again, and just like these many other times before, even this time he's up to no good, and while the mane seven and Spike are still traveling all together, none of them could sense that the evil centaur is following behind them, and as he kept following the seven mares and the teenage dragon, Howard evilly said to himself "They're going to give something to my stupid and worthless son who betrayed me! I'm going to follow these eight and see what they're up to! Then, when the right time comes, I will get and have my son back to me and then I will take him back home with me so to teach him to be just like Lord Tirek and me!", and then he laughed evilly as he kept following behind the mane seven Spike, but then he also kept himself hidden from their eyesights so they won't be able to see him following behind them all the way to Stephan's house.

Later, in midway, Howard thought of a plan to scare the mane seven and Spike (and also to damage the dragon-shaped disguise which was made especially for Stephan), and so his hands started to glow in a gray magic aura (that is none other his magic's color), and then he used his magic to make a whole murder (large group) of black crows appear out of thin air, before he motioned to the mane seven and Spike with his index fingers (in each of his hands) and then he said to the black crows "Get them now!", and when the black crows heard what the evil centaur said, they all started flying fast towards the mane seven and Spike and then they started to attack them under Howard's orders.

However, when the mane seven and Spike all turned around and saw all the black crows flying and coming towards them (and then attacking them), the eight friends worked together and then they started to fight and attack the crows, and after a long fight, they managed to chase all the crows away, and luckily for the mane seven and Spike, Stephan's dragon-shaped disguise didn't got or received any damage at all, and with the disguise's still whole and undamaged, the mane seven and Spike continued together on their way to Stephan's house while still delivering and carrying the disguise along with them, much to Howard's displeasure as his first attempt to ruin Stephan's disguise have failed, and so he continued to follow the mane seven and Spike in order to plan another attack on them so to make sure that Stephan's disguise gets damaged and ruined before they reach and arrive in Stephan's house to give him his disguise.

A few minutes later, Howard prepared to send a second attack on the mane seven and Spike, and so he used his magic once again and this time, he made a whole flock of hawks appear out of thin air, before he then motioned to the mane seven and Spike with his index fingers and then he said to the hawks "Get them all!", and when the hawks heard what he said, they all started flying fast towards the mane seven and Spike and then they started to attack them under Howard's orders, but when they turned around and saw the hawks flying and coming towards them (and then attacking them), the eight friends worked together once again and then they started to fight and attack the hawks, and after a long fight, they managed to chase all the hawks away, and luckily for the mane seven and Spike, Stephan's disguise for Nightmare Night didn't got or received any damage at all, and with the disguise's still whole and undamaged, the mane seven and Spike continued together on their way to Stephan's house will still delivering and carrying the disguise along with them.

When Howard witnessed that his second attempt to ruin Stephan's disguise also have failed, he growled in anger before he said "You may have defeated my black crows and my hawks, but I'm not done with you all yet! I still have one more thing up my sleeve, and when the right time comes, I will use it on all of you and this time I will win!", and then he continued to follow the mane seven and Spike, who all still continued on their way to Stephan's house to give him his disguise for Nightmare night, and once the mane seven and Spike all got very close and almost reached and arrived at Stephan's house, this is when Howard decided to send a third and final attack on them in order to damage and ruin Stephan's disguise for Nightmare Night.

Then, when the mane seven and Spike all got close enough to Stephan's house, Howard used his magic once more and then he made a pack of hungry wolves appear out of thin air, before he then motioned to the mane seven and Spike with his index fingers and then he said to the wolves "Kill them all!", and when the wolves heard what the evil centaur said, they all started running fast towards the mane seven and Spike and then they started to attack them under Howard's orders, but then when they turned around and saw the wolves running and coming towards them (and then attacking them), the eight friends worked together once again and then they started to fight and attack the wolves, and after a long fight, they managed to chase all the wolves away, and luckily for them (the mane seven and Spike), Stephan's disguise didn't got or received any damage at all, and with the disguise's still whole and undamaged, the mane seven and Spike continued together and they soon reached and arrived at Stephan's house shortly afterwards.

When they arrived at Stephan's house, Rarity knocked on the door and called for Stephan to come out, and she and her friends are rewarded with an answer as Stephan soon answered to her voice and went up to the door, and then he opened the door to see Rarity and her friends standing just outside his house and right in front of him, and when Stephan saw Rarity again, he smiled at her and said "Oh! Hi, Rarity!", and then he asked her "What are you and your friends are all doing here?", and then Rarity showed up the sack in which she put his disguise before and then she said as she brought the sack closer to Stephan "Here's your disguise, Stephan! Now you can take it and wear it when Nightmare Night comes!", and when Stephan opened the sack and saw that disguise is still whole and undamaged (and is also in one piece) like before, he looked back at Rarity and said to her "Thank you so much, Rarity! You're a good friend! I appreciate all of your hard work! And, as a matter of fact, I do deserve to have friends like you! You're so generous and that's exactly what I really like in you - the good Unicorn you are!".

When Rarity heard what Stephan said about how much he likes her for the pony she is, she didn't have any words to say, and so she instead jumped up and hugged at his upper human body, chest and torso with her forehooves wrapping around him so she won't fall off him, and Stephan was shocked at what she just did at first, and he's not the only one because the rest of the mane seven and Spike also saw what Rarity just did after Stephan told her how much he appreciated all of her hard work so he join everyone when Nightmare Night comes, and so the rest of the mane seven and Spike were all in shock to see Stephan and Rarity bonding with each other, but then Stephan did something unexpected - he reached down with his arms and hands and then he suddenly grabbed Rarity and slowly carried her and held her up by holding her below her armpits (and below her forelegs) just like how a mother or a father who were carrying and/or holding up a baby would do, and then Stephan lifted Rarity up so to look at her in the eyes (while he's still holding her up and not letting go), and when Rarity noticed what Stephan is doing, she quickly let go her grip off his upper human body, chest and torso as she then looked at the teenage male centaur in the eyes.

However, just then, the totally unexpected happened - Stephan closed his eyes and slowly reached with his head and face towards Rarity and then he suddenly pecked her softly on the cheek, thus shocking the rest of the mane seven and Spike because they all saw and realized what Stephan just did - he kissed Rarity and right on the cheek! Then, when Stephan moved back with his head and face and then he opened his eyes again, he could see that Rarity is now looking at him with a shocked expression because of what he just did, before he then turned to see her friends who were also looking surprised at him, although Spike was also looked a bit jealous at him, and that's when Stephan slowly knelt down and slowly lowered Rarity back down and placed her safely on solid ground, before he then gave her a smile and said "Thank you, Rarity! And goodbye for now!", before he then picked up the sack in which his disguise was put and stored (and is also undamaged and ready to use), and then he slowly walked back to his house and closed the door behind him.

Later, when Rarity was on her way back to her own home at Carousel Boutique with her friends following close behind her, she said "I can't believe Stephan just did that! He just kissed me!", but then Rainbow Dash said to her "Oh, yeah? So what? Stephan likes you, that's all!", but then Spike said "Well, I guess I'm not the only one here who loves Rarity for the most.", but then Twilight said to him "Don't be silly, Spike! Rarity loves you! And what's more, Stephan is in love with Bluebell instead, and he needs her instead of Rarity because she's from his own kind! Centaurs can never be married to ponies, or even to normal human beings!", and then Applejack said "Eeyup, You just said it!", and then Fluttershy said "I think Stephan loves you much like how Spike does!", but then Pinkie Pie said "Wow! Stephan loves Rarity! We need to throw you two a special party!", but then Rarity suddenly turned to her and warned "Don't you dare think about throwing me a party just because Stephan loves me and then kissed me! I know he loves me and appreciates all my hard work, but throwing us a party just because he loves me and then kissed me isn't necessary at all! Besides, I already love Spike more than I love Stephan, and that's because I know Spike for a very long time!", and when they all heard what she said, Starlight said to her "Yes, that's true!".

Later, when Rarity finally arrived back at her home in Carousel Boutique, she said goodbye to her friends, and that's before they all said goodbye to her too, but deep inside, they all felt worried for Rarity and they didn't know who she'll eventually choose - Spike or Stephan, and that's because she also started loving Stephan (much like how she loves Spike). However, deep inside her heart, Rarity still wanted to be with Spike instead, and that's because she knows him much more and way better than she knows Stephan, and what's more - He's already in love with Bluebell, who is also a centaur princess (most likely because of her being a winged centauress (A.K.A - a Pegasus centauress), and after a long consideration, she decided to choose Spike instead of Stephan, therefore keeping standing and remaining by her dragon friend's side, and she also knew that Stephan (or even Bluebell or anyone else) will need her only when it's necessary (especially when it comes to new clothes, suits or disguises, since Rarity knows how to create and make clothing).

Meanwhile, however, Howard still spied on Stephan (as he stood outside his house) and watched him, and he indeed saw him picking up and then kissing Rarity, and that made Howard's face sour in pure disgust from the fact that his eldest son who ran away from him had just kissed a pony, before the evil centaur then said "How could my own son, my own flesh and blood do this to me?! How dare he kiss a pony?! That's unforgivable! I treated him and the twins like any father should, and this is how my eldest son repays me?! Not even 18 and he's still fooling around with some filthy pony?! That's nothing more than a big ugly treason! I will not tolerate that kind and yet ridiculous behavior of my son any longer! If he thinks he can still be friends with non-centaurs and become one of them against my permissions, even though I've already found once before a group of nice Zebrataurs (Brandon's Zebrataurs herd) who will take care of him and teach how to be a real centaur, then I'm sorry to say but I will not let my Stephan stay with these filthy ponies and non-ponies, not to mention that teenage human girl, any longer (and not anymore) and I will make sure that he's coming again to my good hands so I can handle him and teach him how to be a REAL centaur!".

Then, Howard thought of a plan in order to get Stephan back to himself, and the plan was that he will follow and keep anit eye on Stephan, and once he's with Chloe and Aylene, that's when Howard will make his move and will try to take Stephan back home to the Badlands with him, but for now, Howard is spying and keeping an eye on his son so to make sure that everything goes exactly as he plans, and when the right time comes, which will be when Nightmare Night will take its place, Howard will try to kidnap and abduct his own son and he will try to take him back home to the Badlands with him and continue to abuse and harass him some more in order to twist his personality and make him evil again (and this time - for real).


	123. Chapter 122:the trio's touching moment

Later, it was almost evening when Stephan wore his dragon-shaped disguise, and once he was done dressing and preparing himself for Nightmare Night to come, he went outside and left his house with his younger twin siblings to join the upcoming celebration event of Nightmare Night, but what they didn't know is that their evil father Howard is following behind them and is doing his best not to let them see him or to lose sight of them (particularly of Stephan himself), and while they're walking towards the central part of Ponyville, Stephan said as he looked down at his younger twin siblings "This is going to be our first ever Nightmare Night we're going to celebrate and be a part of tonight!", and when they both heard what their older brother said, the toddler centaur twins, who are now at least 2 years old said back together "Yay! We're going to celebrate! It's going to be so much fun!".

Then, just a few minutes later, evening came and then everypony came out of their homes while they're wearing lots of disguises in many shapes, colors and sizes, and then they all started having fun all together at Nightmare Night (which is basically being named after Princess Luna's evil alter ego - Nightmare Moon), but when Stephan came to join everypony, however, they all turned to look at him and they were all in shock to see him wearing his amazingly full-sized and beautiful dragon-shaped disguise (which also fits right in for his very own size), and Stephan is also none other than the first ever centaur to ever join and attend to ponies' celebrations (as well as the first ever centaur to actually wear an actual full-sized disguise for Nightmare Night).

However, when Stephan noticed everypony's shocked expressions, he said to them in a reassuring tone "It's okay, everypony. I mean you no harm. I just came to join you all and attend to your Nightmare Night celebration, that's all.", and when everypony saw the look on his face and eyes which told that he's serious about what he just said, they all smiled at him and moved aback to give him some space so he can join and attend to the Nightmare Night celebration too, thus making him the very first centaur to ever be accepted by ponykind to attend to ponies' celebrations (and special events), and it was a good moment Stephan will never forget for the rest of his life (although he also didn't know his evil father is still following him and is trying not to get anyone's attention so he won't be found and get caught right on the spot).

Later, after Stephan joined and attended to the Nightmare Night festival and celebration, he and the twins came face-to-face with Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and Spike, and they were all very happy to see them again, but when Rarity's friends saw him wearing the dragon-shaped disguise on his whole body, they couldn't help but gasp in shock and look in awe at how handsome Stephan looked while wearing his new disguise, before Pinkie Pie said "You look awesome, Stephan!", and he giggled a bit at what she said, before he then said back "Thanks, Pinkie Pie! The disguise Rarity made especially for me is perfect! I really do appreciate all of her hard work because I'm the very first centaur to whom she creates and makes up such a worthy disguise for such a special night!", thus causing Rarity to blush before she then said to him "Thank you again, Stephan!".

However, the next surprising and totally unexpected thing happened when a male voice suddenly called for Chloe and for Aylene and said to them hello, and when the two heard the voice calling and saying hello to them, they both turned to see King Thorax, King Pharynx and some of their changelings (their subjects) coming towards them to greet them, and when Chloe and Aylene saw their father and uncle again, the two trotted and galloped and ran up to meet them, before Chloe and Aylene jumped onto Thorax and started hugging him before Chloe then said "Oh, Father! You're here too!", and then Aylene added "It's so nice to see you here too!", and Thorax returned the hug before he then said "I know, I just couldn't miss my two beloved daughters celebrating their first Nightmare Night together and with everypony around!".

However, when Thorax saw Stephan and witnessed him while he's wearing his disguise, he gasped in shock and surprise before he then asked him "Stephan? Is that you? What you're wearing on yourself?", and then Stephan explained to him "It's my new disguise which Rarity created and made especially for me so I can join and celebrate Nightmare Night with all of you!", and then Pharynx stepped forward and approached Stephan and said "Well, I have to say, this disguise really fits right in just for your own size Stephan! You really look handsome in this disguise! It also looks like a giant dragon!", and then Stephan said back "Well, thank you, Pharynx! That's because Rarity made this disguise in the shape of a dragon! And she also took my measurements first so she can create the disguise especially for my own size so I can fit right in and be inside it without having any trouble breathing outside's fresh air, and so she also created that big hole right on the front of the dragon's neck so I can fit my head right in and breath air right through it, as well as hear and see all of you the same way!".

Then, an idea came up in Chloe and Aylene's minds and so Chloe said first "Hey, Stephan!", and when he heard what she said, he asked her "Yes, Chloe?", and then she asked him "How about we'll take you to the royal castle with us to show you in your new disguise to Mother and to Aunt Luna?", and when Stephan heard what she said about shocking and surprising Celestia and Luna by showing up in his new disguise, a smile formed on his face before he said "Well, yes! Of course I'll come with you! Celestia and Luna will be surprised and also pretty much amazed to see me in my new disguise!", and then he turned to Twilight and asked her "Twilight, do you think you can use your teleportation spell to take Chloe, Aylene and me to the royal castle?", and when Twilight heard what he said, she smiled and said "Of course I can!", and then she lit up her horn and then she used her teleportation spell on Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and so she teleported them and sent them together to the royal castle so Stephan can show up to Celestia and Luna in his new disguise and surprise and make them amazed, like he already did with Thorax and Pharynx.

However, what they all didn't know is that Howard was been watching everything (since he kept following Stephan), and he was disgusted to see that not only his own eldest son shows both friendship and respect to ponies, but also does the same good things to non-ponies as well (like changelings for an instance), and that also made Howard say to himself in anger "What does my eldest son thinks he's doing?! He deliberately disobeyed me! Not even 18 and already fooling around with not just filthy ponies but also with stupid changelings as well! Let's see what Lord Tirek will have to say about this! What will he even think of me when he hears that my very own son is the complete opposite of me! I'm going to get my son back to me, but first I'll have to destroy that teenage Pegasus mare and her infernal human being sister so I can severe and destroy that stupid friendship these two have already formed with my eldest son! Then I will take my son back home with me, and this time - ONLY HIM! I don't care for what happens to these dumb and foolish excuses for toddler twins (Andy and Zoey), because I want my eldest son to be back with me! I will take HIM back home with me! ONLY HIM!", and then his hands started glowing in his gray magic aura before he used a teleportation spell in order to teleport and transport himself to the royal castle after Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.

Then, when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan arrived at the entrance of the royal castle, the royal guards let them go inside before one of them said as he recognized Stephan in his new disguise "You can go inside to meet the princesses if you want to, Stephan!", and then another royal guard added "I'm pretty sure the princesses would like to see you in your new disguise!", and when Stephan heard what these two royal guards said to him, he smiled at them and said back "Thank you two!", and then he continued to walk with Chloe and Aylene into the royal castle and made his way with them towards the throne room, and once they opened the door, the three are greeted back by Celestia and Luna, who were both happy to see their two daughters (and nieces) again, but then they also saw Stephan in his new disguise before they gasped in shock and their jaws dropped to see a centaur wearing a full-sized disguise which really fits right in for his very own size.

However, when the princesses soon shook their heads and snapped out of their shocked states, Celestia asked Stephan "My goodness, Stephan! What are you wearing?", and then Stephan answered and explained "It's my new disguise for Nightmare Night! Rarity made it especially for me and for my measurements, and also for my full size!", and just then, Luna stepped forward and said "Well, I must say that you look handsome in your disguise, Stephan! You also look like a dragon at the same time!", and when Stephan heard her saying that, he said back "That's because Rarity decided that a dragon-shaped disguise would fit right in for my own size!" and then he added "And I really like that disguise so much as now I have something else to wear on myself besides just my own shirt, which I always wear on myself!".

However, when Celestia and Luna heard what he said, they gasped in shock before Celestia asked "What? You mean that your own shirt is the only cloth you have?", and then Stephan said back "Well, yes!" before he quickly added "Although I also have a backpack, but I rarely show myself with it!", but then he also said "But now that I have this disguise Rarity made for me, I have something else to wear on myself!", and then Chloe said to him "It's okay, Stephan! Aylene and I we'll ask Rarity to make you some more shirts to wear on yourself if you need more clothes to wear on your body!", and when Stephan heard what she said, he said to her "Well thank you, Chloe! You're really a good friend! I saved you and Aylene from Akeno before, and I also hope you two will be able to repay me the same way! For an instance - if I will be in trouble!".

However, when Celestia and Luna heard what he said, they soon remembered that Howard (Stephan's evil father) isn't yet caught for his crimes, and so Celestia said to Stephan "Well, there is one thing you should still worry about, Stephan.", and when Stephan heard what she said, he asked her "And what is it, Celestia?", and then Celestia said back "Your father is still roaming around freely in Equestria, isn't he?", and when he heard what she said, he gasped in shock and also in fright before he said "Well, yes! No one have managed to catch him and/or bring him to face justice yet! I'm afraid he's going to hurt me again and this time - he's probably going to break all my bones for disobeying him!", and after he said that, Luna said to him "Your father is indeed a ferocious centaur who will dare to harm others who are from his own kind rather than just ponies, changelings or even normal human beings! I can even say that he loves Lord Tirek and adores him so much because both centaurs have some things in common, and one of the most known things is that they both want to control everything around themselves and be the most powerful beings in this world!".

When Chloe, Aylene and (especially) Stephan heard what Luna said about the most known things that Howard and Lord Tirek have in common, they gasped in shock and also in fright when they realized how villainous and irredeemable Howard is, much like Lord Tirek himself. However, Celestia said to them as she tried to reassure them that Stephan will never be the same as evil as own father "However, Stephan showed me that good centaurs really do exist here in Equestria as well, and not just bad centaurs who are the same as Lord Tirek himself is! So, I assure you all, and especially to Stephan himself that he's not going to end up like his own father and that he's not going to be evil or cause us any trouble or any harm, and I know this because Stephan have a real good heart, or may I say _two_ good hearts!".

However, when Chloe and Aylene heard what their mother said about Stephan having two hearts instead of just one like most creatures (including ponies and humans) have, since most creatures, even mythological creatures, usually have only one heart, the two inseparable sisters asked Stephan "Do you have two hearts instead of just one? How could that be possible?", and then Stephan explained "Well, since I'm a centaur, I'm not only known for having a body that is combined of two different species of creatures, but also because I have two hearts which help me survive and stay active and live for as long as I can in the environments of this world! Centaurs like me have two hearts inside their bodies - one of a human and one of a horse!", and then Celestia added and said "And that also makes sense!", thus shocking Chloe and Aylene when they realized what really makes centaurs (like Stephan, Howard, Lord Tirek, etc.) special among both real and mythological creatures.

Then, Luna said to the inseparable threesome "Well, now that you know what makes your friend (Stephan) a very special creature and also know what he is really made of on the inside of his body, how about you three go explore the castle and enjoy and have some fun together?", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan heard what she said, Chloe said to her "That's an excellent idea! We also want to have some fun with Stephan alone! Just the three of us!", and when Celestia heard what her human daughter said, she said to her and to her Pegasus sister and centaur friend "That sounds good, because Luna and I we're going to leave you three alone in here so we can meet the rest of our subjects and our friends.", and then she added and asked "How does that sounds to you three?", and then Stephan said back "That sounds good to me! I really want to be with only Chloe and Aylene here in the royal castle because there are two things which we three have in common - one is that we always watch each other's backs and stand up for each other, and the other that makes us inseparable is that we all went through lots of abuse by our very own and biological family members!", and then he added "With Chloe and Aylene by my side, I feel safe and sound from my evil father, whom I can also relate to the fact is the same as Aylene's real mother and Chloe's biological family, but most particularly her older brother!", and when they both heard what Stephan said about his own father being the same as abusive as Mike (Chloe's older brother) and Black Heart (Aylene's mother), Chloe and Aylene turned and looked at each other for a moment, before they turned back to look at Stephan and said together "Talk about a 3-time deja vu!".

Then, Celestia said "Now, Luna and I we both have to go and meet our beloved subjects and our friends! You three can stay and enjoy and have some fun with each other here in the castle, do you understand?", and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan said all together "Yes, we know!", and then Luna said "Goodbye, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan! Have fun in the castle!", and then she and Celestia started to walk away and they soon left the throne room, but before they went out and left the royal castle, Celestia and Luna put Shujaa to be in charge in case something with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan goes wrong, but then they're all completely unaware of the worst and most unimaginable enemy who is now stalking them from right outside the royal castle - Howard is here to get Stephan (and also to exact his revenge on Chloe and Aylene for 'taking' his oldest son away from him.

With the princesses are now out of the royal castle and with Shujaa is now in charge until they return, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are now enjoying having fun together inside the royal castle, but that was also the chance Howard was been waiting for (and also for the most), and then he pulled out a potion which he quickly drank and after a few moments, he shrunk into a tiny size, before he pulled out another potion which he quickly drank as well and after a few moments, Howard also became invisible, and with these two magical effects are working for only a short amount of time, Howard has to work quickly enough in order to sneak and get past the royal guards before he's going to search for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan inside the royal castle.

As for them, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are walking around and through the halls of the royal castle, and at the same time, Stephan was also explaining to the girls how his own father is the same as really bad and is also as equal as both Mike and Black Heart, and then Chloe asked him "Really? Your father is the same as worse as my big brother and Black Heart?", before Aylene added "What did he always said to you before you and the twins ran away from him?", and then Stephan sighed heavily and explained to the girls "My own father always told me that friends are a distraction from young centaurs from either gender's purpose in life.", and then he added as he suddenly sniffled a little bit "Ever since my mother got killed by him, my own father told me that young centaurs from either gender who are not yet fully grown adults need to learn to attack and harass every non-centaur creature they see around them, take their powers and strength and eventually destroy whoever or whatever is standing in their path and worry more about their father and less about their mother.".

Chloe and Aylene clearly understood what Stephan was saying to them about what his own father taught him about having friends or worrying about family members, before Chloe then said "Stephan, Aylene and I we both know he hurt you and the twins many times before, and my own brother Mike did the same things to me, only he was worse than yours when he tried to feed me to the tigers at the zoo when I was only 7, while Black Heart beaten Aylene so much in order to force her to become racist towards all non-ponies just like her murderous pony-wolf hybrid grandfather Wolf Eye was, although neither of us met him before when he was alive, but we're both happy that Mother, Aunt Luna and Twilight and her friends have already managed to defeat him a long time ago.", and then Aylene added "Yeah, my grandfather was indeed a hybrid monster, and I'm so happy that he was defeated before I was even born, but there's one thing I'm still not happy about or proud of and will never be for the rest of my life - that I'm actually related to him by blood through my mother, despite the fact that I'm a pure (100%) Pegasus pony, and therefore I lost all the wolf characteristics and genes that my grandfather was born with, leaving me a regular pony despite I'm still related to him.".

Then, Stephan stopped dead in his tracks and asked "Chloe? Aylene? Why are parents and sometimes older brothers and sisters so mean to their children and also to their younger siblings sometimes? I mean what do ever do wrong to deserve what we get?", but then Chloe said back to him "I don't know, Stephan.", and then Aylene added "The question is beyond me as well.", but then Chloe said and pointed out "But there are still many jerks and monsters! And they don't deserve us, that's what my grandma Elizabeth told me when I would think about my own family!", and then Aylene added "Yeah, that's right! I was told just the same thing by my own good and kind father whom I loved for the most before my evil mother killed him behind my back and started lying to me about friendship and even blamed his death on me ever since!".

Then, Chloe and Aylene grabbed at both of Stephan's (upper) human hands with both of their own hands and forehooves (respectively), before Chloe said to the teenage male centaur in order to reassure him "But don't worry, Stephan! Our good mother and auntie are going to get your father for what he did to you so far in your whole life, and you won't have to be afraid of him anymore!", but then Stephan asked with tears starting to form in his eyes "Yeah, but...where would I go after my father is to be caught and put away, girls? My father is the only living adult family member I have left, and Andy and Zoey are just toddlers and they're both still dependent on teenagers and adults for their survival! Who would even want me if he was to be caught and put away?".

However, Chloe and Aylene soon started stroking at his hands before Chloe said first "Our family will take you in! We can see if Mother and Aunt Luna will accept you into the castle so you can live here with us too!", and then Aylene added "You won't ever have to be alone again, Stephan! It will have Mother, Aunt Luna, Shujaa, and it will have the both of us too! We'll be like a family to you! A big happy family that you do deserve!", and then Chloe said as she reached up and hugged Stephan around his upper human chest and torso and placed her own head on the upper parts of his upper human stomach as she tried to subdue her tears which were slowly forming up into her eyes "Aylene and I we both hope that maybe you and I could be together! Always!", and Stephan couldn't help but started to shed tears as he then pulled Chloe up to look at her in the eyes and said to her "I also hope that maybe you, Aylene and I could be together always! All three of us! I really like you both so much, Chloe and Aylene! Without you two I would've been feeling like I'm living in an endless hell with no way out! You two helped me see the right light which I needed to see for the most!", and before he knew that, Aylene flew up and got on top of Stephan's lower horse back and then she started hugging at his upper human back and shed tears as well, thus all three friends shared a rare and very touching moment that usually happens between three best friends only once in a lifetime.

However, what they didn't know is that Howard have finally managed to successfully sneak inside the royal castle without being caught, and once the shrinking and invisibility effects faded away from Howard and he returned to his normal size and became visible again, the evil centaur started searching for Stephan and for the girls inside the royal castle, and during his search, Howard said to himself "Now I'm more closer to get my son than ever! He thought he could escape me, but I'll show him that no son of mine will be able to escape me and get away from me for such a very long time! Now the moment I've been waiting for is finally mine! I could care less about these little twins, but Stephan is mine and all mine, and I need him for the most! ONLY HIM!", thus showing that he's not going to give up this easily and/or so soon and that he's also going to get Stephan back to himself and take him back home with him to the Badlands at all costs.


	124. Chapter 123:Howard the uninvited guest

Meanwhile, back with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, the three best friends, they still shared their special and touching moment together, but once they stopped and calmed down their tears, they broke their hug and so Stephan lowered Chloe and placed her back down on the floor while Aylene let go of Stephan's upper human back and started climbing down from his lower horse back (which she stood on) and went back to the floor as well, and once the three managed to calm down after their special moment with each other, Stephan said "Now let's go and explore the castle, girls.", and then Chloe and Aylene said back to him in unison "Yes, Stephan.", before all three friends - the human, the Pegasus and the centaur - went together to explore the royal castle and have some more fun with each other.

Later, after they explored the inside of the royal castle, Chloe asked Stephan "You like it here in the royal castle?", and then Stephan said back to her "Chloe, this is great!", and then Aylene added and said "And you don't have to worry about anything, Stephan! We'll give you everything and whatever you need!", and just then an idea came up in Chloe's mind, and so she put her own hands in her clothes for a moment to search herself, but before she did so, she asked Stephan to close his eyes and move his arms and hands forward, since the teenage human girl was going to give him something really special, and once Stephan closed his eyes and reached out his arms and hands towards Chloe, she pulled out of her clothes a beautiful shiny red ruby stone, and then she placed it down right in Stephan's hands and then she told him to open his eyes and see for himself what kind of special surprise she just gave him.

Then, when Stephan opened up his eyes and saw the shiny red ruby stone in his hands, he gasped in shock before Chloe gently closed his hands before she then moved his arms and hands very slowly back to himself so not to damage or accidentally break the red ruby stone, and once Chloe managed to place Stephan's arms and hands (with the red ruby stone is still held inside them) against his upper human chest, Chloe said to him "Please take that shiny red ruby stone, Stephan! It's all yours now!", and then Aylene added "It's something really special that we'd like to give to such a special friend as you, Stephan!", and Stephan couldn't help but gasp in shock as he realized that Chloe and Aylene are giving him the shiny red ruby stone as a special gift (which friends rarely receive from those who are rich).

However, Stephan soon shook his head and said to Chloe and Aylene "No, I can't take that beautiful shiny red ruby stone from you! Your mother and your aunt will be so angry at you if they find out that you gave me such a precious treasure!", but then Aylene giggled and said to him "They won't be angry, Stephan! Mother Celestia and Aunt Luna have so many of these shiny stones of all types and of all kinds of colors, and so they decided to give us one of these beautiful shiny stones at their own free will because they actually wanted you to have one, and so they asked us to give it to you when you come all the way here at Nightmare Night!".

When Stephan realized that Celestia and Luna actually wanted to give him a beautiful and precious shiny stone because of his strong friendship bonds and relationships with Chloe and Aylene, Stephan couldn't help but shed some tears of joy before he clutched the shiny red ruby stone very tightly so not to let it fall off and then he placed it very close to his own human heart so to keep his friendship bonds and relationships with Chloe and Aylene alive and intact for many more years to come, before he looked at both Chloe and Aylene who smiled happily at him and then he said to them "Thank you for being such good friends for me! I really deserve to have you two as my friends, for I knew that after everything we've done together and after I saved the both of you twice before from the evil brothers and later on from that disgraced Akeno - this is how you both repay me with your kindness and even give me something special as this beautiful shiny red ruby stone as a special gift!", and then he placed the shiny red ruby stone inside his disguise before he then pulled Chloe and Aylene into a tight and loving friends hug as he was so happy to have the two of them as his best friends which he really needed for the most ever since his father killed his mother and betrayed him and abused him and the twins to the point they ran away from him to find a new place to stay and live and call a new home.

Then, when Stephan pulled away from Chloe and Aylene and broke their friends hug and let go of the both of them, the teenage male centaur said "I promise you two that I will treasure this shiny little red ruby stone, always." while his heart is still warm and melting, but that was before he let out a deep sigh to calm himself down again and then he added "I would like to stay here and eat with you and with your mother and your aunt some dinner tonight. I'm sure that my experience here would be as good as I hope it will, like in when I arrived here in the castle, for an instance.", and when Chloe and Aylene heard what he said, they smiled at him before Chloe said first "Oh, Stephan, I'm sure you will be very happy when you'll be our guest at our dinner tonight!", and then Aylene added "And Chloe and I we both also hope that maybe you could stay here for tonight, and at next morning we'll talk to Mother Celestia and to Aunt Luna about that your worst fear isn't over yet, and also tell them to send Shujaa and all the other royal guards to search all of this part of Equestria so we can find your evil father and bring him to justice for everything he have done to you!", and then Chloe said as she turned to the teenage Pegasus mare "Yes, Aylene! Stephan needs our help after he helped us so much and saved us so many times before!", and then she added as she looked back at him in the eyes with a determined look "We're going to help you and protect you from your worst enemy who wants to kidnap you and take you away from us and from everybody else! We will never let your own father who abused you so many times in your life get you ever again, and we promise you that we will never let him get and have his evil hands on you ever again for everything bad that he already have done to you in your whole life!".

When Stephan heard what Chloe and Aylene both said to him about that they're willing and determined to save and even do their best to protect him from his evil father, the teenage male centaur smiled at them once more and then he said to them "Oh, Chloe and Aylene, I'm so glad that I met you two. You're both the best special friends I have ever had and really needed for the most.", and that is before the human and the Pegasus went up to each side of his larger body and then they held at each of his human hands with a hand and a forehoof of each of theirs, and then the three friends started walking down the halls of the royal castle together while they're holding hands and hooves with each other, and in midway, Aylene even raised up a wing before she slowly placed it right behind Stephan's upper human back, and after a few more minutes of walking down the halls, the three inseparable friends finally made it to the door.

Then, Chloe and Aylene slowly pushed and opened the door together with a free hand and a free hoof of each of theirs, wanting to make this happy moment last for as long as it could (and also for as long as it can), but when they had the door opened wide and they walked right out into the hallway, the moment was ruined as the worst centaur imaginable have finally found them, slowly stalked and approached them from right behind them, before he ended up reaching close enough to them and arrived and stopped right behind their backs, and to make matters worse - he didn't looked happy at all to see his son hanging around and having fun with the human and Pegasus, whom he quickly saw as true threats to his own son's future.

Just then, Stephan, Chloe and Aylene all suddenly felt an angry snort hit the backs of their necks and then it traveled down their spines in the form of hot boiling rage, before Stephan also felt a familiar hot and boiling rush and great fear as his human arms and horse legs began to tremble with fear, while Chloe's hands immediately went into fists and Aylene readied her forehooves and also prepared herself to attack, for they both knew who is standing right behind them and Stephan. Then, Stephan was the first to turn around, and he did so very slowly as he then felt another angry snort suddenly hit his face as he then looked up and saw Howard looking down at him with furrowed brows of deep anger and with boiling rage inside him as he also started bearing his teeth angrily at Stephan.

Then, Howard yelled at his teenage son "Stephan! Would you kindly tell me what you are doing here in the princesses' castle with these filthy Pegasus and infernal human being?!", and then he added "And why you decided to make friends with them and leave Brandon, Biff and their Zebrataurs herd against my permissions?!", and when Chloe and Aylene heard the evil centaur's angry voice yelling at their best friend, the two quickly turned around as well to face him before they both showed Howard a couple of angry and serious looks, as well as a couple of hard stares as they both looked up at him in the face, and that's before Howard continued and said to Stephan "And I thought I told you that you could never see these two crazy and completely insane female creatures again!".

However, Chloe said to him in defiance "Oh yeah?! And who are you to tell him who he can see and who he can't! You're not exactly a good father to be listening to, you jerk!", and then Aylene added in agreement as she growled in anger at the demonic adult male centaur "Yeah! You're nothing but a big old jerk who only abuses your very own son!", but when Howard heard what the two said to him, he looked down at them with an angry face and with eyes boiling with pure rage before he then said "Oh, really?! Is that what you both had learned thanks to your filthy white orangutan and all your other guards investigating my home and finding my wooden club?!", and then he lowered and leaned in very closely to both Chloe and Aylene and added "You two can stop your whole tough act, young girls! All it does to you two is get you into nothing but trouble! You two don't tell me how to raise my own son! EVER!" he roared in anger as he tried to scare Chloe and Aylene, who still, however, kept standing defiantly in front of him and kept their hard stares and angry looks on their faces as they kept staring him down.

Then, Chloe asked angrily and said to Howard up in the face "So what are you going to do about it?! Hurt me and Aylene like you hurt him and the twins?!", and then Aylene added "We both know what it's like having a monster like you for an adult family member! And you, Howard, you're indeed a real monster!", and then the two girls growled together in anger defiantly, much to Howard's shock and displeasure to see a couple of girls daring to mess with him and talking back to him, before Chloe then said "You don't deserve to have your son, and our mother and our aunt will also make sure that you'll never get him back to yourself!", and then Aylene added "Stephan doesn't belongs with you, you evil monster with no heart to share!", and then Chloe called "Shujaa, come here now! Quickly, please!", but then Howard chuckled madly and said to her and to Aylene as he then grabbed Stephan by one of the wrists "It's no use, young girls! I already took care of your filthy white orangutan before I finally found you here!".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what he said about that he managed to overpower and knock Shujaa out cold before he (Howard himself) managed to find them, the three friends gasped in shock before Aylene asked the evil centaur "How did you managed to overpower and knock Shujaa out cold just like that?!", and then Howard used a free hand of his own and lit it up with magic before he surrounded both Chloe and Aylene in the magic's gray aura and then he violently threw Chloe and Aylene against a wall in a brute force, before he evilly said "I used my own magic of course!" and then he briefly laughed evilly as Chloe and Aylene barely recovered and quickly stood up again, only to then see Howard forcing Stephan to go with him by grabbing at both of his wrists, and despite Stephan tried his best to break free from his evil father's grip, Howard managed to have a firm grip on Stephan before he said to him evilly "Everything's over now and no more games, young centaur! You're coming with me back home, Stephan!", and Stephan cried for help as he looked and saw Chloe and Aylene quickly trotting, galloping and running fast and coming back to help him "Chloe! Aylene! Please, help me!".

However, Howard quickly turned tail and bucked both Chloe and Aylene and sent them rolling backwards with his hind horse legs and hooves, and when Stephan saw what his evil father is doing to the two girls he loves as his best friends for the most, he turned to look at his father in the eyes and asked him "Why would you do that to my friends, Father?! What did the girls did to you to deserve being bucked in the face like this?!", but then he suddenly got slapped twice across his face before Howard said to him "Don't you dare start mouthing off to me, young centaur! I told you not to go anywhere except to Brandon's Zebrataurs herd! I told to say no and tell nothing about yourself to those filthy princesses! I am your one and only father! And you will do as I say because you're mine and all mine! Now say goodbye to the two female creatures! You will never see them ever again!", and then he forcefully pulled Stephan away and forced him to go away from Chloe and Aylene and come with him instead.

However, Chloe and Aylene quickly recovered from the attack and then they stood back up and ran towards Howard and Stephan once again, before they stopped behind them and then Chloe angrily asked "Why should Stephan say anything in your name?! Or say goodbye just because YOU say it?!", and then Aylene added "I suggest you should do us both a favor and pick on somepony your own size, you jerk!", but when Howard heard what the human and Pegasus said, he stopped dead in his tracks before he turned around to face them, and then he growled angrily and looked down at the both of them, thus staring them down before he then yelled in anger "DO YOU TWO DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?!", and then Chloe back said to him "You're no real centaur, Howard! And you're not even a father worth listening to either!", and then Aylene added "All you really do is attack and harass your own children because you're not adult enough to fight others your own size! And to be honest...", and then she and Chloe yelled angrily at him together "YOU FIGHT OTHERS LIKE A BABY!".

However, Howard said back to the both of them "Well, young girls, I was just making sure that your MOTHER and your AUNT could not sue me for injuring and/or wounding the both of you! Though, however, I would still love to teach you two a lesson about how to respect and obey male elders like ME!", but then Stephan interrupted him and yelled at him as he expressed his feelings to him "Stop it, Father! I don't want to go back to the Badlands with you! You do nothing but hurt me and the twins just because you want to control everything around you!", and then he added as tears started pouring out from his eyes "Ever since you killed Mother, all you did was hurt me and the twins and try and force me to do whatever you say against my own free will and make me be just like you so you can later use me to avenge Lord Tirek when I become a full grown adult centaur myself!".

Then, Stephan continued and said to his evil father "However, all you did to Mother ever since you two became mates was hurt her and keep her away from all of her good and best friends like if she's your treasure, or better yet to say - your toy! Plus, besides just that, you also treated Mother before and after I was born like a slave, and you continued doing this to her even after the twins were born as well! Well, you know what?! I'm sick and tired of you, Father! You don't really love me or even care about me! I hate you, Father! The only centaur whom you really care and worry about is only yourself!", but when Howard heard what his teenage son just said to him, the evil adult male centaur said back "Oh, Stephan, I worry about you! Sometimes, I worry a LOT!", and with these words being said and roared at Stephan, Howard angrily let go of Stephan's wrists before he then reared up onto his hinder horse legs and yelled down at his son in the face "TIME FOR SOME LIFE LESSON, SON!", thus causing Stephan to cry "No! Please, no!" before he quickly covered his own face with his arms and hands and waited and braced himself for the attack from his evil father to come.


	125. Chapter 124:Chloe and Aylene vs Howard

However, just as things looked bleak for Stephan as his evil father is about to beat him again (like he always did to him before), Stephan suddenly felt two shadows over him before he opened his eyes to see that both Chloe and Aylene had trotted and ran and then they both jumped and flew up into the air and landed right on Howard's lower horse back, and Howard barely had time to react before Chloe suddenly grabbed him by the back of the neck with botha hands and started choking him in order to make him get away from Stephan and leave him be, and then Aylene joined in with her move as she then grabbed onto Howard's upper humanoid back and then she opened her mouth and so she sunk her teeth right into Howard's left shoulder, directly into his muscles, thus causing to scream and roar in pain as he then turned around to see Chloe and Aylene attacking him while they're working together, just like a couple of wolves who are trying to save their injured or wounded pack mate from a very large adult male Grizzly bear who is much bigger and stronger than them.

Then, Chloe yelled at Howard in anger "YOU LEAVE STEPHAN ALONE, YOU BIG OLD JERK!" before she too sunk her teeth into the back of his neck and caused him more pain, but then when the girl and the Pegasus let go their biting from Howard's neck and shoulder, they soon started punching and kicking the demonic centaur all over his upper and lower backs, and Chloe and Aylene growled in anger as they both kept working together as they continued attacking and wounding Howard, causing him to scream in pain as they tried to take him down with all their might, despite he's much bigger and stronger than the both of them together.

Then, Aylene also yelled at Howard in anger "YOU MESS UP WITH OUR BEST FRIEND - YOU MESS UP WITH THE BOTH OF US, YOU EVIL MONSTER!", but as Chloe and Aylene kept twisting around him and attacking him more and more, Howard yelled angrily at the two girls as he barely fought back against the both of them "YOU TWO GET OFF MY BACK RIGHT NOW, YOU TWO CRAZY DOGS!", and so he started slapping hard, punching and bucking around in pure rage and in madness like a wrangled bull with the upper body of a tall and strong man, and while he's trying everything he can to fight back against the two girls, Chloe and Aylene turned to look at Stephan for a moment before they shouted to him in unison while they're both still fighting his evil father "RUN, STEPHAN! RUN, QUICKLY! GO GET MOTHER AND AUNT LUNA AND ALL THE OTHERS!".

However, Stephan didn't wanted to leave his two female best friends alone with the hostile and demonic adult male centaur, and he cried back "NO! I CAN'T LEAVE YOU TWO ALONE WITH HIM! HE'LL TEAR YOU APART FROM LIMB TO LIMB! HE'LL DESTROY YOU TWO IN A FEW MINUTES!", but then the two girls called for him back and yelled "GO NOW, STEPHAN! DO AS WE SAY! IT'S THE ONLY WAY! WE'LL KEEP YOUR FATHER BUSY! NOW GO!", and when Stephan heard what Chloe and Aylene both said to him, he couldn't believe that they're actually serious with what they're both really saying to him, and so with tears forming in his eyes, the teenage male centaur started to gallop away and went into the hallway as fast as he could and then, after a few short minutes, he went out of the royal castle and left and continued to gallop as fast as he could to find the princesses and the mane seven and tell them to go back with him to save Chloe and Aylene, who are both still doing their best to fight Howard with all their might as they both tried to take him down, and Howard is fighting back in pure rage as he started seeing red as looked again and again at both Chloe and Aylene right in the eyes.

However, Chloe and Aylene didn't stopped attacking him, and seeing Howard looking at them right in the eyes only made them both feel even more angrier than before, and so they continued to punch and kick him all over his head and neck, and their fists and hooves were significantly effective and started leaving many bruises on the evil centaur's head and neck as he slapped, punched and bucked everywhere in anger as he tried to shake both Chloe and Aylene off himself so he can start beating them for continuously wounding him, but Chloe and Aylene managed to dodge most of his moves before they got a very good double punch into Howard's left eye, causing him to shriek in pain as he slammed against a wall before swinging his head and neck wildly and grazing both Chloe on the right cheek and Aylene on the left cheek with his bighorn sheep-like horns.

However, Chloe and Aylene ignored the pain they just received as Howard bucked his horse legs up, thus making Chloe and Aylene's lower halves of each of their bodies flail around as they and Howard slammed together against another wall, and then Howard tried to force the human girl and the young Pegasus mare off himself by dragging their legs and hind hooves against the wall. Luckily, however, before the wall can do any real damage as it just tore away the pant legs of each of their disguises, Chloe and Aylene had managed to scoop up a couple of vases from a medium-sized table that Howard just knocked over as they flailed down the hall, and then with all their might, Chloe and Aylene smashed both of the vases over the hostile and ferocious centaur's head.

Howard felt himself get dazed and dizzy from the double blow and toppled over face first while Chloe and Aylene slammed against the sides of each of his horns and sustained a couple of bruised foreheads as they then moved to the sides and then they bit into Howard's ears and punche at his head repeatedly. However, Howard quickly shook off the blows just to feel the girl and the Pegasus' teeth sinking into his ears and trying to tear them off, just like how hungry wolves who are trying to tear off the ears of their prey in order to do some damage and keep trying to take it down.

Howard yelled in pain before he was then able to reach up with his arms and hands and started to wrap them around Chloe and Aylene, before he then started choking them with his muscles, but Chloe and Aylene, however, still fought back against Howard's strong arms, hands and muscles and they didn't dare to stop fighting back against the much stronger adult male centaur, for they both felt that they would never stop fighting until their opponent went down for good. Then, Howard yelled at Chloe and Aylene and demanded as they kept fighting against his muscles "Stop fighting against my muscles this instant, you filthy animals!", only to then receive three hard pulls on the left ear from Chloe, who then finally broke free from his muscles' strong grip and then she's joined by Aylene, who managed to escape from the muscles of Howard's right arm and hand, before the two went up to his lower horse back and started punching and kicking him repeatedly in the butt, and then they both screamed together in anger "NO! NO MORE HURTING! NO MORE ABUSE! NO MORE MEANNESS! NO MORE BAD AND ABUSIVE PARENT!", before they jumped off Howard's lower horse back and then they kicked a leg and a foot and a hind leg and hoof of each of theirs and gave a double backward kick directly to Howard's crotch, thus causing him to howl loudly in pain and scream "EYAUUUUUUU!" as he tried to shake away the pain, before he turned around to face both the human girl and the young Pegasus mare, who are both still determined and willing to keep fighting him and finish him off.

However, this is when Howard lit up his hands in his magic before he then started surrounding both Chloe and Aylene in a gray aura, and just then he started to levitate them up into the air and choke them with his magic in anger as now his whole body is covered in wounds, bite marks and bruises all over both his upper and lower bodies which the girl and the Pegasus both have already given him, and as Chloe and Aylene felt themselves being choked by the powerful centaur, tears started forming and rolling down their eyes and they tried their best to fight back against his evil magic, but then Howard used his magic to throw the two girls aside in a brute force and caused them to slam against a wall, before the two fell down and hit the floor and then they desperately tried to stand back up on their feet and hooves again as the evil centaur slowly walked up to them with pure rage still burning in his eyes as he was now willing to destroy both Chloe and Aylene for good, and also for them messing up with him and wounding his whole body during the fight.

However, as Howard approached Chloe and Aylene he felt his ears, neck and shoulders stinging in great pain from all the bite marks that the two gave him, and as the blind rage was still roaring angrily inside his whole body, Chloe and Aylene desperately tried and struggled to stand back up on their feet and hooves and face him again, but that wasn't before Howard did his best to shake away the stinging pain and once he approached and got close enough, he raised up his horse forelegs and then he placed them hard on Chloe and Aylene's chests, thus pinning them back down to the floor and against the wall, before he then started crushing them with each of his cloven hooves in anger and even added more and more pressure with each passing second, before he then said to the two girls "You fought me very well, young girls! But unfortunately for you, I'm going to finish you both, right here and right now!".

However, Chloe and Aylene kept looking up at him in the face with anger as they both had tears in their eyes, as they both could have swore that they're looking right at both Mike (Chloe's older brother) and Black Heart (Aylene's biological mother) as they looked up into Howard's evil eyes, before he then added more pressure and added as his hands started glowing in his magic's gray aura once again "You two for teenagers are such filthy and spoiled brats! I gonna kill you both for all this! Forget the princesses and everyone else! Celestia and Luna can now learn what really happens to young girls who dare to attack adults and disrespect their elders!", and then he said as he showed to both Chloe and Aylene an extremely angry look with bloodshot eyes and prepared to deliver a final and finishing blow to each of them "Now Princess Celestia gets to lose TWO naughty and nasty girls! And I'll be practically doing her a favor! Two girls at the same time!".

It was then that Howard reared up onto his hinder horse legs and then he was about to strike and end both Chloe and Aylene at the same time by stepping on their chests with his horse forelegs, but the girl and the Pegasus still held defiantly as they knew that hopefully Stephan was going to be safe and happy with Bluebell, the twins and everyone else and without his evil father abusing him and trying to force himthe into becoming evil against his will, and it was the very least the two of them could hope for, and they waited for Howard to finish them off for good as he was about to strike the both of them with his horse forelegs, but just as things for Chloe and Aylene are looking very bleak, the totally unexpected suddenly happened.

Just a few mere milliseconds before Chloe and Aylene could both meet their doom at the hands and horse forelegs of Howard, a golden beam shot the evil centaur inthe the back and only allowed him to yelp in pain before he was swung back away from both Chloe and Aylene in a golden aura, and all the two could do is just raise up their heads and watch in shock and surprise at Howard as he was now being swung forcefully in all directions and slammed repeatedly against the walls, the floor and the ceiling.

Then, a green aura joined the golden aura and then it started pulling hard and forcefully plucking lots of long hairs from Howard's horse tail, causing him to howl in pain and say and yell "EYAUUUUUUU!" once again, before both golden and green auras started smashing the sides of Howard's head against the walls repeatedly, and that is until both of his large and fully curled bighorn sheep horns suddenly broke away from the rest of his head and skull and fell down to the floor, but then a dark blue aura suddenly caught and 'saved' the two bighorn sheep horns just a few mere milliseconds before they could hit the floor and accidentally break into pieces, thus keeping both of Howard's horns intact and whole but away from the rest of his head and skull so now he couldn't use his head to charge at his enemies and/or attack with his own head and skull anymore.

Then, Chloe and Aylene kept watching together as Howard screamed in both fear and pain before he was knocked unconscious by a bone-crushing smash to his now hornless head and skull, thus leaving a cracked up crater in one of the walls before he then fell to the floor, and as Howard laid unconscious while Chloe and Aylene desperately tried to get up on their feet and hooves again, the two are rewarded with seeing Stephan coming back to them very quickly and then helping them up to their feet and hooves again as they barely tried to stand up on their own after their great fight and long battle they just had against Howard.

Then, Stephan said and asked in a raised up voice tone as he cried frantically while Chloe and Aylene shook their heads a little bit to shake off some of their pain "Chloe! Aylene! Are you both okay?! My father didn't hurt you two, did he?!", but then Chloe and Aylene softly placed a hand and a hoof of each of theirs on his chest and then Chloe said first "No, he didn't hurt us very much! Well, you know, compared to what we gave him!", and then Aylene added and said in agreement "Yes, that's right! Your father barely attacked us! Howard fights and attacks like a baby does! That was nothing, really!", but that was before the human and the Pegasus both almost stumbled and nearly fell backwards before Stephan scooped the two of them up in his arms and prevented them from falling down on their backs.

Then, as Stephan slowly let go of Chloe and Aylene again, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, the mane seven, Andy and Zoey, Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha, and even Bluebell came to see Chloe and Aylene, who are both seriously injured but they're both luckily still alive after they fought Howard all by themselves and only together and with each other as a team of two in order to save Stephan away from him and make sure that he doesn't hurts him anymore, and when Celestia saw how injured and wounded are her two daughters from their fight against Howard, she cried frantically and said out loud in an extremely worried tone "CHLOE! AYLENE! Oh my gosh, my two babies! What did that monster do to the both of you?!".

It was then that Chloe and Aylene both were suddenly wrapped up in the loving forelegs and hooves and even wings of a crying Celestia while Luna, Thorax, Pharynx and all the others had finally arrived with eight royal guard and eight changelings (a whole mixed up group of sixteen in total), and then the royal guards and the changelings all immediately dog piled on top of Howard's whole body all together and trapped him before he get back up on his hooves and make his escape, and then the royal guards started putting him in cuffs while the changelings helped them by gloving Howard's hands with special anti-magic gloves which will prevent him from attacking and/or using his magic to escape, thus weakening the evil centaur by over 95%, as Howard is unable to fight back due to all of his wounds, bruises and injuries which were covering his whole body.

At the same time, Celestia was nuzzling and panicking as she snuggled her two injured daughters who just fought together with all their might against one of the worst enemies they have ever faced so far in their whole lives, and tears were forming and rolling down Celestia's eyes and they soon started wetting Chloe and Aylene's cheeks while they slowly hugged her back in hopes of calming her down, and Stephan had even came in and he couldn't help but shed a few tears before he had joined in on the hug while Chloe and Aylene both just let out a couple of sighs.

Then, Chloe said "It's okay, Mother. We're both okay.", and then Aylene added "Howard didn't hurt us a lot. Please don't cry, it's all over now and Howard is no longer a threat to all of us! He's not going to hurt anypony else anymore!", and they both begged from Celestia to calm down, but she only reacted by kissing the both of them on the cheeks and nuzzling them even more, and just then, Luna and Thorax said together "Guards! Changelings! Arrest Howard the centaur immediately! He's going to stand trial for child and teenage abuse and assaulting two girls!", while the guards and the changelings had just picked up the 8 foot tall adult male centaur after they finished cuffing his wrists and gloving his hands so he won't be able to fight back, and so they managed all together to pick up and carry his large body and heavy weight away from the hallway and they were about to take him to be locked up in the dungeons below the royal castle for the time being and until the time where he's going to stand trial for his crimes.

Then, Pharynx approached the now weak and helpless Howard who is now being held up and carried away by the guards and the changelings who are all trying to take the centaur to the dungeons below the royal castle where he'll be imprisoned for the time being, and when Howard barely opened up his eyes and slowly moved his head and neck and turned to see Pharynx looking at him with angry face and eyes, this is when the smaller changeling king yelled at Howard in the face "You Mister have dared to assault my two nieces! Now feel the pain they and their friend, your very own son have all felt as I gonna show you monster what am I really made of!", before Pharynx then charged with his own head and antlers against Howard's hornless head and managed to knock the evil centaur out of the guards and the changelings' grip, allowing him to fall to the floor again and barely grunt in pain as he hit the floor with the back his head first, before the guards and the changelings quickly picked him up again and started carrying him away and started taking him all the way to the dungeons below the royal castle to be imprisoned for the time being until his time to stand trial comes.

Back with all the others, Thorax asked Celestia before he saw her crying with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan in her forelegs, forehooves and wings and was shocked by what he's seeing in front of his eyes, especially when he saw his two precious daughters being seriously injured from their fight against Howard, and so where everyone else who also saw Celestia hugging Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and showing her broken heart to all of them, but that's before she cried and yelled "Don't ever let this centaur see the light of day again! H-he hurt my two babies! Don't you let him ever walk among this city or roam freely around all of Equestria again!".

However, Chloe and Aylene both tried to hug their loving mother as tight as they both could and they also tried their best to ease the princess' broken heart, before Celestia said to her two injured and seriously wounded daughters "My two babies! I'm so sorry, Chloe and Aylene! I promise never to let you two near such violence again! I promise!", and out of everyone who soon crowded all around Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Celestia, only Pharynx and Shujaa watched as the guards and the changelings carried Howard off the dungeons he would wait for his trial to ensue, and with that handled, all Thorax and Luna could do right now is join Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and Celestia, and hug the wounded human and Pegasus as softly as they could, but then they also hugged Stephan as well, for he loved the both of them (Chloe and Aylene) as his best friends and never wanted them to be put in any danger that could potentially end their lives if they try to stand up to their worst enemies with defiance, while Shujaa sat there in distraught over his inability to help and stop Howard from sneaking and invading the royal castle and searching for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, but then Pharynx started hugging him in order to reassure the loyal albino orangutan that it wasn't his fault that Howard managed to sneak his way and enter the royal castle and hurt both Chloe and Aylene in order to get Stephan back to himself.

Then, Chloe and Aylene said together "We know, Mother. We both know." as they then turned and looked to see Stephan and then they also saw that he too is snuggling them as well, and at least now the living nightmare was finally over, and no creature was too severely harmed, and now Chloe and Aylene both could rest easily and recover from their wounds, bruises and injuries slowly over time, knowing that Stephan would now be safe and away from his evil father, as the teenage male centaur was saved and was rescued from harm, from danger or even from possible death, and that's all thanks to the very same family that had saved both Chloe and Aylene, and nothing made the two feel more happier.


	126. Chapter 125:Howard's punishment (Mature)

Two months have passed since Chloe and Aylene fought together against Howard in order to save Stephan and make sure that he's okay and away from him, and within these two months which have passed, both Chloe and Aylene slowly healed and by the end of the second month since that horrible and faithful day where the fight against Howard took its place, the teenage human girl and the young Pegasus mare both made together a full recovery and all their bruises, wounds and injuries completely healed and disappeared like they were never there on their bodies before, and with Chloe and Aylene's complete recovery after the fight against Howard, it was now 64 months (5 years and 4 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it was also 52 months (4 years and 4 months) since Aylene became her sister, and right now they're both doing well after they fully recovered from all the bruises, wounds and injuries which they both received during the fight against Howard, before Stephan retuned with the help they both needed in order to make sure that the evil centaur doesn't makes his attempt to finish both Chloe and Aylene and get away with that so easily.

Meanwhile, in the dungeons below the royal castle, Howard is still serving his two month suspended prison sentence for his crimes against both Chloe and Aylene, and also against his violent crimes against his very own children (and particularly Stephan himself), and now his whole body is covered with scars which he received throughout his fight against both Chloe and Aylene, and as he sat down on his horse haunches, the evil centaur said and asked himself "I lost my son to a girl and a Pegasus, I got so many scars all over my body, and to make matters worse - I even lost both of my big, fully curled and beautiful bighorn sheep horns! How could this get EVEN worse?!".

However, just then, the same royal guards and changelings who put Howard in his prison cell two months ago suddenly came back to take him out of his cell, and once they opened his cell and got him out, they all started taking and leading the evil centaur all the way to the court where he's going to stand trial for all of his crimes, from killing his wife to abusing his own children to assaulting Chloe and Aylene in order to get Stephan back to himself, and Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and everyone else will also be there to teach him and show him what happens to abusive fathers who dare to abuse their own children in order to make them as vengeful as the fathers themselves.

It's the day in which Howard will stand trial in the court for his crimes, and the royal guards and the changelings led him to the court to come face-to-face with justice and be ashamed of himself for everything bad he have done to his own family, and most importantly and particularly - to his very own son Stephan, who is now going to see the last moments of his evil father before the evil centaur is to get and receive the true punishment which he truly deserves.

Once Howard is brought to the court to stand trial for his crimes, he looked all around himself to see lots of ponies, changelings, yaks, dragons, griffons, Hippogriffs, Kirins, and even many good centaurs who live in Equestria standing above him and all around him and looking down at him with anger in their eyes for they all already know of his crimes, but Howard didn't seemed to mind any creature when he suddenly saw his teenage son standing next to Chloe and Aylene and looking down at him as well, thus causing Howard to give him a dark and angry glare in order to scare Stephan, but Chloe and Aylene held onto both of the teenage male centaur's hands in order to reassure him that his father won't mean him any harm anymore, but when Howard saw Chloe and Aylene giving Stephan reassurance that everything is going to be okay, he angrily snorted as now it clearly seems that he hates his own teenage son for the most.

Just then, Celestia, Luna, Thorax, Pharynx, the mane seven, the reformed animals (Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha), all the other rulers and even Discord stepped forward and all looked down at Howard right in the eyes, as the evil centaur only snorted back in anger like a Spanish Black Bull (a fighting bull) who is determined to fight his opponents with all his might, and then Celestia said in an authoritative voice as Howard turned and looked and stared up at her in anger "Howard! You have committed so many crimes which cannot be described that you've done so far in your life! You forced your own family to live in such horrible and unfavorable conditions in the Badlands! You cared about your own youngest children very little and even turned your back on them when they really needed you to help them survive and thrive and grow to become fine and independent adults! You mercilessly destroyed your own wife with the help of a ferocious Beartaur in order to get a full control on your family's life and treat your own children like your slaves! You made and then let your oldest son betray his real friends and join a group of bad Zebrataurs led by an ill-tempered leader and a muscular and ferocious second-in-command who doesn't tolerates even the smallest and most forgivable mistakes which every creature makes! You horribly abused, attacked, beaten and even tried to kidnap your own oldest son and make him as evil as you are because you want him to be like you and avenge Lord Tirek under your evil orders! All of your cruel and heartless acts are so much inexcusable and are worthy true punishment!".

However, Howard suddenly transformed his angry face into an evil smile and then he said and asked "Oh, really? Well, most creatures here in Equestria already knows that what I did to my son and to these twins is the whole truth, but what about the human girl? Huh?", and when every creature heard what Howard said, all the good centaurs out of them started talking to each other about Chloe (since she's the human to whom Howard referred), but then Celestia called for Chloe to go up to the stand, and so the teenage human girl walked up to the stand and then she started explaining the fight she and Aylene had together against Howard on that same horrible and faithful night, which happened two months ago.

Then, Chloe started explaining to every creature (and particularly to all the good centaurs) that she too went through abuse by her own family and even explained that her own parents and her older brother Mike blamed her for her grandmother's death (although Elizabeth Williams died of cancer at the age of 70), and she even explained how her older brother tried to get rid of her by throwing her to the tiger enclosure to be eaten, although she's luckily saved by two zookeepers who spotted her and rescued from the tiger enclosure in the nick of time, and before she finished, Chloe explained to every creature that she and Aylene fought together against Howard in order to save Stephan from being attacked, assaulted and harassed by the demonic centaur, and when all the good centaurs heard everything that Chloe said, Howard's defense has weakened, much to his displeasure.

However, as soon as Chloe finished explaining her side of the fight against Howard, she's called to stay on the stand as Aylene soon went up to the stand to join her and explain her own side of the fight against Howard as well, and during her long explanation, Aylene also told in front of every creature that she too went through abuse much like Chloe, before she's rescued by her and is allowed to live by her side in the royal castle, but then she also explained her family connection to the male wolf-pony hybrid Wolf Eye, as she told every creature in the whole courtroom that despite she (Aylene) herself is a pure (100%) pony, she's still related to Wolf Eye because he was her grandfather, and she even told that her own mother can howl and she also rarely acts like a wolf because of her genes being 75% those of a pony and 25% those of a wolf, although thanks to Wild Berry's genes, Aylene herself was born without any of the wolf genes, and when she explained how her own mother killed her father and tried to make her (Aylene herself) just like her evil hybrid grandfather Wolf Eye in order to get revenge on the princesses and then get revenge on all the other rulers of Equestria in order to avenge his death and succeed in where he failed, every creature and especially all the good centaurs are shocked to realize that even though Aylene is related to Wolf Eye (as she's his granddaughter), she's still unwilling to listen and follow her abusive mother and rule over all of Equestria in order to avenge his death.

Then, this is when Chloe and Aylene are called to go down from the stand and Stephan is called to go up to the stand instead, and once Chloe and Aylene walked down from the stand and Stephan went up there instead, this is where his father started looking angrily at him in the eyes as he hoped that his teenage son would become afraid of him again and wouldn't dare to rat him out and talk about everything bad he have done to him in his whole life from birth and until now and from his own side. However, Howard's hope was crushed when Chloe and Aylene are called to go back up to the stand again to support Stephan as he started speaking his side of his family's life story and even told his father's villainous role which he had as he played his part as the father and patriarch of his family.

Stephan explained to every creature in the whole courtroom (including all the good centaurs) that his father treated him real badly by trying repeatedly and continuously to abuse him in order to make him his revenge soldier so he can be later used by Howard to avenge Lord Tirek, and that every time that Stephan refused to be a bad centaur or do as Howard says, his evil father would often be beating him with his wooden club to punish him, and he even told that his father even broke his left hind horse leg by beating him too many times, and one of the other reasons why he did this to Stephan (which he also explains) was because beating his teenage son meant for Howard a good source for stress relief and for calming down his raging nature when he gets angry at Stephan for the younger centaur disobeying him by trying to be a good centaur, and Stephan even explained that Howard also did the same things to Andy and Zoey because he only wanted to have Stephan as his son and hated the twin toddler centaurs so much, for he knew that they won't listen to him and will always fear him for his scary and intimidating presence.

In addition for all these things which Stephan said, which of course they're all true because his father really abused him (and later on - the same with the twins) for quite a very long time, Stephan also explained to every creature in the whole courtroom that even before he (Stephan himself) was born, his father was indeed abusive because of his will to become just like Lord Tirek and later avenge him when the older demonic centaur have failed to rule over all of Equestria and was sent back to continue his sentence in Tartarus, and that was before Howard even met Helena and became mates with her, and Stephan even explained that ever since his mother Helena became mates with his father Howard, the demonic centaur didn't really treated her like a real wife, but instead he treated her worse than a slave before and after Stephan and (later) the twins are born, and that's when Stephan finally cried and said with tears forming and rolling down his eyes that his own father treated his mother like a toy, as he (Howard) became mates with Helena only because he wanted her to give birth to his children, and once she did gave birth to Stephan and later on to Andy and Zoey, Howard started neglecting Helena like if she's nothing but a toy, thus revealing the whole truth about his own father's cruel and heartless nature to every creature in the whole courtroom.

However, just then, the totally unexpected happened - a warm light started surrounding the whole courtroom before a familiar female voice softly said Stephan's name, thus getting his attention as he then turned and looked up to see the spirit of his mother Helena descending down and then coming towards him, thus causing Stephan to jump off the stand and then run all the way to meet his mother again, and every creature (except for Chloe and Aylene) were all in total shock when they saw the ghost of the centauress who is none other than Stephan's deceased mother, and when Andy and Zoey also saw her, they started crying and before they both went all the way up to her as well, and that's when the teenage male centaur and his twin toddler siblings hugged Helena tightly as they got reunited with her again, and the centauress tried to make herself feel solid enough for them so they can feel her body while hugging her tight as tears rolled down the eyes of all three centaur children, who are all very happy to see their mother again, and this time - they all got reunited with her together.

However, when Howard his wife and his children reuniting with each other, he yelled in shock and anger "What is this?! Helena?! I can't believe it! I thought I have destroyed you!", but when Helena heard what he said, she turned to him and said "Yes, you did destroyed my body, Howard! But, however, you didn't destroyed my spirit and my soul!", and when Howard heard what his wife said to him, he yelled and said out loud in anger "WHAT?!", but then Helena said to him and then asked "You should be ashamed of yourself, Howard! I loved you with all my heart and I even gave birth to three good children who will succeed you as good, big and strong centaurs in the future - and this is how you repay me?", but then Howard yelled in anger "NOOOOOOOOO!" and then he added "You're nothing more but a useless toy, Helena! You're too good and kind for a centauress and I hate you so much for all the shame and embarrassment you gave me! All my childhood friends started ignoring me and turning their backs on me ever since I fell in love with you! I made a horrible mistake when I loved you back! You're nothing but trouble to me! And now, YOU WILL PAY!", and once Howard roared that in the faces of his wife and children, this is when he broke free from his restraints and then he used his magic to lift Stephan and the twins up and away from their mother and then he started to choke them while holding all three of them up in the air in front of every creature, who all looked in shock, horror and even anger at the ferocious adult male centaur, who is now determined and very willing to destroy all his three children, for he now saw them as huge mistakes and he felt a massive regret for bringing them to the Equestrian world.

Then, every creature in the courtroom yelled down at Howard to stop and all the good centaurs begged him to let his own children go, but Howard ignored all of them as he then roared angrily at his children "I WANTED YOU THREE TO SUCCEED ME AND AVENGE LORD TIREK FOR ME, BUT NOW THAT I SEE WHAT YOU'RE REALLY MADE OF, I'M SO SORRY THAT I BROUGHT YOU THREE TO THIS WORLD! NOW, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO SAY GOODBYE, YOU TRAITORS!", but just as things looked very bleak for Stephan and for his younger siblings, a familiar male baby Rhinotaur suddenly came out of nowhere and then he opened his mouth wide before he then clamped down with his new milk (deciduous) teeth on Howard's right hind horse leg, thus causing him to howl and scream "EYAUUUUUUU!" as he then let go his magic of his children and let them fall back down to the floor, only for Bluebell to then use her own magic and rescue them in the nick of time before she then brought them back down to the floor and very gently placed them on the floor safely.

When every creature saw the familiar male baby Rhinotaur's face, Chloe, Aylene and their friends soon recognized him and knew who he really is - it was Trog, and just then, his mother Tah also came forward and showed herself in front of every creature and moved into a full view as she came behind Howard and once her little son let go of him, Tah grabbed the evil centaur by the back of the neck and then she forcefully turned him back to face her so he can look at her in the eyes, but when Howard so Tah and looked her in the eyes, he gasped in shock and surprise before he asked out loud "A Rhinotauress?!", and then Tah said "Name's Tah, and the baby Rhinotaur who just bit you is my precious little son, Trog!", and when Howard heard what she said, he turned to look down at Trog in the face before turning to look back at Tah and soon realized that the two Rhinotaurs are a mother and a son.

However, just then, Tah said to Howard in disappointment "Now I'm very disappointed of you for what you're doing to your very own family, Mister!", but then Howard said "They're MY family anymore! They're all a bunch of stupid traitors! They all betrayed me, they asked for it, and I was just going to give them a taste of their own medicine!", but then Tah said to him "I don't think so! You should be ashamed of yourself for what you're doing to me and my son's friends!", and when Howard realized that Tah and Trog are also friends with Stephan and his younger siblings (despite the two Rhinotaurs haven't showed up when the fight between Chloe, Aylene and Howard (which was a fight of two against one) took place), he gasped in shock and then he tried to fight her in order himself free, as Tah still held him by the neck and didn't let him go.

Then, Tah said to the evil centaur as she looked at him right in the face "Now, Mister, I suggest you first apologize to Stephan, to his twin toddler siblings and to their mother for crushing them under your hooves and for breaking their good hearts, and then you'll spend the rest of your life rotting in Tartarus for all I care!", but Howard didn't felt afraid of her words at all as he then yelled back in defiance and in pure rage "NO, I, WON'T!", and then he punched her angrily in the chest and caused her to let go him, before he then started fighting the mother Rhinotauress as he became determined and very willing to take her down first before he'll turn back to destroy his own children as well.

However, Tah showed every creature in the courtroom that she's a very strong and powerful Rhinotauress, and even though she has no abilities to use magic while Howard has, Tah is still more than twice his size and is able to resist to most of his abilities, before she finally grabbed Howard by the throat and threatened to choke him to death in the same way he nearly did to Stephan and to his younger twin siblings, thus finally turning Howard into a coward as he chose the wrong creature to mess up with, before he then barely said and begged as tears started forming in his own eyes "No! Don't do this to me! Please! I'll do anything! Don't hurt me, you beast!", and when Tah heard what he just said to her, she moved him down and looked at him very close in the eyes before she angrily said back "I am NOT a beast!" and then she angrily threw him down to the floor.

When Trog saw his mother easily winning against Stephan's evil father, he cried and cheered for her (in baby language) "Yay! Mama tok big bed sentaor daun! Wei tu go for Mama!", and when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends all barely understood what Trog was saying, they're all very happy with Tah's abilities to defend herself and fight back against her enemies, and that's before Tah turned back to her son and then she started hugging him and lifting him up to her level so she can look at him in the eyes, but then the moment was short-lived and was ruined when Tah suddenly screamed and yelped in pain and accidentally dropped Trog back down to the floor, and when every creature saw what's happening, they all saw Howard (who have quickly recovered) stabbing Tah in her upper human back with a knife (which he made to appear with his magic), and as every creature saw him doing this, they all saw that Howard is now seeing nothing but red in his eyes for the second time (since his fight against both Chloe and Aylene, two months ago).

Then, Howard roared at every creature in the whole courtroom in anger as now he completely lost his temper and madly said with the loudest of voices "THE ABUSE AND THE VIOLENCE WILL NEVER STOP! I'M LORD TIREK'S TRUE SUCCESSOR, AND EQUESTRIA IS ALL MINE! THIS IS MY WORLD! THIS IS MY KINGDOM! THIS IS MY DESTINY!", but before he was about to end Tah with another stab to the back of her neck, four magical beams suddenly hit him from all sides and then slowly started lifting him up and away from the Rhinotauress, and as Howard struggled to fight, but to no avail, he saw Celestia, Luna, Thorax and even Discord using their magic all together to stop him from committing more crimes and defying the laws.

Then, Celestia said to Howard "You cannot be reformed as you truly have a dark heart with no room to share!", and then Luna added "You don't deserve to see your own family ever again!", and then Thorax said "You had the chance to be good when you were much younger, Howard! But now it's too late!", and then Discord finished and declared "Now, you feel exactly what I felt when I was imprisoned for a thousand years! IN STONE!", and then the four together blasted their magical beams at Howard's body, thus causing him to scream "NOOOOOOOOO!" as he slowly got petrified and was turned into a stone statue, thus ending Stephan and the twins' worst nightmare at last, as now their evil father now means them no harm no more.

With Howard turned into stone and defeated, Stephan and the twins went up to Tah, who is injured from being stabbed in the back, but is luckily still alive and is feeling well instead of suffering from so much pain, and as Tah barely shook off the pain she just received, Trog asked her "Ar yu okey, Momy?", and Tah responded back by saying to him "It's nothing, son. The skin on my upper human back is actually really thick, so I don't feel much pain from being stabbed.", and when he heard what she said, Trog asked his mother "Hau com?", and then Tah explained "Just like normal (regular) rhinos, we Rhinotaurs have very thick skins, and mine is incredible 2 inches (5 centimeters).".

Then, when Chloe, Aylene and their friends all came down to Tah's aid to see if they can help her, Chloe asked her "Are you okay, Tah?", and then Aylene added "Howard didn't hurt you much, did he?", but then Tah explained "Actually, he barely even stabbed me.", but when they all heard what she said, Stephan (who got to her with his younger siblings first because they were much closer to her than all the others) asked her "How come?", and then Tah explained "Just like normal rhinos, we Rhinotaurs have thick skins, and on both my upper and lower bodies, my skin is incredible 2 inches thick, so Howard's knife barely did some damage to my massive body.", and then she added "I'm going to be fine, that wound on my upper back will heal with time, I promise.", but then Twilight suddenly said "I think I can help you with that.", and then she went up to Tah's upper human back and then she used her magic to heal the wound on Tah's upper back completely, thus also causing the wound to disappear in an instant along with the pain, which is also completely erased along with the wound itself, thus successfully healing Tah in the same way and technique she already used to heal Stephan's left hind horse leg (when it was broken).

With Tah being healed by Twilight's healing spell, Bluebell suddenly said "It's very good to see that you're able to heal Tah's wound, Twilight. However, there is just one more thing we all need to deal with before we can go back and do all the normal things each of us usually do.", and then she asked "Where does Howard's stone statue's going to stay standing and fit in? I mean, where do we all are going to display it?", but then Discord interrupted her and said "Well, I can think of just one good place where that centaur can stay and be put on for a very good display!", and Celestia, Luna and the mane seven all knew what Discord is actually trying to say - Discord suggests that Howard's stone statue will be put on display in the Canterlot sculpture garden (where Discord himself was displayed as a stone statue (before he was reformed)).

No more or less than an hour later, Howard's stone statue is put on for a display in the Canterlot sculpture garden, and when Stephan saw his own father on display as a stone statue, the teenage male centaur couldn't help but shed a few tears of sadness from losing his own father, because even though Howard abused him and even tried to kill him when he finally had enough of him, Stephan knew that that evil centaur is still his father and that if it weren't for him, Stephan and the twins would've never existed at all, but then he suddenly the warm light and the soft touch of the hands of the spirit of his mother Helena, who quickly tried to comfort her teenage son and tried to help him get over the loss of his own father who betrayed him, before he suddenly received a loving hug from Bluebell, who also understood the great pain in his heart from losing his father and becoming an orphan, but then he's also comforted by Andy and Zoey (his younger siblings), the mane seven and Spike, the princesses, the changeling kings, Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha, Tah and her baby son Trog, and of course - Chloe and Aylene, who were all there for him to comfort him as they all understood the pain that he feels from losing his own father, and so they all did the best they can do to calm Stephan down and show him that didn't lost everything he knew and loved for the most, for he's now safe from Howard's wrath forever.

Then, Helena said to her son as she's about to leave him again "Good luck, Stephan. Have the good life you deserve with your friends.", but then Stephan asked "But wait, Mother. I know I can now leave and survive without your help and I don't need you because I'm an independent teenager now, but what about Andy and Zoey?", and then added and pointed out "They're only toddlers and they still need a mother. They're too young to survive all by themselves without an older centaur's care.", but then Helena said "You don't need to worry about your younger siblings anymore, because I already know one good centaur, may I actually say centauress who would like to take care of your younger siblings and relieve you from your duties to care for them.", and then Stephan asked her "And who that might be?".

Then, Helena turned to Bluebell and then she said to her "Bluebell, can I ask you to do me a great favor?", and when she heard what the older centauress said, Bluebell said "Anything.", and then Helena said to her "Please take good care of Andy and Zoey.", but when Bluebell heard what she said, she and the others yelled out and said together "WHAT?!", before Bluebell alone asked her "Why did you chose me?", and then Helena said to her "Because you're a very good, generous and kind centauress and my older son Stephan deserves to have you as his mate in the future, but you're both still teenagers right now, and so until the day for you to become mates comes, I give you the responsibility of taking care of Andy and Zoey. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you take them under your wing after everything good you've done for them and for my teenage Stephan. You even saved their lives from Howard, who is not a father but a ferocious monster who cares for no one but only himself.", but then Tah interrupted and said to her "Well, actually, you should also thank me and my baby son Trog. If it weren't for us, Howard surely would've killed them all with his magic before Bluebell could save them with her own magic, and thanks to us, Bluebell is barely able to save Stephan and his younger siblings in the nick of time.".

However, Helena said back "Either way, I'm still happy that my children are now in good hands and are all going to live in such good and proper ways for the rest of their lives without any harm coming from that Howard anymore.", and then Bluebell said "Well, I...I don't know what to say.", but then Andy and Zoey both went up to her and started hugging at Bluebell's lower horse body before they said together "We love you, Bluebell! You saved our lives! You're a very good centauress, and we know that you can take a very good care of us!", and when Bluebell looked down and saw the two toddler centaurs hugging at her larger body and reassuring her that she'll be very happy to take a good care of them, the teenage winged centauress couldn't help but smile down at them and even shed a few tears of joy from the fact that now she's going to take care of Andy and Zoey as Stephan is going to be living together with Chloe and Aylene in the royal castle so all three friends can stay and live together side by side, and Stephan too felt happy for her as now Bluebell is going to be like a mother figure for his twin toddler siblings and take a very good care of them while also giving Stephan much more time to be with Chloe and Aylene each day while he's going to be living together with them in the royal castle.

With everything's settled, Helena said goodbye to Stephan and to all his friends and said to Bluebell to take a good care for Andy and Zoey before she faded and disappeared, and Bluebell said that she will be a mother figure for the two toddler centaurs and will take them under her wing and will also protect and defend them from enemies, dangerous creatures, and ferocious monsters and beasts no matter what, and with that promise being kept, Bluebell took Andy and Zoey under her wing and took them to Stephan's home (as now she's going to be living there instead of Stephan and is now going to take care of the twins for him), while every creature went back to their respective homes, and Stephan called and said goodbye to Bluebell and also wished her for a good luck as he was about to go with Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and the princesses back to the royal castle (which is now his new home as he's going to be living there as well), and at last, after all these years of abuse and treason from Howard, Stephan's dream to be free and permanently safe and away from his evil father finally came true, as now he's going to start enjoying his new life in the royal castle with his two best friends Chloe and Aylene by his sides.


	127. Chapter 126:Bluebell's family's visit

Two more months have passed since the last events which have already occurred, and one of which (which was actually the most important of all) is Howard's punishment, as the demonic centaur showed no regret to his abusive actions towards Stephan and the twins and even tried to kill them when he felt so much regret for bringing them to Equestria and for having them as his own children, but that, however, also caused Howard's downfall, as Trog first bit him and then Tah fought him and restrained him and then she forced him (Howard) to apologize to Stephan and to the twins and show regrets for his actions (although he (in return) stabbed her in the back as he completely lost his temper), but then, in the end of the trial, Howard was caught and was then turned into a stone statue by the princesses, Thorax and Discord, and since then, Stephan and the twins are feeling safe, free and very away from him for the rest of their lives (and Tah was healed by Twilight after Howard's final outburst and blind attack).

However, since Howard's defeat, Stephan and the twins are now living away from each other - Stephan went to live together with Chloe and Aylene in the royal castle, as the princesses and Shujaa allowed him to be a new resident of the royal castle, and Stephan was even given both the rights and the opportunity to stay and live in the royal castle permanently so he can never leave Chloe and Aylene's side anymore, whilst the twins Andy and Zoey remained behind in Stephan's home, which is now Bluebell's home instead, because after Howard's defeat, she made a promise with their and Stephan's mother Helena and promised to her that she will take care of Andy and Zoey while Stephan is going to enjoy his new life with Chloe and Aylene in the royal castle, and so since Howard's defeat at the hands (or hooves) of the princesses, Thorax and Discord, the twins are now living in their home with Bluebell taking care of them.

Anyway, now it's already 66 months (5 years and 6 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, and it was also 54 months (4 years and 6 months) since Aylene became her sister, and they and Stephan are doing just fine after Stephan came to live with them in the royal castle (after his evil father Howard is defeated), but today we're going to focus on Bluebell and the twins, who are happy to be living together and with each other since Bluebell became Andy and Zoey's surrogate mother as well as their mother figure (and also their future sister-in-law, since she's going to be mates with Stephan in the future), and since the twins got used to her, Bluebell has only a little to no problems at taking care of them.

However, one day, Bluebell's family (which are royal centaurs) came to Equestria from the centaurs homelands to meet her, but that's not the only thing they're coming for - they're also coming because they heard of Bluebell's relationship with Stephan and also heard from some subjects of their own kind (some of the centaurs who were there when Howard's trial and punishment took place) about how Stephan was abused by Howard before and after he met Bluebell, and they also heard about Stephan being rescued by Chloe and Aylene before Howard was brought to the court to stand trial for his crimes, and also about how did Howard got punished for his crimes and was turned into a stone statue so Stephan can be free and can also be far away from him at last (and also have much more time with Chloe and Aylene, and even some time with Bluebell and with the twins as well), and so the royal centaur family were all eager to meet Bluebell again and also get to meet Stephan as well, or maybe even get to know his other friends (particularly Chloe, because she's the only known human in Equestria to be good).

When Bluebell's family arrived at Canterlot they made their way to the royal castle, as they thought that she (Bluebell) is living there, and once they arrived at the royal castle, they're soon recognized as royal centaurs and so they're allowed to go inside to meet Bluebell (although she's not really living in the castle, but Stephan, Chloe and Aylene does), but even though they're not going to meet her first, they're still going to meet Stephan, Chloe and Aylene, who are going to be shocked when they realize who actually came to the royal castle to meet Bluebell but will end up meeting them instead.

The royal centaur family (Bluebell's family) consists a large adult male centaur with a pair of big and beautiful wings on his lower horse back (which means that he's a winged centaur (or Pegasus centaur) just like Bluebell), and he had a dark brown hair, mustache and beard, he had blue eyes and he also wore a beautiful crown on top of his human head, and he had the lower body and legs of a dark gray horse, with his tail having dark brown fur (which is matching with his hair, mustache and beard). For addition to his appearance, the winged centaur also had beautiful golden accessories on both his upper and lower bodies, and some of which even had gems attached to them and even to the crown itself as well, which means that he's likely the king of the royal centaur family.

The large male royal winged centaur is none other than Bluebell's father, his name is King Edward and he's the ruler of the centaur homelands, and in the future, he's also going to be Stephan and the twins' father-in-law, but first, he's going to meet Stephan, Chloe and Aylene face-to-face and also hear from them about their relationships with Bluebell (and particularly Stephan's relationship with Bluebell, which includes and consists their love to each other).

However, King Edward is of course not the only one of the royal centaur family whom we should know about right now, as there were also three centauresses walking right by King Edward's sides and even behind him, one of which was an adult female with a long horn growing on the center of her forehead which means just one thing we should know about the type of centaur (or centauress) she is - the adult centauress is a horned centauress (A.K.A a Unicorn centauress), which means that she doesn't uses only her hands to do her mgaic but also uses her horn as well, and she's also likely to be the queen of the royal centaur family.

She had a beautiful blonde hair (as well as a blonde horse tail), she had a smaller crown on top of her head, she had baby blue eyes and she too wore golden accessories with some gems on both her upper and lower bodies, and she had the lower body of a white horse (much like Bluebell herself). The adult royal horned centauress is none other than Queen Camilla, who is also Bluebell's mother and is going to be Stephan and the twins' future mother-in-law (after he and Bluebell will grow up into adults and later will become mates), and like her mate, King Edward, Queen Camilla also seems determined and very willing to meet her daughter Bluebell and also meet Stephan as well.

However, besides King Edward and his mate Queen Camilla, there were two other centauresses, one appeared to be a young adult, around 21 years old, while the much younger centauress appeared to be much younger than her and even younger than Bluebell and Stephan themselves, but she still appeared a bit bigger and older than Andy and Zoey, which makes her at least no older than 5 years old, and therefore it's obvious that these two are Bluebell's older and younger sisters, which makes her (Bluebell herself) the middle sister in her family, and at the age of 13, Bluebell is already mature enough to learn how to be responsible for a younger sibling, or even for a toddler or a baby (like Andy and Zoey, for an instance).

The young adult centauress (who is Bluebell's older sister) had a brown hair and tail, accessories on both her upper and lower bodies, a smaller crown (even smaller than her mother's) on top of her head, the lower body of a gray horse, she had lime-colored eyes and she also had extremely long, if not ridiculously long black eyelashes, but compared to either of her parents, the young adult centauress appeared to be less friendly and also less elegant or generous. As she appeared to be a normal centauress (just like Stephan and the twins, and unlike Bluebell or either of her parents), Bluebell's older sister's name is Princess Anastasia, and she's indeed a young adult, and she's nearly 21 years old (20 to be exact), thus making her almost mature enough to find and have a mate, although for some unknown reason (which even her parents don't really know), she's unwilling to have a mate of her own as she's sticking close to both of her parents and seems reluctant to come across or come in contact with any male centaurs who are either younger or older than her (possibly even Stephan himself), and for addition, she's much more unwilling to meet and she's sometimes unfriendly and very hostile when she meets or comes face-to-face with even younger centaurs, especially those who are much younger than her and Bluebell's own 5 year-old younger sister, like baby and toddler centaurs (like Andy and Zoey themselves, for an instance).

And then we also have the last (but not least) - Princess Vanessa, who is a normal centauress just like her older sister Anastasia, but she's pretty much friendlier than her, although she also appears to be a bit shy compared to Bluebell herself, and sometimes, she gets scared or afraid when she meets other centaurs or even non-centaur creatures (including ponies and humans) whom she haven't met before (and is only meeting them for the first time), and she have a black hair and tail, she had dark brown eyes and almost no accessories on her upper and lower bodies and no crown on top of her head, she have the lower body of a black horse with white markings on the lower parts of each of her four horse legs (minus the hooves), and she's indeed a very young juvenile centaur, and at the age of 5 years old, Vanessa is trying her best to get used to her new surroundings whom she have never seen or met before, but it's going to take for her and for the rest of her family a little longer to meet Bluebell again than they all thought, as instead - they're going to meet Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, who will be extremely shocked when they'll meet the royal centaur family face-to-face.

Just then, as they entered the throne room, the royal centaur family came face-to-face with Celestia and Luna, and when the Alicorns and the centaurs (particularly the king and the queen) recognized each other, they went forward to meet each other first, and then they asked the princesses where is Bluebell. However, Celestia said to the centaurs that Bluebell isn't living in the royal castle with them at all, but then she also added and explained that Stephan does lives in the castle with Chloe and Aylene, and she also said that she's pretty sure that they all will be shocked to meet them face-to-face for the first time.

However, just then, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan came into the throne room to talk to the princesses, when they suddenly noticed the four other centaurs in the throne room with them, and when King Edward, his mate and their two other daughters saw Stephan first, they're shocked to see how young and yet handsome he looks, and after a few moments of looking at Stephan, King Edward approached before he asked "Are you Stephan? The young centaur whom I heard who was abused? The son of Howard the disgraced centaur?", and when Stephan saw him and looked at him in the eyes, the younger centaur said to him, although he also stuttered at first from the centaur king's presence "Well, yes of course!", but then Stephan also asked him "Are you King Edward?", and then the older centaur said back "Well, yes I am!", and then he added and asked "I'm looking for my daughter Bluebell. Have you seen her?", but when Stephan heard what the centaur king just said, he gasped in shock as he realized that he's now talking to Bluebell's father, the centaur king of the centaur homelands.

"What?! You're Bluebell's father?! I can't believe it!" Stephan said as he quickly stepped aback and bowed his head down in front of King Edward, but then the older male centaur said to him "If a king may say, you can raise up, Stephan. There's really no need for you to now down to me. Although it's very respectful of you to do this in front of me, I do not require young centaurs your own age to bow down to me like this, for I know you've through a lot of stuff, and I also wanna know about the relationship you have with Bluebell. She must be very lucky to choose a centaur like you for a friend, isn't that right?", and when Stephan heard what he said, his face started becoming red as he blushed instead of getting mad because he didn't wanted to lash out at King Edward so not to make him change his mind and start thinking ill of him.

Then, Stephan shook his own head as he tried to snap out of his embarrassed state, before he said to King Edward "Well, she's not only lucky to be a good friend of mine, but she also loves me and wants to be mates with me in the future, and she also wants to help me shake the rest of the trauma that my own father still left on me.", and when King Edward heard what Stephan said, he said back "I know your father very well, Stephan. And to be honest, when I was younger and I had both Anastasia and Bluebell, but not yet had my third daughter, Vanessa, I wanted Bluebell to have some good friends who were around her own age, and then I stumbled upon you when you're much younger with your mother and your father, and when I saw your face back then at that time, but you didn't bothered looking up at me as well, I was shocked to realize that your face is already being written with pain and trauma, and so was your mother's face when I looked at her too, and I felt really sorry for you two. but then I also saw your father, and when I looked into his face, I saw a the shadow of a ferocious and evil centaur lurking behind his eyes, but I didn't know who that centaur was, but one thing I knew is certain - your father wanted to make you a bad centaur just like himself.".

When Stephan heard what King Edward explained to him, the younger centaur said back "I think the centaur whom you're speaking of that you saw behind my father's eyes is likely Lord Tirek, isn't he?", but when he heard the teenage male centaur saying and asking that, King Edward soon gasped in shock before he asked "That was Lord Tirek? How did you know?", and then Stephan explained "Because my father wanted me to be just like him, but in the end, however, when I refused to listen to him and do as he says, he even tried to kill me and my younger siblings as he felt so much regret for bringing us to this world.", and when Queen Camilla and Princess Vanessa, but not Princess Anastasia (who quickly avoided contact with Stephan when she saw him) heard what he said, the two centauresses gasped with fright before Queen Camilla asked "How could that ruffian do that to his own children?", and then Stephan turned to her and said "Because he only cares for himself. ONLY for himself.", and then Queen Camilla said "I was eager to know the answer when he announced Helena's death at the hands and paws of a vicious Beartaur. I wanted to know the truth behind Helena's death and I even tried to ask your father about what really happened to her, but he only said to me that a Beartaur broke her neck and ended her life, before he then rudely left without saying any other, but before left, I looked into his eyes and saw Lord Tirek's shadow lurking behind his eyes, and that made me think that Howard isn't really telling me the whole truth or isn't really willing to explain everything that happened when Helena died, and for years I have grown suspicious of him.".

However, when Stephan heard what Queen Camilla just said, he's surprised to realize that Bluebell's family actually cared and worried about his own family when hewas very young, and that even right now they're feeling very sorry for what he already have been through because of his evil father, and that's before the centaur queen introduced herself and said to him "I'm Queen Callima, and to be honest with you, I didn't had only subjects who looked up to me and adored me as a queen all the time, but I also had so many friends whom I also loved, cared for and worried about for the most, and your mother, Helena, was one of them, and I was really worried about her and you when you're abused by your father, and when he wasn't home with your mother, I would come to her home to meet her in my free time after I do my royal duties, and I always tried to speak and talk to her and I tried to show her that she's not weak like she thought she is after she became mates with that disgraced Howard, since he belittled her into thinking that she's always weak and helpless and will always need only him and not anyone else in order to survive, but when she started getting mu good advices into her mind, she would start fighting back against Howard to protect you and the twins from him when he wanted to force you to be like Lord Tirek so you can overthrow all rulers of Equestria, and eventually destroy both Edward and me so he can become the king instead and then place you and your mother and these poor twins just below himself as his slaves, for he didn't really cared about any of you at all, did he?".

When Stephan heard what she said, he sighed heavily and said "Yes, my mother, my younger siblings and I we're all being placed all together below himself so he can control everything, or so he thought he can until he was defeated.", and then he added "And without Bluebell and without my two other friends, Chloe and Aylene, my father would be taking me back to the Badlands with him and would try to corrupt me, or then he would try to destroy me when he finds out and realizes that because I'm too good to be a revenge soldier to avenge Lord Tirek, there's no way to use me in order to gain control on all of Equestria.".

Then, Chloe and Aylene interrupted and said to Stephan in unison "We'll go get Bluebell right now if you want to. We're pretty sure she will be shocked and surprised to see her own family are in the royal castle and are already getting to know you as well.", and this is when Stephan turned to them for a moment and said "Thank you girls so much. Now go and good luck, We'll be waiting here until you come back with her.", and when they both heard what Stephan said, Chloe and Aylene went out of the throne room and then left the royal castle and then they went together to find and take Bluebell to the royal castle so she can see her own family as well.

When Chloe and Aylene left, Anastasia asked, although in a rude and insulting tone "Who are these lame Pegasus and plain human being anyway?", but then Stephan turned to her with his brows starting to furrow in anger before he then approached her and asked her "Excuse me, but who do think you are that you have the rights to insult my two best friends like that?", but then Anastasia stepped aback from him and said "Ewww! Stay back! You're a male centaur! I don't want males like you to get this close to me! I'm a princess!", but then Stephan mocked her and asked "Oh, what's wrong? Afraid that I'll get angry and lash out at you for insulting my two best friends because neither of them are centaurs like me?", but then Anastasia said back as she tried to defend herself "Well, of course not! Who said I'm afraid of you? You may look like you're a good centaur, but you're just pretending to be good so you can trick whatever or whoever you want to be destroyed, just like your old man (your father) always did when he was young! I knew him ever since I met him, and he told me that one day, he'll be destroying me and my whole family using you as his revenge soldier!", but then Stephan said back "You're wrong! My father is defeated! I'm not revenge soldier! And I won't end up becoming like him either!".

However, Anastasia said to him as she kept messing with him (although she also kept her distance away from him) "You're really evil just like your own father is! I know you will end up just like him! Compared to your mother, YOU are his closest relative he ever had!", but then King Edward turned back and yelled at his own daughter "That's enough, Anastasia! This is going too far! Your mother and I we know Stephan's family for quite a long time, and I can assure you that Stephan is nothing like his own father!", but then Anastasia just huffed and turned away from him in anger, as she seemed to not trust what her own father says or Stephan, for she thought that Stephan would try to attack or harass her or her family in any given moment.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Aylene have already made it all the way to Stephan's (now Bluebell's) home, and so they knocked on the door and called for Bluebell to come out, and when Bluebell heard their calls, she answered to their calls and then she went up and opened the door to see them, and when saw Chloe and Aylene instead of Stephan, she asked them what did they came for, and Chloe and Aylene soon explained to her that her family came to Equestria from the centaurs' homelands to meet her, but instead they ended up coming face-to-face, meeting and befriending Stephan (except for Anastasia, of course), although they're all still waiting for her to come to meet them as well.

When Bluebell heard what Chloe and Aylene said about her family's being in the royal castle and are now getting to know Stephan in person (or centaur), she said "Oh goodness! My family are in the royal castle?! We must go there now! They could be angry or disappointed with me for not being there with you girls!", but just as she's about to use her magic to teleport Chloe, Aylene and herself back to the royal castle, Bluebell suddenly felt something tagging at her tail, and when she turned and looked down for a moment, She saw Andy and Zoey grabbing at her tail and looking up at her with sad and worried looks, thus showing her that they don't want her to go and leave them at home alone and scared (although it is very unlikely that Howard would be coming back to get them), and so Bluebell decided to take Andy and Zoey along as well so they won't feel alone and scared at home, and with that settled, Bluebell used her magic to teleport and transport herself, Chloe, Aylene, Andy and Zoey back to the royal castle to meet Bluebell's family.

However, once Bluebell, Chloe, Aylene, Andy and Zoey arrived back at the royal castle, they're suddenly being called by Shujaa to come inside and then go to the throne room quickly (and immediately), and once the five went together into the castle and then made their way and entered the throne room, they saw Stephan angrily staring Anastasia in the eyes and Shujaa is standing in the way between them as he's struggling to keep Stephan calm, for it's because Anastasia called Stephan a bad centaur for his father Howard have been one (who is also just like Lord Tirek) before he's defeated.

However, before Stephan could attack Anastasia and mean her harm for insulting him and his friends, Bluebell called for them, and when Stephan recognized her voice, he stopped himself before he and the royal centaur family all quickly turned around to see Bluebell standing behind them with Chloe and Aylene by both of her sides and with the twins tagging along right behind them (and particularly tagging on Bluebell's tail). When Queen Camilla saw her teenage daughter looking at her and at the others, she couldn't help but call her name as she quickly fully turned around and then trotted towards Bluebell, who also went up towards her as well, but it wasn't before the two suddenly shared a mother and daughter's hug in front of all the others, and Stephan couldn't help but change his scowl into a happy smile as he was happy to see such a family reunion, but that wasn't before King Edward also join in and also hugged Bluebell as well, and then Vanessa also hugged her, and so this is when Anastasia realized what's going on, before she sighed in defeat and turned away from Stephan and then trotted up to join the hug with the rest of her family, and once all five centaurs were hugging each other in a big family hug, Stephan couldn't help but shed tears, and also thanks to Bluebell, she helped and managed to spare him by stopping the confrontation between him and Anastasia before they could've done some bad injuries and/or some serious damage.

Then, Vanessa called out and said to Bluebell in an excited tone "Oh, Bluebell! I'm so happy to see again after such a long time! I haven't seen you ever since you left our homelands to travel around Equestria! I was just 2 years old when you left! But look at me now! I've grown up ever since you left and now I'm 5 years old! It's been 3 years since we've seen each other!", and then Bluebell said to her as she stroked her little sister on the top of her head with a free hand "Yes, little sister! I truly missed you, Anastasia and Mother and Father as well! I'm so happy to meet you all again after these 3 years which have passed!", but then Queen Camilla said to her "Bluebell, we're so happy that you also found a fine young centaur like Stephan for a best friend! And to be honest, Stephan is really nice when we get to know him, although we also know that we shouldn't anger him or insult him, because he can also be violent when someone angers him or insults him or his friends!".

When Bluebell heard what her mother said, she asked "Why are you saying that, Mother?", and then Queen Camilla said "Before you came here to meet us, your friend, Stephan, almost challenged your sister, Anastasia, for a fight!", and then Stephan interrupted and said "Because she insulted me and also called me a bad centaur! Your sister thinks ill of me because of my own father being evil before we defeated him! And so she fears that I may try to hurt you or your family, despite they already know me and my own family!", and then he added "They told me that they've seen me and my family when I was young, and your mother even tried to help my own mother to shake away her pained feelings of being weak and helpless against my evil father and try to stand up to him when he abused us!", but then Anastasia said "Well, you know what, Stephan? My parents did a huge mistake when they cared and worried about your family! Who knows when you'll become a ferocious and evil centaur just like your old man was before he was defeated!".

However, just then, Bluebell turned to her and said "Enough, sister! Stephan is a good centaur! He's nothing like his own father! He will never hurt anyone on purpose, except of course for those who try to hurt or attack others, strangers or friends!", but then Anastasia said "Ha! Like I should care about that, Bluebell! I don't feel safe with him around!", but then King Edward interrupted and said "Everyone, calm down! We came here to visit in the royal castle and meet Bluebell! Not to come here for a bad thing such a confrontation! Besides, I truly accept Stephan for who he is, and he seems to be fine and friendly when no one angers him! So, please, don't make me to step in the way between you!", and when everyone heard what he said, this is when the confrontation between Stephan and Anastasia finally stopped, but that wasn't before Anastasia said "Fine! I'll leave you alone, for now! But I still warn you though - if you dare to harm me, my parents OR my sisters, I will make sure that you'll regret it!", and then she finally turned away from Stephan and walked away without saying any other words.

However, soon afterwards, Stephan shook his head to shake away the anger towards Anastasia in his mind, and then he said "Well, how about I show you everything in the royal castle? I promise you that you can even stay here in one of our guests rooms for the night, or even for as much as you want, like four-five nights, you know what I mean.", and when they heard what he said, King Edward said to him back "Well, yes of course. We came here to stay with our Bluebell and also to have to get to know you better as well. You truly deserve to have a beautiful centauress like our Bluebell for a best friend.", and when Stephan what the centaur king said, he said back "Well thank you, King Edward. I wish I had a good father just like you. And now, let's go and I'll show you everything you'd want and would like to see around here in the castle.", and then Stephan started walking away and started leaving the throne room and went to the hallways of the castle, and as soon as he left the throne room, the other centaurs (minus Anastasia), Chloe, Aylene and even Shujaa went and followed after him.

However, Celestia and Luna still felt that something might go terribly wrong during the royal centaur family's visit, and the reason to why it could or would happen lies in none other than Anastasia herself, who is the only one from her family who appears to be acting hostile towards both unfamiliar males and also towards much younger centaurs from her own kind (like babies and toddlers), and she even tries to avoid contact with non-centaurs as well (like Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa). As for Anastasia, she's already starting to explore the castle all by herself, but she doesn't seems to mind or look at almost everything around her, and instead she continued looking and walking only forward so to avoid making contact with almost everything around her, as she thought that something in the royal castle might actually mean her harm.

Meanwhile, as they continued to explore the royal castle and their surroundings and also follow Stephan at the same time, Bluebell walked with Andy and Zoey following close behind her, but then something suddenly managed to distract the two toddler centaurs away from her and so they started walking away in a different direction, thus getting separated from the rest of the group, and as Andy and Zoey started exploring the inside of the royal castle all by themselves, they didn't know where they're going despite they looked at everything and everywhere as they continued to walk together on a certain pathway which leads down one of the hallways.

However, coincidentally, Anastasia was just about to turn away in a different direction and continue to walk in the hallways of the castle, but then she didn't noticed that she's actually going straight towards the twins, who are both walking together towards the opposite side of the certain hallway where Anastasia is right now, and after they walked together for about three more minutes, the twins were about to turn and then walk to the right, but then, however, they both collided with Anastasia (who didn't yet noticed them) and then they ended up falling backwards and hitting with their backs against the floor, although they didn't got or received much pain from falling and hitting against the floor.

However, as soon as they shook off the minor (small) pain which they did received from falling and hitting against the floor and then stood back up on their hooves, Andy and Zoey suddenly heard a female voice screaming down at them, and when they both turned their heads and looked up, they saw Anastasia (who just noticed them) looking down at them and even shaking in fear and distress at their presence (although the two toddlers centaurs didn't even appeared to be scary at all, and they won't even try to hurt or scare anyone else on purpose), and when they both noticed the new centauress standing in front them, Andy stepped forward and reached out his arms and his hands and asked as politely as he could "Excuse me, Miss, who are you?", but then Anastasia screamed at him "Ahhh! Stay back, toddler centaur! I'm warning you! Get away from me!", but then Zoey also stepped forward and asked her "What's wrong, Miss? Don't you like us?", but then Anastasia yelled in distress "No! You two stay away from me right now, do you hear?!".

When Andy and Zoey heard what she said, Andy turned back to look at Zoey before he said to her "Geez, Zoey. She's even more paranoid than our own father was.", but when he said that, he is suddenly grabbed from below his upper human armpits and was brought up by Anastasia, who looked at him in the face with both distress and anger which can be seen on her own face and eyes, before she then asked him in anger "What did you toddler centaur just said to me?!", but then Andy said back "First, put me down, then we'll talk.", but instead of putting him back down, Anastasia threw Andy back to the floor and then she lashed out at him and asked in even more anger "HOW DARE YOU NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION?!", but then Zoey jumped in front of her and said to her "Hey, please stop it, will you? You're hurting my twin brother!", but then Anastasia yelled at her as she shoved her aside with her horse forelegs "GET OUT OF MY WAY!".

Then, Anastasia placed a horse foreleg on Andy's lower horse body to prevent him from getting up (and thus also pinning him to the floor) before she then asked in anger "Who do you think you are that you have the rights to insult me like that, toddler centaur?! Huh?! TELL ME!", but then Andy cried in pain and said "Ow! Please, get off me, Miss! You're standing on my back! Please, let me go!", but she pain no attention to his begs for mercy and so she started adding more pressure as she tried to squeeze him mercilessly under her horse foreleg so to 'teach' him a lesson not to mess up with her.

However, just then, Bluebell's voice suddenly called and yelled "Let Andy go this instant, big sister!", and when she heard her sister's voice, Anastasia turned and looked away from Andy and she saw Bluebell, Stephan, the other centaurs, Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa all looking at her with both shocked and stern expressions on their faces, before Bluebell approached Anastasia and then she said to her and demanded "Let andy go, Anastasia!", but then the young adult centauress said back to her a huff "Hmph! Not a chance, sister! That little brat called me a paranoid centauress!", but then King Edward said "Well, you actually do act paranoid for quite a while, Anastasia! You're been acting like this for almost a full year, and we don't yet know why because you don't even tell us!", but then Anastasia said "I AM supposed to be and act like that! I hate babies and toddlers, even if I'm just a young adult! And this little brat is going to get what he deserves for insulting me like that!".

However, just then, Zoey cried and yelled up at the much older centauress "Let my twin brother go, you big bully!", and then she grabbed and pulled one of Anastasia's left arm and hand away from Andy, and then Zoey started clamping down her mouth and teeth on Anastasia's wrist, thus causing her to scream and yell in pain as the toddler centauress used her own deciduous (baby) teeth to bite as hard as she could on Anastasia's wrist, but then Bluebell said to her "Zoey, please stop doing that! You know it's not very nice to bite those who are older than you!", and then Stephan approached and added "Stop biting Bluebell's older sister, Zoey! She doesn't deserves to be bitten like that!", and then he and Bluebell tried to grab and pull Zoey away to make her release her grip of Anastasia's wrist, but Zoey used her own arms and hands to keep holding tightly onto Anastasia arm, as the toddler centauress wanted to teach Anastasia a lesson for harming Andy just a few short moments ago.

However, just then, Anastasia raised up her other (right) arm and hand and then she brought it down and hit Zoey on the head, thus making her to not only open her mouth and cry in pain, but also release her biting grip on Anastasia left wrist, before she then lost her hands' grip of the young adult centauress' arm as well and then she's thrown backwards with Stephan and Bluebell, who nearly got knocked back to the floor, and then Zoey fell out from their grip and she got hit in the butt upon hitting with the floor. Then, Anastasia angrily kicked Andy away with a horse foreleg and sent him coming towards Zoey, almost knocking her over as the two collided with each other, but luckily for them, neither of them got even more hurt from Anastasia's mad attacks on them.

However, just then, Andy and Zoey soon started to cry in pain as they hugged each other tightly and kept their distance away from Anastasia, who just looked down at them with displeasure before she said "Ha! And that's exactly what you both get for insulting a princess!", but then King Edward said to her in a stern tone "Anastasia!", thus causing her to turn and look at her father, who looked very displeased at his older daughter's misbehaving towards the twins, but then Anastasia said back as she tried to defend herself "Father, what did I do wrong? They deserved it for insulting me like that!", but then Queen Camilla joined in with her mate and then she said to her young adult daughter "Anastasia, Andy and Zoey are just toddlers! You can't blame them for what they said about you! You've been acting this way since the previous year! You should apologize to these poor little ones for scaring and hurting them like you did!".

However, Anastasia said "No! They both asked for it! I just wanted to show them not to mess up with a princess!", but then King Edward said to her sternly "Anastasia, that's enough! Now come with us so you won't mean these twins any more harm!", and then he turned to Stephan and then he said to him "Stephan, you stay here with your younger siblings and try to calm them down while we go somewhere else in the castle to talk privately to Anastasia, okay?", and then Stephan said back as he understood what the centaur king said "Okay, King Edward. I'll try to calm Andy and Zoey down and I'll also try to reassure them that they did nothing wrong.", and with these words said, the group splitted up in two - Bluebell and her family went to somewhere else in the castle to talk privately to Anastasia, while Stephan, Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa all stayed in the hallways with Andy and Zoey, and so the four tried to do everything they can to calm down the crying toddler centaur twins, who got hurt from Anastasia's mad attack and assault on them.

Then, Stephan knelt down to the twins' level and then he placed each of his hands on top of the heads of each of them and he tried to calm them down by stroking and caressing their heads in a comforting manner before he said "Shhh, it's okay my precious little siblings. Anastasia didn't really meant to hurt you two, she's just really stressed and she's under a lot of pressure, that's all.", and then he added as he tried to comfort his twin toddler siblings "It's okay, Andy and Zoey. There's no need for neither of you to cry. I'm not mad at you, and neither are Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa. I'm also pretty sure that the princesses won't be angry at you for what just happened between you and Anastasia. Things like that always happen to us at some point in our lives, and it already happened to me before, at the time I ran away from all of you and accidentally joined that monster, Brandon, and his muscular right hand henchman and second-in-command, Biff.", and then he continued and said as he tried everything he could to calm down Andy and Zoey and show them that they aren't to blame for Anastasia's extremely aggressive and stressed nature "Bluebell and the rest of her family will talk to her privately and they will figure out why she's acting like this. Now dry those tears, my dear little siblings. You're good little centaurs with big hearts, and I know that you didn't really meant to say these words or bite Anastasia on purpose. I understand how you two are feeling right now, but you both need to calm down. I truly care about your feelings, we all are.", and when Andy and Zoey opened their eyes, they saw Stephan smiling down at them in order to reassure them that they're not bad centaurs, and then they turned to see Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa also smiling down at them before they nodded their heads in agreement with Stephan's words so to help reassuring Andy and Zoey that it wasn't their fault at all.

However, the twins still believed that they had something to do with Anastasia's aggressive and stressed nature, and so Andy cried "No! It was our fault! She's angry at us for no reason at all!", and then Zoey added "She thinks that we are the ones to blame for her stress and pressure!", and then they both turned and started trotting and running away from Stephan and from his friends, and when the two toddler centaurs started trotting and running away in pain, Stephan called for them "No, wait! Andy! Zoey! Please, come back!", but they both just ignored him and his voice and continued to trot and run away as fast as they could, thus leaving Stephan shocked and heartbroken to see his little siblings running away from him because of what just happened to them when they both came face-to-face with Anastasia and got attacked and assaulted by her because of her aggressive and stressed nature.

Then, Stephan turned to Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa and then he said "Guys, I gotta go after them and make sure they're safe! They're my younger siblings after all! I gotta go now!", and then Chloe and Aylene grabbed at his hands and then gave him a couple of reassuring smiles, before they said together "We know, Stephan. We understand how you feel for your twin toddler siblings. Go look for them while we and Shujaa warn Mother Celestia and Aunt Luna, and then we'll go warn Bluebell and her family and tell them of what just happened so we can all help you find Andy and Zoey and bring them back here to the castle and try to show them that they did nothing wrong.", and then they let go of his hands and added and said before they nodded their heads to him in agreement "It's okay, Stephan. We'll go get some help. Now go look for Andy and Zoey and make sure that they don't get hurt.", and then Shujaa also nodded in agreement and said "Good luck, Stephan! I hope you'll be able to find them while we warn the other about what just happened so they can all help you as well! Now go!", and then Stephan said with tears in his eyes as he smiled back at the human, Pegasus and orangutan "Thank you all, my friends!", and then he turned around and started galloping away as fast as he can and went in the direction where his younger siblings have already went, and he soon left the royal castle and started searching for Andy and Zoey.


	128. Chapter 127:the twins run away

Meanwhile, Andy and Zoey continued trotting as fast as they could through Canterlot in order to escape as they believed that Anastasia's losing her temper is their fault, but then they both didn't paid attention to where they are going and so they ended up running into a teenage Zebratauress who coincidentally walked in the way and didn't even noticed them coming towards her, but then it was too late as the toddler centaur twins ended hitting her on the side of the body and falling down, before they quickly got up on their hooves and then they continued to run away in a different direction, and judging by the Zebratauress' looks and appearance, one thing was certain - it wasn't Layla, and she also looked far different than her and (for addition) she also appeared to be only slightly older than Stephan and his friends, so it is very likely that the teenage Zebratauress whom Andy and Zoey accidentally collided with a moment ago is a member of Brandon's Zebrataurs herd.

However, despite the Zebratauress felt the two toddler centaurs accidentally bumping into her before they started running away in a different direction, she decided not to go after them and/or attack them for provoking her (because they only did it to her by accident), and so she continued minding her own business and continued walking on her way in Canterlot while the twins trotted and ran away, and after a few minutes of trotting away really fast in order to escape, the twins finally managed to escape and they soon left Canterlot, and so Andy and Zoey continued on their way and started to search for a place to hide in from Stephan (and also from the others).

Meanwhile, Stephan have already left the royal castle and he searched for Andy and Zoey everywhere in Canterlot and he even called their names and also asked many ponies who live in Canterlot if they have seen them around, but unfortunately for him, every single pony whom he asked about the twins' whereabouts said that he or she haven't seen them at all, but that is until he met the same Zebratauress whom Andy and Zoey previously have bumped into, and she told him that the twins bumped into her before they quickly ran away in a different direction, and when Stephan turned and saw a pathway which leads out of Canterlot, he said to himself "Oh no! If anything bad happens to my little siblings, I will never forgive myself! I have to go out of Canterlot and find them!", and then he galloped and went on the pathway out of Canterlot to continue his search for Andy and Zoey.

Back with the twins, they continued on their way as they traveled as fast as they could towards Ponyville in hopes that Stephan (or even the others) won't be able to find them, and so it took them a while to reach and make it all the way to Ponyville before they started searching for a good place to hide from Stephan (and from the others), and after a few minutes of searching for the perfect place for themselves to hide in from Stephan and also from the others, Andy and Zoey stumbled upon a very large and empty barrel that was big enough for the both of them to fit right in and stay inside it for the time being, as they both felt ashamed of themselves for 'causing' Anastasia's aggressive, stressed and hostile nature to lash out at them.

Meanwhile, as for Stephan, he already left Canterlot and he galloped and went as fast as he could towards Ponyville in order find Andy and Zoey, before he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling for him, and then he stopped and looked up to see Bluebell flying above him and getting past him before she flew down and landed on her hooves just right in front of him and looked at him in the eyes, but that's before Stephan asked her in shock "Bluebell?! What are you doing here?!", and then Bluebell answered "I came to help you find Andy and Zoey!", and then she added "I already know what happened back in the castle! Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa have already told me that your little siblings ran away! So I decided to come with you so I can help you look for them! Together, I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to find Andy and Zoey, calm them down and make sure to reassure them that they did nothing wrong with my sister's hostile behavior and bring them back to the castle in no time!", and when Stephan heard what Bluebell said, tears of joy formed in his eyes before he briefly hugged his beloved girlfriend and said to her "Thank you, Bluebell! What I would've done without you?", and once he broke the hug and let go of her, Bluebell said back to him "Come on! Now it's not time to share a boyfriend and girlfriend hug, Stephan! We need to find Andy and Zoey! They could be in danger!", and then Stephan said back to her in agreement "You're right! We have to find them!", and then he added "Now let's go, Bluebell! Andy and Zoey needs us for the most! We have to find them and bring them back to the castle!", and then the two teenage centaurs started galloping together towards Ponyville as fast as they both could and they both hoped that Andy and Zoey are both safe and sound and that they're both waiting for them (Stephan and Bluebell) to come find them, comfort them and bring them back to the castle.

Back with Andy and Zoey, they still stayed inside the big barrel they chose to hide in and they're both still crying over what happened between them and Anastasia back in the castle, and while the two cried out loud as they indeed felt the pain that Anastasia gave them, Andy asked in a pained tone "What did we do to deserve this?!", and then Zoey added "What we have done wrong?!", and then Andy cried "Stupid centauress! She thinks she can attack and harass us just because we're only toddlers?!", and then Zoey added "That Anastasia is a true monster! I don't want to see her or hear of her ever again!", and then Andy said to her "She yelled at us, pushed us and stepped on us on purpose!", and then Zoey said back "Yes! That Anastasia is nothing but a big old jerk!" and then she added "Just because she's Bluebell's older sister, that doesn't mean she have the rights to pick on the both of us just like that!", and then Andy said to her "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you know what? I want Mommy back!", and then Zoey added "And so do I! Mommy treated us properly! That Anastasia treated us harshly just like how our own Daddy would! I want Mommy back!", and then Andy said to her in agreement "Yeah! Me too!" as the two toddler centaurs continued to cry since they thought that if Helena was still alive, Anastasia wouldn't be picking on them like she already did back in the castle.

Meanwhile, Stephan and Bluebell have already made it to Ponyville, and right now they're still searching for Andy and Zoey, and so they started asking ponies who live in Ponyville if they have seen the twins before, but to no success, as every single pony they asked about the twins and about their whereabouts said that he or she haven't seen them at all, but just as things seemed lost, Stephan and Bluebell suddenly heard two small crying voices coming from a large nearby barrel, and so when they both went up and then they looked inside the barrel, they found Andy and Zoey crying together inside it, but when Stephan and Bluebell tried to speak and talk to them, the two toddler centaurs saw the two teenagers looking at them, and so Andy and Zoey quickly escaped from the large barrel which they stayed in for a while and then they both made a run for it as they trotted and ran as fast as they could to escape from Stephan and Bluebell, who quickly followed behind them and tried to catch up with them so they can reason with them and then bring the two toddlers back to the castle.

However, Andy and Zoey trotted and ran as fast as they could and at some point they went into a street market in hope that Stephan and Bluebell won't be able to find them so easily, but even so, the two teenage centaurs are still able to keep up after the two toddlers as they all entered the street market, and Andy and Zoey did they best they could do to avoid Stephan and Bluebell, while the two teenage centaurs did the best they (themselves) could do to catch up with the two toddlers and try to reason with them and try to show them that Anastasia's aggressive, stressed and hostile nature isn't something they even had to do with at all and that it wasn't their fault that Anastasia got angry and lashed out at them like she did back at the castle.

However, just then, a few shingles from the roof of one of the nearby buildings suddenly broke loose and started rolling and falling down from the roof and they started falling down towards Andy and Zoey, who were still trying to escape from Stephan and Bluebell, but the twins haven't yet seen the shingles falling down towards them, but luckily, Stephan and Bluebell saw them (the roof shingles) coming down towards the twins, and so Stephan called for his two younger siblings "Andy! Zoey! Look out!", but when Andy and Zoey turned and looked up and saw the roof shingles falling down towards them, the two toddler centaurs didn't have enough time to react, and so Stephan and Bluebell both knew that they must save the twins before they might get hurt by getting hit on the heads by the falling roof shingles, and so Stephan and Bluebell quickly went up to Andy and Zoey, caught up with them and then they quickly pushed them out of the way, thus preventing Andy and Zoey from getting hit on their heads by the falling roof shingles.

However, the falling roof shingles soon fell on Stephan and Bluebell, and before Bluebell could use her magic to protect herself and Stephan, the two teenage centaurs got hit by the roof shingles, and two of the roof shingles ended up hitting both Stephan and Bluebell right on the heads, thus knocking the two teenage centaurs off their hooves and causing them both to fall and hit with the right side of each of their bodies against the ground, thus the two are knocked unconscious from the hits they just got on their heads, and when Andy and Zoey turned back to see their older brother and his girlfriend being knocked unconscious upon being hit on the heads by the falling roof shingles, the two toddler centaurs gasped in shock before they both decided to come back to the two teenagers, and once Andy and Zoey got close enough to Stephan and Bluebell, the two toddler centaurs tried their best they could do to wake them up, but to no success and to no avail.

Just then, some ponies (both stallions and mares) came to see what happened and then they started surrounding Stephan and Bluebell's unconscious bodies, and they all looked at them with worried looks, while Andy and Zoey unsuccessfully tried to wake them up, and just then, King Edward, Queen Camilla, Vanessa, Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and even Anastasia all came to see Stephan and Bluebell unconscious with Andy and Zoey trying to wake them up and with ponies surrounding them and looking at them with worried looks, but when the ponies turned and saw the centaur king and queen, as well as the others who were standing behind them, the ponies quickly backed away to let the royal centaurs and the others get to Stephan, Bluebell and the twins.

Then, King Edward and Queen Camilla both went up to Bluebell while Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa all went up to Stephan, and then they tried to wake them up, but to no avail as Stephan and Bluebell aren't just unconscious - the two teenage centaurs are both in a coma (and that's even worse than what everyone else thought), because since Bluebell and Stephan are both in a coma and not just unconscious, this meant that Andy and Zoey are now in even bigger troubles, as Anastasia trotted up towards the two toddlers with a scowl forming on her face, before she then yelled down at them in anger "YOU LITTLE BRATS! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!", but then Andy and Zoey started to cry before Andy said first "No! It was all an accident!", and then Zoey added "Stephan and Bluebell were just trying to save us from getting hit by some falling roof shingles which broke loose from the roof of one of the buildings!".

However, Anastasia raised up an arm and a hand and then she moved it down and slapped both Andy and Zoey across the faces and yelled at them in anger "SHUT UP YOUR MOUTHS! I DON'T WANNA HEAR SUCH EXCUSES COMING OUT FROM YOUR LITTLE MOUTHS, YOU HEAR?! INSULTING ME IS ONE THING, BUT PUTTING MY SISTER AND HER BOYFRIEND IN DANGER AND EVEN KNOCKING THEM OUT COLD LIKE THIS IS JUST CROSSING THE RED LINE!", but then Zoey cried and said to her "P-please, Miss Anastasia! D-don't say that! Please, please!", but then the young adult centauress raised up her arm and her hand before she then moved and brought it down and then she slapped the twins across the faces a second time and then she yelled "ENOUGH! I WILL NOT TOLERATE OR ACCEPT SUCH HORRIBLE TODDLERS AS YOU TWO! YOU PUT MY SISTER AND HER BOYFRIEND IN TROUBLE! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU TWO THAT THEY BOTH ENDED UP LIKE THIS! BLUEBELL AND STEPHAN'S COMA WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!", thus hurting Andy and Zoey's feelings even more when she blamed them for Bluebell and Stephan's coma.

However, before she could slap Andy and Zoey across the faces a third time, Anastasia was suddenly stopped by Shujaa, who quickly grabbed at her wrists and said to her "As the princesses' main royal guard, I will not let you abuse these poor little toddler centaurs because of something they didn't even done at all! It was all an accident, and Andy and Zoey aren't to blame for this! You should be ashamed of yourself for yelling at them and slapping them across the faces in the first place! I thought your parents talked with you and asked you about the reason for your insane behavior!", but then Anastasia said tothe him as she fought back against the albino orangutan "They did asked me, but I refused to tell them why I'm acting and behaving like this, because it's not their business and neither it is for anyone of you!", and after a struggle with Shujaa, Anastasia suddenly managed to throw him aside and out of her way before she then turned and looked down and back at the twins again with pure rage burning in and behind her eyes.

Then, this is when Anastasia started attacking the twins again as she blamed them for Stephan and Bluebell's coma and she even said while she attacked them that no centaur (or centauress) deserves to care for them or even look for them despite Andy and Zoey's young age, and she even said to them that they're bad centaurs just like their own father (Howard himself), but when Anastasia's parents managed to get in between their young adult daughter and the twins and stop the fighting between them, this is when the Andy cried and said "I can't believe that this is how we're treated for who we are!", and then Zoey added "We're both just 2 years old and we're still being treated as badly as always!", and then Andy said "I hope you're all happy now, because we're both leaving you all right now for having another centaur picking on us in the same or many ways as our own father used to before he was defeated!", and then Zoey finished when she said "Goodbye, everyone! We can't stay in where we're not welcome anymore! I guess that this place isn't really our home at all! We're not really meant to be living here with all of you! Goodbye!", and with these words being said, Andy and Zoey finally started crying out loud in pain as they then turned around, and then they both started trotting and running away in tears as fast as they both could and left everyone else in shock, but Anastasia just huffed at this and turned with her face away as she didn't cared about the twins at all, for she believed since the first moment she met them back at the castle that they will end up becoming bad centaurs like their own father Howard did.

Then, when everyone (minus Bluebell and Stephan who were both still in a coma) saw Andy and Zoey crying and running away like this, Vanessa felt sorry for them as the 5 year-old centauress couldn't and also wouldn't bring herself to blame them for what happened to both Bluebell and Stephan, and she herself also knew for a centauress her own age that it wasn't Andy and Zoey's fault that Bluebell and Stephan are both in a coma, and so she turned to her parents and asked them with a worried expression on her face "Mommy? Daddy? Do you think Andy and Zoey will be okay?", but before the two adult centaurs could answer to their youngest daughter, Anastasia interrupted and said angrily to her younger sister "Don't you dare take pity on them, little sister! These two got exactly what they deserved for doing this to Bluebell AND to her boyfriend! They should never be forgiven for what they both did to them! Even if these two are just little toddlers, this is something that I will never forgive them for!", and then she turned around and started to walk away from the others and went back to Canterlot while showing no signs of regret for her actions, and Vanessa and her parents looked in the direction where Andy and Zoey went and still felt sorry for them, before she slowly turned away and then started to walk away with her parents, and her mother Queen Camilla used her magic from both her horn and her hands to carry Stephan and Bluebell's unconscious bodies all the way back to Canterlot and to the royal castle where Celestia and Luna can help them heal and recover from their coma, and once the royal centaurs walked away and went back to Canterlot (and to the royal castle), Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa soon started following behind them as well as they all went all the way back to the royal castle to help Stephan and Bluebell heal and recover from their coma.

As for Andy and Zoey, they left Ponyville, but instead of coming back home (or to the royal castle), they both went together to the meadows near the Everfree Forest, and they stopped and sat down under the only tree in the meadows and cried themselves to the point they eventually lied down and fell asleep under the tree, and for Andy and Zoey, it have proven to be one of the worst days of their lives, but what they both didn't know is that something is about to change again, when they're going to come and meet face-to-face with an enemy they already know of and have already met before (which is not Anastasia of course), but under the pressure, the enemy they already know could go through a drastic change and could potentially become their newest friend instead, or maybe even become one of their best friends they're ever going to have in their lives.


	129. Chapter 128:Russell leaves his home

While the twins are sleeping under the tree in the meadows after they cried a lot when and after they got chased away by Anastasia (Bluebell's older sister)), we're going to focus not only on them, because for now, we're also going to focus on one of the animals who is a member and a part of Yigal, his brothers and Black Heart's animal team - Russell the red leopard, and right now, back in the villains' house in the deep parts of the Everfree Forest, he's not feeling the best since Dan Ashmor was found and got adopted as Yigal's son.

Just like Agatha, Russell also didn't seemed to like Dan Ashmor, for the baby human boy is doing him bad and nasty things which are some of the worst things a baby can do to make an adult's life feel miserable in and within the family's life. Just then, Russell ran out of the villains' house towards the closest water source where he can wash and bath himself, because Dan Ashmor deliberately peed on his fur, which causes the others animals and the villains to stay away from him due to the bad smell from the baby's pee, and since Dan Ashmor often treated Russell more like a toilet and less like a living animal, Russell (and particularly his beautiful fur) was so stinky from the bad smell coming from baby Dan's pee, which makes Russell feel very unhappy and uncomfortable with the baby human boy is around, forcing the red leopard to take a shower more often, and we all know one thing that leopards really hates for the most - most leopards hate water or hate getting wet, but Russell himself, however, is trying to overcome his natural fear of water by bathing himself in lakes and even taking swims in the water in order to clean off the baby's pee and get rid its awful smell so his beautiful fur won't be stinky more often.

However, unfortunately for Russell, since baby Dan Ashmor is already evil like his caretakers, he's showing no regrets for his disrespectful and very nasty behavior towards Russell, and that's exactly what's making Russell's life feel more and more miserable with each passing day. However, today Russell is on the final straw as he came out of the nearby water source he found and then he shook himself dry and then looked down at the ground in anger and said "I hate my life so much! It's all that new evil baby's fault! If he wasn't found by Yigal and Tony Black and was brought to our home, I would never be treated so badly like if I was that baby's toilet!", and then he added as he smashed a forepaw at the ground angrily "That does it! I must tell my master, Black Heart, about this! I will not let anyone treat me like a toilet! Especially not some disgusting baby boy who is actually evil like his caretakers! I must do something about this before I'll have no other choice but to run away from home!", and then he started running back to the villains' house with his fur is now clean and looks good as new.

A few minutes later, when he arrived back at home, Russell entered the villains' house and he started searching and looking for his master Black Heart, and he soon found her in the kitchen preparing some solid food for Dan Ashmor, since the baby human boy is already teething (growing his own teeth), and therefore he's becoming more and more independent with each passing day, but then she also didn't noticed her red leopard Russell is now looking at her with desperation can be seen behind his eyes. Then, Russell placed a forepaw on Black Heart's back and then he asked her "Master Black Heart?", and then the evil Pegasus mare asked him back while she's still preparing Dan Ashmor's solid food and not even turning around to look at himthe in the eyes "What do you want, Russell? Is there's something wrong?".

Then, Russell took a deep breath in order to calm himself while he's going to speak and talk to his winged equine owner, and then he said to her "Yes, there is. Master Black Heart, I don't know if you'd like to hear what I'm going to say or not, but I decided that it's my time to go away and leave home in search for a new one, all alone by myself.". However, when Black Heart heard what her red leopard just said to her, she flinched for a moment before she suddenly stopped preparing the food for baby Dan and she turned around to look at Russell in the eyes as she was confused by what he's trying to say to her, before she then asked him "What are you even talking about, Russell? Don't you like living here with me and with all of us?", but then Russell said to her "You see, I'm done in here and I'm also through with all of you!", and then he added and explained as anger and frustration can be seen in the pained look in his eyes "Ever since Yigal and Tony Black found and brought that baby Dan home, you all have been paying more attention to him and less attention to me! And, to make matters even worse - that little monster for a baby is treating me with disrespect! He's a real little brat for everything bad he's been doing to me this whole time! He treated me like if I was nothing but his toilet! He peed on me and on my beautiful fur the whole time and made me smell so bad that you all avoided me and I had no choice but to go outside and wash and bath myself in water to clean off that baby's pee and get rid of its horrible smell! I'm feeling like that ever since that baby Dan became the newest addition to this family! I'M DONE WITH ALL OF YOU! AND IT'S ALL OVER NOW!" Russell roared and stomped a forepaw on the floor in anger as he lashed out at his master for having baby Dan treating him like his toilet and peeing on him on purpose.

However, when Black Heart heard Russell expressing his feelings and explaining how he's been feeling since baby Dan Ashmor was adopted by the villains and became Yigal's son, a scowl formed on the evil Pegasus mare's face before she then raised up a forehoof and then slapped it hard twice across his face, and then she yelled at his "Silence, Russell! I don't wanna hear that sort of nonsense and I don't even have any time to be with you right now! So please, just leave me alone while I prepare the solid food for baby Dan! He needs to eat because now he's teething, and I don't wanna hear any of your stupid complaints about him, you hear?!", and then she sternly motioned to him with a forehoof and added "You just mind your own business, Russell! When I'm done with baby Dan, then I will have time for you too!", and then she rudely turned away from Russell and went back to preparing Dan Ashmor's solid food (which he's going to eat because he's really teething), but the more time Black Heart spent with the baby human boy, the more time Russell was neglected, thus leaving him to be only with himself.

Meanwhile, at the living room, Yigal is teaching Dan how to walk properly, and since Dan is now over the age of one year old, he's trying to learn how to walk properly, but that was also putting him a step closer to becoming a future villain, and the now toddler human boy seems to enjoy learning how to walk properly, but then it also gave him the advantage to abuse Russell all by himself more and more often than he usually did before the new evil human turned one. Just then, Russell walked into the living room to ask Yigal to prepare him some meat to eat (since Black Heart is still busy preparing Dan Ashmor's solid food), but when he saw Dan learning how to walk properly, the red leopard quickly stepped aback both in fear an in utter disgust, and he knew exactly why, as now Dan is becoming more and more independent with each passing day, the more the evil toddler human boy will abuse and torture Russell by peeing on him (and on his beautiful fur) on purpose more and more often, and when Dan Ashmor turned and saw Russell staring at him in the opening of the living room in fear and in pure disgust, Dan gave him an evil toddler smile, thus showing him his partially erupted and still developing deciduous teeth, and then he started walking up to him while giggling evilly at him, and Russell knew exactly what it really meant for him, so he quickly backed away as the evil toddler human boy approached him.

Then, Russell turned tail and started running back to the kitchen to ask Black Heart to make Dan stop treating him like a toilet (since it's exactly what Dan did all the time and still does to Russell ever since he (Dan) was found, brought home and was adopted as Yigal's son), but just as he's about to enter the kitchen again to ask Black Heart to help him deal with Dan, Black Heart finally came out of the kitchen with prepared solid food which she prepared and made up for Dan to eat, and since Russell was in the way to the kitchen to find her, he accidentally got collided with her, thus accidentally knocking Dan's solid food away from Black Heart's forehooves and causing it to fall down and hit with the floor, thus making the floor dirty and also ruining Dan's solid food in the process.

When Black Heart saw what happened to Dan's solid food (which he's supposed to eat soon) and saw it ruined on the now dirty floor, her face turned red out of anger before she turned to look at Russell in the eyes, and then she raised up and forehoof and she brought it down and slapped him across the face a second time before she yelled at him "You stupid reddish furball! Look at what you've done! This was supposed to be Dan's food, and now you just ruined it!", but then Russell said "It's not my fault at all, I swear! I just came back to the kitchen to ask you to help me deal with that disrespectful little brat! Now that he knows how to walk almost properly, he wants to pee on me and on my beautiful fur again! And for a toddler, he surely is as the same as evil as you and your three human friends you're all already are!".

However, just then, a male voice yelled and roared at him from the living room "WHAT WAS THAT, RUSSELL?!", and just then, Yigal went up to Russell and Black Heart with Dan being held from below the armpits in his arms, before Yigal stopped and then carefully placed him down on the floor in front of Russell and Black Heart, but when Russell looked up and saw Yigal's angry face, he soon realized that now he's in big trouble, and the trouble became bigger and even worse as Gilad and Ezra soon entered the room as well, with Gilad holding Yigal's whip in his left hand before giving it to Yigal so he can whip Russell on the back as a punishment for insulting not only Dan but also the adults themselves (Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart), thus shoving fear into Russell's face and eyes, as Yigal prepared himself to whip the red leopard for saying such insults on the whole villains family because of Dan Ashmor peeing on Russell for fun and treating him more like a toilet and less like a living animal.

Then, Yigal threatened Russell and he warned him and said "Russell the red leopard, you apologize to Dan and to all of us, or you're going for a whipping!", and when Russell heard what he said, the red leopard cried "No!" and then he tried to escape the room, only for both Gilad and Ezra to block his path and trap him in the room, before Yigal managed to grab him and so he pulled him back by his tail, before he forcefully pulled him back close with all his might and dragged him back to him (Yigal himself) and Black Heart, and then Yigal whipped Russell three times on the back before he also raised up his right leg and foot and then he kicked Russell square in the crotch, causing the red leopard to scream and cry in pain as he went into tears from Yigal's mad assault at him.

However, when Dah Ashmor saw Russell is in pain, the toddler human boy didn't felt sorry for himthe at all, instead - he giggled and laughed evilly as he then pointed a tiny finger of his own at Russell's face before he said in baby language "Ha-ha, yu deserv dis! Bed leperd!", but then Russell yelled at him in tears "WILL YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH?!", and then he swiped a forepaw at him, but then Ezra quickly grabbed and picked up Dan and pulled him out of the way so he won't get slashed across the face by Russell's sharp claws, and when Russell failed to attack Dan Ashmor, Black Heart grabbed the red leopard by his back with her forehooves and then she flew up and went to the second floor while taking him along with her, and once they reached up to the second floor, Black Heart soon dropped Russell onto the floor as she then went and opened one of the windows, and then she turned back to Russell and said to him in a wicked tone "You're going to fly, Russell! You're going to fly!".

However, when Russell saw the open window, he said with a scared and nervous look on his face "Fly?! But leopards don't fly! We don't even have wings!", but then Black Heard said to him in a crazy and scary tone "Did I say 'you're going to FLY'?! I meant 'you're going to CRASH'!", but then Russell cried and begged "Please, no!", but then Black Heart picked him up by his back again and then she flew up again and went towards the open window, and then she said evilly to Russell who is now shaking in fear and begging for mercy "Bye bye, Russell! You're going to crash!", and then she cruelly and heartlessly launched and threw Russell through the open window from the second floor, causing him to scream as got thrown forcefully out of his own home by his owner, but luckily for him, however, Russell didn't suffered any major injuries when he crashed into the ground just outside his home, and one of the obvious reasons why is that because since Russell is a leopard, that also meant that he was also a feline animal (from the cat family) and that therefore, he could've easily landed safely on his feet just like any other feline would, but unlike other felines (including other leopards) Russell ended up landing on his belly instead, and from that he easily sustained only a minor pain (and so it's very likely that Russell will be fine).

Then, when Russell shook away the pain and then he stood back up on his feet, he quickly turned around and looked up to see the window of the second floor closing above and in front of him, and when Russell saw this happening in front of his eyes, he quickly went up to the entrance door which leads back into the house and then he knocked on the door and called for Black Heart to open the door for him and said "Black Heart, please, open the door for me! Let me go back inside! This is my home!", but then Black Heart yelled at him from inside the house "Don't bother calling for me to open the door for you! You're such an insolent cat! As a punishment, you're going to be locked outside the whole night for insulting me, my human friends and our precious little Dan!", but when Russell heard what she said, he cried and called back "No! You can't mean it, Master Black Heart! I'm your leopard! You can't do this to me! It's not how owners should treat their animals, wild or domestic!".

However, Black Heart's angry voice yelled at him again from inside the house and said "Believe me, Russell, I DO mean it! Now I don't want to see you or talk to you until next morning! It's no use for you to try to open the door! It's locked! Now all you're supposed now is to just shut up and go to sleep outside when it's turning nighttime! Goodbye for now, Russell! See you next morning when your punishment is over!", and when Russell heard what Black Heart said to him, he could not believe that now he's rejected by his owner and is going to sleep outside the whole night just because of having Dan Ashmor treating him like a toilet the whole time, and when he knocked on the door repeatedly and called for Black Heart to open the door for him again and again, he received no response, and it didn't took long before he soon realized that he's really punished because of Dan and that he's going to be staying and sleeping outside the whole night.

When the painful realization hit him, Russell lowered and bowed down his head in shame before he slowly turned tail and started walking away from the villains' house with tears starting to form and roll down his eyes and trailing behind him, before he suddenly sped up his walking pace and started running and bolting away as he finally broke down and burst into tears as he ran away from his old home, and as he ran in the Everfree Forest, Russell said to himself out loud and in pain "I guess that's it! I don't belong in my home anymore! If Black Heart and her human friends are going to pay attention and care only for Dan, then only Dan it's going to be from now on! You know what?! I'm tired of being Black Heart's leopard who is always doing as she says and is also tamed and bent to her will! And now that I'm out of this house, I'm also out of this family as well! I'm not part of that villainous family anymore! This is all over now! After all these good years I had with all of them! I guess the time to say goodbye has finally come! Goodbye, Black Heart! I hope you and your evil human friends enjoy the rest of your lives caring for that little monster for a baby who likes abusing and disrespecting animals like me!", and with all these words being said, Russell continued running and bolting until he finally slowed down and started walking in a normal walking pace as he finally left the Everfree Forest and started his journey in search for a new place to live where he can call a new home.


	130. Chapter 129:Russell befriends the twins

Meanwhile, back with the twins, they're both still sleeping under the single and only big and tall tree in the meadows near the Everfree Forest, and what they didn't know is that dangerous enemies are coming for them, and in that case it was none other than Lysander and his friends' three jackals, and they're really hungry and they're looking for some food to eat, but when they suddenly noticed Andy and Zoey sleeping under the tree in the meadows, the three jackals looked at them with both hungry and wicked eyes as they then licked their own lips and started to approach the two sleeping toddler centaurs very slowly so not to wake them up.

Back with Russell, he already left the Everfree Forest in search for a new place to live where he can call a new home, but as he continued to walk and travel on his way, Russell suddenly smelled and then heard and sensed some prey nearby, and so the red leopard decided that before he'll continue his journey in search for a new home, he needs to eat some food and so he followed the smell and the sounds and it didn't took too long before he arrived and entered the scene as he came very close and near the big and tall tree in the meadows near the Everfree Forest, and as the smell of prey got stronger, he started seeing much more better, but then when he came close enough, the prey which he smelled turned out to be none other than the sleeping twins themselves.

However, soon after Russell found the sleeping centaur twins, he suddenly started hearing something moving towards the tree he's both under and next to, and just a few moments later, the three jackals jumped out of hiding and then they started charging hungrily towards the sleeping twins, but then when they saw Russell standing in front of them and noticing them coming, the jackals came up with an idea and so they decided that they should eat Russell as well, despite him being a much larger predator compared to them.

Then, when the jackals got close enough to attack, they all jumped up and started attacking Russell, who fought back as well as he wasn't willing to end up becoming food for the three smaller predators, and then he jumped up and slashed one of the jackals across the face with the claws of his left forepaw, before he then pushed the jackal backwards and then started growling angrily at him, causing the jackal to become a little bit afraid of him, but then the two other jackals started jumping onto Russell's back and then they started biting at his back and at his left hind leg in order to keep him busy and weaken him a little bit so the third jackal can have his chance to kill the red leopard by jumping up and biting his neck so the jackals can end Russell for good.

However, from the loud sounds of the fighting between Russell and the three jackals, Andy and Zoey suddenly opened their eyes and woke up from their sleep, and as soon as they lifted themselves up and stood back on their hooves, the two toddler centaurs saw Russell being attacked by the three jackals, with two of them biting at both his back and left hind leg to keep him busy and weaken him a little bit, while the third jackal is waiting for his moment to end Russell by biting him on the neck to destroy him, and at first, the twins gasped in fright and cowered in fear to see their enemies fighting each other to the death like predatory animals would do back on planet Earth (the human world), but then a sudden feeling came over them and so Andy and Zoey suddenly started feeling that they must do something about it and that they must stop the fighting and most importantly - save Russell from becoming the jackals' food.

Then, the third jackal jumped on Russell and started biting his neck, and Russell desperately tried to kick him off by trying to slap him across the face with his forepaws to make hima let go of his neck, but unfortunately, Russell is becoming too weak to fight back against all three jackals, but then, however, just as things looked too bleak for Russell and just as it looked like he's going to meet the very end of his life very soon, one of jackals, the one who was biting on Russell's neck suddenly screamed in pain and let go of Russell's neck, thus letting him breath again and try to regain his strength, and when Russell looked behind the jackal, he saw Andy and Zoey grabbing some large sticks and whacking them right at the jackal's head, which is exactly the reason why he (the jackal) screamed and let go of Russell's neck, and then the two toddler centaurs also started fighting off the jackal by turning tail and then kicking him in the face repeatedly in order to weaken him, but when the jackal became angry at the two toddler centaurs for them trying to interrupt his meal, he jumped up and landed on Zoey's lower horse back, thus pinning her to the ground and preventing her from getting away.

However, just the jackal is about to end the toddler centauress' life with a bite to her human neck, Russell suddenly became angry and then he also became stronger again and then he angrily kicked the two jackals off himself before he quickly ran towards the third jackal and so he managed to throw him of Zoey's back and pounce on him in the nick of time, before he then tossed the jackal up into the air and then he launched him away with a slap of his left forepaw, and the jackal flew a few yards away and then crashed with his head against a large rock, and that was enough to break the jackal's skull, neck and spine and kill him in an instant, thus leaving just two more jackals to take down.

When the two remaining jackals looked and saw their friend and pack-mate lying dead on the ground and with his head against the rock, the two jackals became shocked and scared, but what made them even more frightened is Russell's angry face as the red leopard turned around to face them with the twins standing behind his back and looking at them with angry and determined looks as well, and when the red leopard and the two toddler centaurs charged together towards the two remaining jackals, they both started running away for their lives like cowards with their tails between their legs, and once the two jackals ran away for their lives and quickly retreated in defeat, Russell roared angrily at them to make sure that they'll remember and that they'll think twice before they try to kill and eat a larger predator like him.

Then, after the two jackals ran away for their lives, Russell turned back to look at the third jackal's dead body and so he went up to the new fresh kill and he soon started eating the now dead jackal as he had no intentions of eating any living animals, and so Russell only eats small mice, fish and carcasses, but not many living animals, and even though the twins were a bit disgusted to see Russell feeding on the now dead jackal, they still realized and knew that even Russell must eat and fill his belly before he's going to continue on his way in search for a new home, and a few minutes later, when Russell finished eating and filled his whole belly with meat and became satisfied, he turned and walked away from the dead jackal's body and then he was about to continue on his way in search for a new home.

However, just as he was about to go and continue his journey into search for a new home on his own, Zoey suddenly asked him "Um, excuse us, Mister?", and when Russell heard her speaking to him, he turned around to see her and Andy looking at him, before the two took a step forward and then Andy asked "Where are you going?", but then Russell simply said back to them "It's not your business, kids.", and then he turned around and walked away from them, but then the toddler centaur twins started following behind him as they both got curious and they also wanted to know what he's looking for and what he's doing out here all by himself, as they both clearly noticed that he's not with Black Heart and/or with the other villains but is instead walking all alone by himself.

Then, when the twins got close enough to Russell, he turned around to notice that they're following him, and then he asked them with an annoyed look on his face "What do you two want from me, kids? Are you two looking for trouble? Why are you two bothering following me?", and then Zoey said "We just want to make sure that you're fine, Mister.", but when Russell heard what she said, the red leopard lied and said back "I'm fine, it's nothing.", but when the twins heard what he said, they noticed that he's lying because they barely saw his injuries and bruises which he received from both Yigal and Black Heart earlier on his body through his ruffled up fur, and then Andy said "No, you're not. We can tell that by just looking at your body. You're covered with wounds.", but then Russell said back "Please, just please, don't bother following me around, kids! I mean you nothing but trouble! I could also eat you two very easily if I really want to, although it would be too barbaric for me to do such a horrible thing!", and then he angrily turned away from Andy and Zoey, who just kept staring and looking at him with both curious and worried looks which were mixed up together as they were worried about him being all alone and all by himself instead of having Black Heart and/or any of the other villains around with him to keep him company.

Then, Zoey went up to Russell and then she softly placed a hand of hers on his shoulder and asked him "Who are you? What's your name?", and then Russell said "I'm Russell, and I'm Black Heart's leopard. Well, I was until today, because she kicked me out of the villains' house.", and when she and Andy heard what Russell said about himself being Black Heart's leopard until he ran away from her, the two toddler centaurs gasped not only in shock but also in fright, and when Russell noticed their expressions as he saw and realized how did they reacted after he told them about himself, the red leopard said to them "Yes, you should be afraid of me and keep your distance away from me if you both know what's good for you.", and then he was about to go on his way, but then Andy stopped him and cried "No, wait!", and this made Russell even more annoyed and angered before he asked the toddler male centaur "What is it now, kiddo?!", and then Andy asked him "So this means that you're on your own? You're all by yourself?", and then Russell sighed and said "Yes, I am. I have nothing left. I lost everything I had, and that's because of that little monster for a baby boy who treated me like his toilet!", and then he roared up at the sky in anger, thus causing Andy and Zoey to quickly cover their ears for a few seconds before Russell stopped and tried to calm himself down as he felt frustrated and heartbroken by the bitter truth, because now he knows that Black Heart doesn't loves and/or likes him anymore like she used to before Dan Ashmor was found and then was adopted by the villains.

Then, when Andy and Zoey uncovered their ears after Russell stopped roaring, Zoey asked him "A baby made your life feel miserable?", and then Russell turned to her and said "Not just a baby, you little girl. I'm talking about a _human_ baby, and he's actually so evil just like his adoptive father and his other caretakers. His name is Dan Ashmor, and I hate him so much for how bad he really is and because of the way he's always treating me.", and then Andy approached him and asked "Like what?", and then Russell sighed heavily and said "Like a toilet. He always liked peeing on my fur and make me smell so bad that the villains and all the other animals stayed away from me and ignored me all the time. He's been doing this to me on purpose. Ever since that filthy little demon came to this world to make other creatures' lives feel miserable with the most disgusting ways that every baby does, but he really is a bad baby human boy, and he's one out of only five humans who are currently living here in Equestria.".

When Andy and Zoey heard what he said and realized that he ran away from Black Heart and from all the other villains because of Dan Ashmor treated him badly, the two toddler centaurs went up to him and then they both placed their hands on each of his shoulders and started stroking softly at his shoulders in a manner to comfort as they clearly understood that like themselves, Russell too is in pain and is also suffering from a broken heart and from being almost if not completely rejected by his evil Pegasus owner, but when Russell turned and saw the toddler centaurs trying to comfort him and show him that not everything is lost, he couldn't believe his eyes as Andy and Zoey are the very first babies (or toddlers) who actually understand him and knows how he really feels after he's been treated badly by Dan Ashmor (who is a baby himself), and for addition, Andy and Zoey are also the first two creatures in all of Equestria who didn't only ever came to understand Russell but also did their best they can to comfort him and try whatever they can to help him heal his mental pain which he's been suffering from ever since Dan Ashmor was adopted by the villains.

Then, Russell couldn't hold himself or control his emotions and feelings any longer and this is when tears started forming and rolling down his eyes as now he got two good toddler centaurs who really do understand him and knows how he's been feeling ever since he's been abused, neglected and even peed on before he eventually ran away, and with Andy and Zoey on his side and are doing their best to comfort him and show him that he really deserves to start anew and dump his villainous side which he had for so many years behind him, Russell couldn't help before he burst into tears and that's when Andy and Zoey started hugging him around the neck and buried their faces into his neck and chest fur so they won't start crying themselves as well, and then they tried to do the best they both can to show Russell that he deserves to have some real friends instead of his traitorous Pegasus owner and her evil human friends who turned their backs on him and left him behind and with no other choice.

Later, after an hour of expressing their feelings and giving each other comfort, Russell and the twins are still hugging each other, but just then, when they managed to calm down from their respective pains, Russell, Andy and Zoey finally pulled away from each other and broke their hug and then Russell said "If you little guys really want to, maybe you two can join me and together we'll search for a place to call a new home, not just for me but for all three of us.", and when they both heard what he said, Andy said "Of course we'll come with you. Our big brother, Stephan, and his girlfriend, Bluebell, are both in a coma, and Bluebell's big sister, Anastasia, blamed us for what happened to them, because they both went looking for us and ended up trying to save us from getting hit on our heads by some falling roof shingles who broke loose from the roof of one of buildings, and so they both got hit on their heads instead and they both fell down and got knocked unconscious and so they both went into a coma trying to save us from meeting face-to-face with that fate. Now, because Anastasia chased us out and away from home because of Stephan and Bluebell are now in a coma, we have nowhere to go.".

When Russell heard what the toddler male centaur just said, he said back to Andy and Zoey "Then come along with me. You're more than welcome to make me company, we can even be friends if you want to. I promise I won't eat you and I also promise you that you're not in my menu either. We can be friends despite our differences.", and then he asked "Now what do you say? Do you two wanna join me and go on a long journey with me to search for a new home?", and when they both heard what he said, Zoey said "Yes, of course. You're our only hope for survival, Russell, even if you're a leopard. To us, you're more than just an animal, you're our new friend. Together, we're stronger than our pains, and we can live together in the same place once we find it and then call it our new home. And on the way we're also going to have together so much fun that we'll never forget.", and when Russell heard what the toddler centauress said, a joyful smile formed on his face before he then declared and said to his two new friends "Then it's settled, my little friends! We're going together on a long journey to search for a new home!", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy and Zoey started walking away and then they started traveling together as they started all together on a long journey in search for a new place where they can call a new home.


	131. Chapter 130:meeting Brandon's herd again

A few hours later, Celestia's sun started descending down while Luna's moon soon started raising up shortly afterwards, thus showing that now it's sunset and that means that it's going to turn evening (and then, of course - nighttime), and so Russell knew that he must find himself and the twins a shelter where they can all sleep together tonight without having to worry about the dangers lurking outside (like predators (not including Russell himself, of course), the cold weather outside, and even enemies who can potentially mean harm to all three of them).

However, it didn't took for Russell, Andy and Zoey longer than an hour before they finally found a shelter which they can easily fit right in and sleep in for the night - a large cave (which may be dark inside, but the large cave may also be warm and dry inside as well), and so Russell and the twins went together towards the cave and and as soon as they all reached and got close enough, the three friends soon entered the cave all together and started searching for some good sleeping spots where they can all sleep for tonight, and after a few minutes of searching for some good sleeping spots inside the cave, they finally found the best sleeping spots they all need - Andy and Zoey went to sleep together near a large rock which stood inside the cave, while Russell climbed up and then went to sleep just above their heads, on top of the rock itself.

However, despite they managed to find a place where they're all able to sleep in for the night, Russell, Andy and Zoey aren't the only ones who are inside the large cave, and just then, a group of Zebrataurs suddenly came of the shadowed, darker and deeper parts of the cave and they slowly approached towards the three sleeping friends, who are completely unaware that the Zebrataurs are approaching them, and just then, one of them, a mature adolescent male, stepped forward and revealed himself, and he was actually none other than the leader Brandon himself, and as soon as he revealed himself, three more Zebrataurs also stepped forward and revealed themselves, one turned out to be none other than the muscular second-in-command Biff, another who turned out to be a male as well and he appeared to be around Brandon and Biff's age and his height was almost the same as Brandon's, but he was slightly shorter and thinner than him, and the third and last Zebrataur who appeared next to both Biff and the second male turned out to be the same Zebratauress whom Andy and Zoey accidentally bumped into during their escape from Canterlot.

Then, Brandon whispered evilly when he got closed enough to Russell and to the twins "Look at what we all have here.", and just then, a few Zebrataurs approached him and gave him some ropes so he can tie up the red leopard and the toddler centaur twins while they're all still sleeping, and just then, Brandon gave some of the ropes to Biff, to the thinner and shorter male Zebrataur and also to the Zebratauress so they can all help him tie up Russell and the twins before they wake up, and a few minutes later, the four Zebrataurs finished tying up Russell and the twins by their wrists, both sets of horse legs and both sets of leopard legs to make sure that they won't be able to escape the moment they wake up in the morning.

The next morning, Russell, Andy and Zoey finally woke up, only to find themselves outside the cave and are all tied up by their limbs so they can't move or continue on their journey in search for a new home, and when they looked everywhere, they saw that they're surrounded by Zebrataurs, and just then, Brandon, Biff, the third male and the Zebratauress whom Andy and Zoey accidentally bumped into the day before stepped forward and looked down at the three of them, and Brandon, Biff and the third male Zebrataur all smiled at them evilly, thus scaring the twins and angering Russell, before Brandon said "Are you lost, little kids? And what's the bit with that dark, weird and scary-looking leopard? I've seen black panthers, but I've never seen a leopard that looks like him before.".

However, when Russell heard what Brandon just said about him, the red leopard turned his head and looked up at him before he asked while he's still tied up in the ropes "Excuse me, Mister, but who are you?", and then he added "Don't you even know what kind of leopard I am?", and then Brandon introduced himself and said "Well, Mr. Weird Scary Leopard, I'm Brandon, the leader of my herd, and these are my best friends and good followers - Biff, Stanley and Scarlet." He motioned to each of the three Zebrataurs (respectively) with one his arms and hands, but when Andy and Zoey looked up and saw Scarlet's face, they soon recognized her and then Zoey cried "Hey, it's you! You're the Zebratauress whom we accidentally bumped into the day before when we ran away from Canterlot!", and when Russell heard what the toddler centauress just said, he turned to look at her and gasped in shock as now he just got to know and realized the fact that the twins actually know Scarlet because they accidentally bumped into her the day before (and before they even met and befriended Russell himself).

However, when Scarlet recognized them (the twins) as well, she said in a elegant tone which was also mixed with an evil one "Well, what do you know? These cute little darlings know me already!", and then Brandon chuckled evilly and added "Yeah! These little centaurs' brains aren't really as dumb as it seems!", but then Russell snapped out of his shocked state and then he asked angrily "Anyway, what are we doing here outside the cave? And why are we tied up in ropes like this?", and when Brandon and his friends all heard what he said, they all laughed at him and at the twins before Brandon answered and explained "Well, I must say that you three didn't know that this cave was ours! You invaded our cave and fell asleep in it! In other words - You trespassed and now you're in our home!".

When Russell heard what he said, he gasped in shock before he said to Brandon "I beg your pardon, Sir! I would never trespass into someone else's home on purpose! We're just looking for a new place to call home, that's all!", but when Brandon heard what Russell just said, he suddenly looked at himthe and then at the twins with a puzzled look on his face before he turned to Russell again and asked "Did you just said that you and these little kids are looking for a new home?", and when Russell heard what Brandon said to him, he said back "Well, yes, of course! I ran away from my old home, and so did my new little friends, Andy and Zoey! Now we're traveling together on a long journey in search for a new home!".

When Brandon heard what Russell said about his and the twins' long journey in search for a new home, the evil Zebrataur leader said "Hmmm, that's very interesting, Mr. Weird Scary Leopard. I suppose you're on your own with only these little kids by your side then, right?", but then Russell said to him "My name is Russell, and for a leopard, I'm indeed very rare, and even more rarer than a black panther! In fact, I'm a red leopard, and I'm the only one from my kind here in Equestria who was born like that!", and when Brandon heard what he said, the evil Zebrataur leader said to him and to the twins "Very well then! If you say that you're a real red leopard and that you're looking for a new home, then you're going to stay here in our home! We'll take care of you and also tale care of your little friends! You'll have nothing to worry about! We'll promise to treat you like a lion king!".

However, when Biff heard what his best friend and beloved leader said about having Russell and the twins living with the Zebrataurs herd, the muscular Zebrataur went up to him and then he asked him "Brandon, are you sure is that a good idea to let that leopard and these little toddler centaurs stay here in our home and live with us and with our whole herd?", but then Brandon turned to him and said to him in a reassuring tone "It's okay, Biff. Trust me. I know exactly what I'm doing. Because I've got a plan." he said to Biff a little evilly to reassure him that Russell and the twins aren't really going to stay and live with the Zebrataurs herd for very long, and then he said and demanded "Stanley, Scarlet, untie the leopard and the little centaurs, right now!", and when they both heard what their leader said to them, Stanley briefly bowed his head to him and said "Yes.", and then Scarlet added as she nodded in agreement "Of course.", and then the two Zebrataurs went up to Russell, Andy and Zoey and then they started untying them from their bindings and removing the ropes from their limbs so they can move again, thus freeing Russell and the twins and allowing them to join the Zebrataurs herd and become three honorary members of the herd.

Then, after Russell and the twins are freed from their ropes and bindings, the three finally stood back up on their hooves and feet and then Russell said to Brandon as he looked up at him in the eyes "Thank you so much, Brandon. I have to say that you're indeed a good friend and that you can be trusted by anyone who meets you.", and when Brandon heard what he just said, he said back to the red leopard "Well, thank you, Russell. Your body and fur looks pretty and gorgeous. I really like your looks, you know, for a wild animal.", and when Russell heard what he said, he said back to him "Well, for a good leader, you do have good manners when you talk to others. I have to admit, you're terrific.", and then Brandon said to him "You're more than welcome to stay and live with me and with my whole herd in our home, you and your little friends are now honorary members of my herd.", and then he asked Russell "What do you think about that? How would you like to be the first non-centaur animal to be part of our herd?", and when Russell heard what he said, he said back to the Zebrataur leader "I would like that, but on one condition.", and when he heard what Russell just said, Brandon asked "And what's that?", and then Russell said "Promise me that you'll take good and proper care of me and of Andy and Zoey.", and when Brandon heard what the red leopard just said, he smiled back at him and then he said "I will, Russell. I'm a good leader, so you and your little friends can all trust me and the rest of my herd.", and when Russell heard what he said, the red leopard said back with a tear in his eye "Thank you, Brandon. I'm so happy that we met you and your herd. You're so nice and friendly and you're willing to help and care for others. Thank you so much.".

Then, Russell turned away from Brandon and started walking away with the twins to hang around with the rest of the Zebrataurs herd, which became bigger in size as there are more individuals with which Russell and the twins can interact and befriend, but as Brandon watched them having hanging around and having fun with all the other Zebrataurs in the herd, Brandon suddenly had an evil smile forming on face as he said to himself in his mind " _That red leopard and his little friends are fools! They don't really know who I really am! I don't really care for him or for any of them at all! All I do really care about is that I really want to have that leopard's beautiful and gorgeous skin and fur for myself so I can make from it a beautiful fur coat to attract and impress all the ladies in my herd! Scarlet would like to see me wearing that red leopard's skin on my upper body and she would like to choose me for a future mate! As for the little twins, I got a plan in mind to get rid of them as well! When the right time comes, I will take them along with me to the Great Animal Graveyard and then I will feed them to the Hyenataurs so I won't have to care for or even worry about these useless babies at all! When the time comes, everything I always wanted will be all mine!_ ".

A few hours have passed, and now it's already the middle of the night, and everyone in Brandon's Zebrataurs herd are already sleeping, all except for four Zebrataurs who are planning and willing to have Russell's skin and fur as a new attractive cloth and destroy Andy and Zoey by feeding them to the Hyenataurs in the Great Animal Graveyard - Biff, Stanley, Scarlet, and of course Brandon, and the four are having a talk about their plan to get exactly what they want, but then they also talked while they're all a bit far away from the rest of the herd so Russell and the twins won't be able to hear their malevolent plans they got for all three of them.

Brandon said to his three best friends "I'm telling you guys, that red leopard's skin and fur are even worthier than the one of a black panther! I really want to have that leopard's skin as a new cloth so all the ladies in the herd will be attracted and impressed!", and when Biff heard what he said, he said back "That sounds like an excellent idea! Having the beautiful skin and fur of such thing known as a red leopard is far more ambitious than having the skin and fur of a black panther! I can't wait to see how you'd look like when you'll be wearing that red leopard's skin on your upper body!", and then Stanley added "I think I should wear that leopard's skin though! It will fir right in just for my upper body's size!", but then Scarlet said "No! I want Brandon to wear that red leopard's skin and fur! He would look even more handsome when he'll wear that leopard's beautiful skin and fur on his upper body! I can't wait to see how he would look like when that leopard's skin and fur will be ours!", and then she added "As for these useless toddler twins, let me take them to the Great Animal Graveyard! I would like to watch these mad and crazy Hyenataurs eating them and wiping them out of the face of Equestria so you guys and I won't have to help caring for or even worrying about them at all!", and then Brandon said "Then it's settled! the next day, Biff and Stanley will be skinning a red leopard for us, while Scarlet and I we're going to put an end to the short lives of two helpless toddler centaurs! I can't wait to see how things will turn out to be! This is going to be so much fun!", and then all four Zebrataurs laughed evilly together.

However, what the four of them didn't know is that even though Russell, the twins, and also all the other Zebrataurs in the herd didn't heard anything from what Brandon, Biff, Stanley and Scarlet all said (and didn't heard them laughing evilly either), as they were all sleeping deeply and not even knowing what their leader and his three best friends are planning for Russell and for the twins behind their backs, one Zebratauress, a toddler who is just around the same age as Andy and Zoey, actually heard what they said and she carefully listened to what they said and she watched them from behind their backs so they won't notice her around, and when she realized what kind of malevolent plans they have for Russell and for the twins, she quietly gasped in shock and also in fright as she knew she must do something in order to prevent Brandon, Biff, Stanley and Scarlet from succeeding in their cruel and heartless plans, and so she quietly trotted back to the rest of herd without getting the four Zebrataurs' attentions, and once she successfully got back to the rest of the herd, she thought of a plan of her own in order to foil Brandon, Biff, Stanley and Scarlet's evil plans and save Russell, Andy and Zoey from meeting their own ends.


	132. Chapter 131:traps, Hyenataurs and rescue

The next morning, Russell, the twins and the Zebrataurs herd all woke up and then they're suddenly approached by Brandon, Biff, Stanley and Scarlet, who went up to Russell and the twins (particularly to them because of the evil plans they have for the three of them), and then Brandon asked to the three friends "Well, how are you three doing here within my herd?", and then Scarlet added "Are you enjoying living with all of us?", and then Russell said to them "Of course we enjoy living with all of you! Your herd is much more better than my old home with Black Heart and with her evil human friends!", and then the twins added together in agreement "Yes! This place is amazing! We'd like to stay and live here as much as we want!".

When, the four Zebrataurs heard what Russell and the twins said about how they do enjoy living with them and with their whole herd, Stanley stepped forward and said "Then you better be happy, because Brandon, Biff, Scarlet and I we all have some amazing surprises for you three. Just for you three and not for anyone else.", and then he added and asked "How does that sounds?", and then Russell said "I'll be glad to see what kinds of surprises you want to show me and my little friends!", but then Biff said "Unfortunately, we have to split you up because the surprises aren't located in the same place. So, how about that - Russell will come with Stanley and me, while the little twins will hang out with Scarlet and Brandon?", and when Russell and the twins heard what the muscular Zebrataur said to them, Russell turned to the twins and said to them in a reassuring tone "It's okay, kids. I'm sure Brandon and his girlfriend, Scarlet, would like to take you two to hang out with them, while I'll go with Biff and Stanley somewhere else to get to see and receive my surprise.", and then he asked them "Is that okay with you two that Brandon and Scarlet will take good care of you while I'm gone with Biff and Stanley to look for my surprise?", and when they heard what he said, the Andy said "Yes, Russell! I would like to see what kind of surprise Brandon and Scarlet have for us!", and then Zoey added "I'm sure that we're also going to get and receive not only a surprise but also so much fun, right?", and then Scarlet said to her "Well, of course! Now come with Brandon and with me, kids!", and then Brandon added "The surprise we have for you two is waiting for you to come!".

When Andy and Zoey heard what Scarlet and Brandon said about the surprise they have for them, they turned back to look at Russell and then said to him "Goodbye, Russell! See you later!", and then he said back "Yeah! See you later too, kids! Enjoy hanging out with Scarlet and Brandon!", and with these words being said, the group soon splitted up and started walking in two different directions - Russell walked with Biff and Stanley, while Andy and Zoey followed Scarlet and Brandon, but what the three friends didn't know is that the four Zebrataurs are actually trying to separate them and then get them all killed by two different traps they have already planned for them - Russell will be strangled to death by Biff and then Stanley will skin him to make a cloth out of his beautiful fur, while Scarlet and Brandon will be taking the twins to the Great Animal Graveyard so they can leave them there all alone for the Hyenataurs to come and eat them, and these are exactly the two different traps which Brandon, Biff, Stanley and Scarlet have planned for Russell and for the twins.

However, since the toddler Zebratauress who overheard about their plans knew exactly where they're going, she decided to follow Russell, Biff and Stanley so she can warn him why he shouldn't really go with them or even trust them. As for Russell, he continued following Biff and Stanley (obviously completely unaware that he's walking into a trap), and after a few minutes of following the two Zebrataurs, the red leopard asked them "Guys, where are we going?", and then Biff said back without turning his head "To show you your surprise, of course!", but then Russell said and asked "Yeah, but...when do we get to see my surprise?", and then Stanley answered "We'll get there a few minutes later, Russell. Be patient. The surprise won't run away of you.", and then Russell said to him "Well, if you say so, then I'll just keep following you two until we get to the exact where my surprise is waiting for me.", and then Biff said to him (still without turning his head) "Exactly!", and then the two Zebrataurs and the leopard continued walking away together, but what they didn't know is that the toddler Zebratauress is following them as she clearly knew that Biff and Stanley are up to no good and are actually trying to have Russell's beautiful skin and fur to make a new attractive cloth for Brandon.

A few minutes later, Russell, Biff and Stanley are still walking, but just as it seemed like they're going to keep walking like that for very long, the three suddenly came to a stop when Biff said "Halt!", and when the three stopped, Russell soon started looking everywhere to see where's the surprise Biff and Stanley told him about, but he saw nothing around him or anywhere, and then the red leopard asked the two Zebrataurs "Where's the surprise, guys?", but then Biff said to him "Now! We arrived exactly at the right place!", and then Russell said "Yeah, but...where's the surprise? I don't see any surprise anywhere.", but then Biff said "Oh, but it's just here exactly where we want it to be!".

However, Russell didn't yet understood what Biff was really trying to say, and so he asked the muscular Zebrataur "I don't even know what you're talking about, Biff. Tell me what kind of surprise it's supposed to be.", and then Biff said "The surprise is a beautiful rare animal whom we want to skin to make a new attractive cloth for our leader, Brandon, so he can wear it on his upper body and use it to attract all the ladies in the herd!", but when Russell heard what he said, the red leopard "Rare animal? Where? I don't see any rare animals around.", but then Stanley said as he looked at Russell wickedly "I don't think you really understand what we're trying to say here.", and then Russell asked "What do you mean, Stanley? Is there's something important you have to say to me?", and then Stanley said back "There's a rare animal around here, and we're looking at him right now!", and then he smiled evilly at Russell, who started feeling uneasy when he saw the thinner Zebrataur's evil smile.

Then, Russell said as he felt uneasy when he saw Stanley's evil smile "Why are you looking at me like that with that evil smile on your face? Did I did something wrong?", but just then, Biff pulled a knife from right behind his upper human back and then he held down in front of Russell's face, who soon started to feel more and more uncomfortable with each passing second when he looked at the knife in front of his face, before the red leopard then asked "And what's this knife is here for?", and then Biff said to him in an evil tone "Oh, you'll see very soon, red leopard!", and then he quickly grabbed Russell by the upper part of his back with his other hand before aiming the knife in the red leopard's throat, thus scaring Russell before he barely asked "What are you doing to me?", and then Biff explained "We're going to skin you, of course! Your skin and fur are the most beautiful things that no other leopard here in Equestria have! I'm going to make a red leopard skin cloth out of that marvelous fur of yours!", and when Russell realized that he walked and followed Biff and Stanley into a trap, the red leopard said with tears in his eyes "No! Please, no! Don't kill me for my skin! I beg you!", but then Biff said to him "Sorry, but it's too late!", and then Stanley added "Now die!".

However, just then, a female voice suddenly yelled at Biff and Stanley "Leave that leopard alone!", and the toddler Zebratauress came trotting and running fast towards the two much older males and then she jumped up and bit Stanley on the hand, causing him to scream and accidentally bump too hard into Biff, causing to let go of Russell (although he still didn't dropped his knife), and then she climbed up onto Stanley and pulled herself up onto his lower zebra back before she then turned tail and then she bucked him as hard as she could in the upper human back, causing Stanley to scream again before he then fainted and fell down and got knocked unconscious when he accidentally hit with his head against the ground, thus leaving Biff to face her as the muscular male Zebrataur than threw his knife away and looked down at the toddler female with angry face and eyes as now he wanted to teach her a lesson for trying to interfere with his and his friends' evil plans (and also to teach her a lesson for biting, attacking and knocking Stanley out cold).

Then, the toddler Zebratauress jumped up and tried to attack Biff, but the much larger male and muscular Zebrataur soon managed to grab her with his human arms and hands and then he started choking her, but before he can finish her off, however, he's stabbed in the left zebra foreleg and hoof by Russell (who used Biff's knife to make him let go of the toddler Zebratauress), and this caused him to scream and throw the toddler Zebratauress back to the ground in anger, but Russell caught her and saved her before she could hit the ground, and after he saved her life, the red leopard angrily jumped and leaped up into the air in front of Biff and then he delivered a surprisingly shocking blow by slapping Biff hard across the face with his right forepaw, and that turned out to be very effective as it suddenly made Biff feel very dizzy before he finally lost his balance and fell on top of Stanley, thus getting knocked out cold as well.

With both Stanley and Biff being knocked out cold and unconscious (and on top of each other), the Zebratauress stared in awe at what Russell did when he managed to take out Biff with a surprisingly strong leopard slap to the face, and then she spoke up and said to him "Thank you, Russell! You saved my life!". However, Russell soon turned to look at her with an angry face before he then jumped on her and trapped her below himself and also between his legs so she won't be able to escape from him, and then he asked angrily as he started bearing his teeth at her "Who are you?! What do you want?!", and then the toddler Zebratauress said "I tried to warn you about the trap Biff and Stanley set for you! I tried to save you, and I'm here to help you save Andy and Zoey too!", but then Russell asked her in an angry tone "Why should I believe you, little Zebratauress?! How do I know that you're not trying to lead me into another trap like Stanley and Biff already did?!", and then the toddler Zebratauress said "Because I heard Brandon, Biff, Stanley and Scarlet talking to each other and preparing with their evil plans! I came here to tell you that you must go find Andy and Zoey and save them in time! They're following Brandon and Scarlet to the Great Animal Graveyard, the horrible place where Hyenataurs live and eat everything that enters their territory!".

When Russell heard what she said, he got off of the toddler Zebratauress before he then asked her "What's a Hyenataur?", and then she said and explained to the red leopard "Hyenataurs are known as dangerous centaurid creatures with the upper bodies of humans and lower ones of hyenas! Much like normal hyenas, female Hyenataurs are bigger, taller and meaner than males, while male Hyenataurs often tend to be less aggressive and more friendly, unless of course when they're hungry and that's when they start attacking! Their clans are always being led by the matriarch (the oldest female), and they all do exactly as she says and they will always follow her and will obey her orders!".

When Russell heard what she said about Hyenataurs being the dangerous inhabitants of the Great Animal Graveyard, the red leopard said to the toddler Zebratauress "Alright then, kid! Lead me to the Great Animal Graveyard! We gotta save Andy and Zoey before it's too late and before they'll become Hyenataur food!", and with these words being said, the two started running together as fast as they could to the Great Animal Graveyard to save Andy and Zoey from getting eaten by the ferocious Hyenataurs who live there.

Meanwhile, Andy and Zoey continued to follow Scarlet and Brandon to the Great Animal Graveyard, and the two toddler centaurs are completely unaware of the danger lying in that horrible place (which is, of course, the Hyenataurs), and it didn't took them very long before they finally reached and arrived at the Great Animal Graveyard, and then they entered the Great Animal Graveyard with Scarlet and Brandon leading the way, but a few minutes later, once they all arrived near the middle of the Great Animal Graveyard, Brandon said to the twins "Here we are, kids! Here you'll find your ultimate surprise!", and then Scarlet added "We'll leave you two here so you can have your surprise all for yourselves!", but then Andy asked her "Why? Don't you like watching us getting our surprise?", but then Scarlet said back "No, I can't!", and then Brandon added "Neither can I!", and just then, the Zebrataur leader said to the two toddler centaurs "We have to go back to our herd! They're all waiting for us to come back home! But you two can stay here and look for your surprise! Don't be afraid! The inhabitants in this place are very friendly and kind and they won't hurt you! This is a good and safe place!", and then he and Scarlet both turned tails and then Brandon finished when he said "Goodbye, kids! Have fun looking for your surprise!", and then the two Zebrataurs soon started galloping away, thus leaving Andy and Zoey all alone in the Great Animal Graveyard.

However, just then, Andy heard and felt his own stomach rumbling, and this told him instantly that he's going hungry and that he must eat something, and then he turned to Zoey and said to her "Zoey, I must eat something. I have to say that I'm going hungry right now.", but then Zoey said to her twin brother "That's too bad, Andy. I'm sorry to say but since this is a massive graveyard with lots of bones all around us, I don't think there is any source of food around.", but just then, however, a loud sound of laughter was suddenly heard, and that caused the two toddler centaurs to flinch and then jump in fear as they soon realized that they're not the only ones around.

Just then, a large female centaurid creature with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a hyena ran up towards Andy and Zoey and made her way up to them in almost no time, and she was none other than a Hyenataur (actually Hyenatauress because she's a female), but then, after she made her way up to the twins, two more Hyenataurs soon came behind her and then stopped by both of her sides, and because of their appearances, masculine upper chests and shorter and smaller bodies, they were obviously males, but when Andy and Zoey saw the trio of new creatures in front of them, they soon started shaking and trembling in fear as they looked up at the three Hyenataurs in the eyes.

Then, one of the two male Hyenataurs spoke up and said "Look at what we have here.", and then the female (Hyenatauress) added "These two little centaurs appear to be very juicy! I would like to eat them for lunch!", and then the second male Hyenataur laughed and cackled madly at the twins, thus scaring them as they quickly hugged each other in fear as the Hyneataurs' appearances were mangy and scary compared to many other centaurid species, and their teeth are in fact those of a hyena, which makes Hyenataurs capable of cracking open and then eating bones.

Then, Andy asked them while shaking in fear "W-who are y-you three?", and then the Hyenatauress spoke up and said to him as she looked down at him in the eyes "I'm Shanzi, the queen and leader of the Hyenataurs!", and then the first male Hyenataur added "I'm Benzai, Shanzi's mate and her clan's second-in-command!", and then he added as he motioned with a hand of his own at the second male Hyenataur "And this is Eddie, the third-in-command of our clan!", but then he also said "Although I have to admit that he doesn't talk and that he's really stupid!", and then Eddie (the second male Hyenataur) laughed and cackled madly at the twins once again, before all three Hyenataurs soon started surrounding them, thus making Andy and Zoey be very afraid of them as the three Hyenataurs are now willing to eat them for lunch.

Then, Shanzi said as she was about to strike at the twins and have them for lunch "Now it's feeding time!", but then Russell suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked the Hyenatauress, thus allowing Andy and Zoey to have their escape, but then Benzai and Eddie soon started chasing after them, and so Andy and Zoey knew that while Russell is keeping Shanzi busy and distracted, they must run away and escape from Benzai and Eddie, who are both willing to eat them for lunch as both male Hyenataurs chased after their prey and tried to keep up with the twins so they can catch up with them and then eat them.

However, just as things looked bleak for Andy and Zoey, the toddler Zebratauress who helped and saved Russell from Biff and Stanley's trap came just in time to help the twins escape from Benzai and Eddie and so the three toddler equine centaurs quickly managed to get into a small tunnel, which also turned out to be to small for the Hyenataurs to go through, and by using that tunnel, Andy, Zoey and the toddler Zebratauress all managed to escape together and leave the Great Animal Graveyard unharmed, and just then, Russell came out of there too, thus hinting that he managed to either knock Shanzi out cold or managed to escape from the Great Animal Graveyard for his life before Benzai and Eddie returned to find her and decided to give up their chase.

With all four of them are now safe and out of the Great Animal Graveyard unharmed, Andy and Zoey thanked the toddler Zebratauress for both helping them and for saving their lives from the Hyenataurs, and then Andy asked "What's your name anyway?", and then the toddler Zebratauress said "I'm Violet, and it's nice to meet you!", and then Zoey asked her "Do you have any friends?", but then Violet said back "I admit I am part of Brandon's herd, but now - not anymore! If he finds out that I foiled his and his friends' plans, I'm sure they would want to destroy me too!", and when they heard what she said, Russell asked her "So you don't have any friends within Brandon's herd?", and then Violet answered "Not anymore! Brandon would think ill of me when he finds out that his and his friends' evil plans to have you three destroyed were foiled because of me!", and then she added "I can't go back to my herd now! My herd was my only hope for survival, but now that I turned against Brandon and his friends, I'm not anymore part of their herd, and this means that now I have nowhere to go anymore!", and then she looked down and sniffled as tears of sadness and loneliness started forming and rolling down her eyes as she thought that she have nowhere else to go or anyone else to talk to or be with anymore.

However, just then, Violet suddenly felt two hands and a paw touching at her shoulders, and when she looked forward again, she saw Russell and the twins are trying to comfort her by lightly touching at her shoulders before Russell said to her "If you say that you're now all alone and that you can't go back to your herd anymore, then how about you join us on our journey in search for a new home?", and then Andy said "It will be a great honor to accept you as the newest member of our traveling party!", and then Zoey asked her "So what do you say, Violet? Do you want to join us?", and when Violet heard what she said, she said back to her three newest friends "Oh, yes! Of course I will join you! It's a better choice than going back to the rest of Brandon's herd and meet a tragic end at his and at his friends' evil hands!", and then she added "From now on, I'm no longer part of Brandon's herd! Instead, I'm now part of your traveling party, and we're going to continue together on our journey in search for a new home! All four of us!".

When Russell, Andy and Zoey all heard what Violet said and declared about herself becoming the newest addition to their traveling party, all three of them had happy and cheerful smiles on their faces as now the traveling party of three became the traveling party of four, and so Russell said to her "You're welcome to join us, Violet! You're going to have so much fun with us while we go all together on the long journey in search for a new home!", and when she heard what he said, Violet quickly wiped away the tears in her eyes and then she said back "Thank you Russell! It's good to have such good friends as Andy, Zoey and you! Thank you all for letting me into your traveling party! It makes me so happy that I won't have to worry about being threatened by Brandon or by any of his evil friends anymore!", and then she added "Let's go, everyone! It's time to continue on our journey in search for a new home!", and with these words being said, the traveling party of four - Russell, Andy, Zoey and Violet - continued all together on their long journey in search for a new home.


	133. Chapter 132:meeting Sitka the Beartaur

The traveling party of four (Russell, Andy, Zoey and Violet) continued together on their long journey in search for a new home, and at the same, they're also doing the best they can to escape from Brandon's herd and get as far away as possible so Brandon and his friends won't be able to get them and destroy them very easily, but then the four friends didn't know to where they're going - far away and ahead of them, there's a big jungle where the four friends can actually live and hide in from Brandon and from his whole herd.

A few hours later, the four friends are almost near the big jungle standing ahead of them, but then it also turned nighttime and so Russell and the toddlers knew that they all must find some place to sleep in for the night before they will continue the next morning, and so they found a smaller nearby cave which was indeed empty and was also big enough for all four friends to fit right in and sleep in for the night, and so Russell and the toddlers soon entered and went into the inside of the cave and they started looking for some sleeping spots where they're going to sleep inside the cave, and after a few minutes, Andy, Zoey and Violet all fell asleep together in one spot, while Russell fell asleep in another, but then he also didn't fell asleep too far away from them so in case something's going to attack them during the night while they're sleeping, Russell isn't too far away from the toddlers and so he will protect and defend them all in case they're going to be under attack.

However, luckily for them, nothing attacked Russell and/or the toddlers during the night, and when morning came and arrived, the four friends woke up and then they continued on their long journey in search for a new home, and right now, they're all getting very close to the jungle, as now they're able to see it in front of them as it's standing less than a mile away from them, and so Russell, Andy, Zoey and Violet decided to go towards the jungle, since it was big enough to help them hide from Brandon and from his whole herd, and so it didn't took them too long before all four friends finally arrived together in the jungle and then they all entered the big jungle in order to hide themselves from Brandon and from his whole herd, and also to search for some food and water, and maybe even find some place to call a new home within the jungle, but that's going to be the most difficult of all.

Meanwhile, in the deeper parts of the jungle, there was a big cave where two Beartaurs live - one of them is a middle-aged female individual in her mid to late 50s, while the other was a much younger male who is no older than 20 years of age, thus making him around the same age as Anastasia, and so he's very likely a young adult instead of a mature adult (as true mature adults are officially considered mature only after they reach the age of 21 years). The older female Beartaur was the elder out of the two and she was also none other than the much younger male's mother. However, the two had different personalities - the older female Beartaur was cruel and heartless and she does everything to keep her young adult son to only herself, while the young adult male was actually good, friendly and kind (unlike most Beartaurs in Equestria) and all he wants was to leave his bad mother and make himself new friends.

The name of the 20 years old male Beartaur was Sitka, and for a Beartaur, he's really friendly and even gentle enough to help other creatures, including other Beartaurs, and he's willing to make friends with other creatures big and small and he's surviving by eating lots of things which aren't meat at all, such as fruits, berries, lots of other types of edible vegetations, honey, edible types of mushrooms and even fish, thus making him an omnivorous creature like both centaurs and Zebrataurs, but unlike his mother, however, he despises eating meat of non-fish animals like birds, mammals and even reptiles, and as a result, because Sitka is friendly and hates eating meat (which is what most Beartaurs eat), his mother isn't proud of him and she's not happy when she sees that her son is friendly to other creatures and even helps those who need help, and that's because she wants Sitka to be a ferocious, purely carnivorous Beartaur like herself, and she's so unpleasant and unpleased with Sitka's omnivorous diet (which includes lots of fish and vegetation, but doesn't include any meat at all) and with his friendly nature, and sometimes, she tends to say to Sitka when she catches him after he does something good to another creature "I worry about you, Sitka. Sometimes, I worry a lot.".

However, despite her warnings, Sitka refused to listen to his bad mother, as he was willing to continue to be good and friendly to others and eventually be free of her and start on his own without her trying to mess up with him and poison his mind for her own benefits. Sitka's mother, whose name was Mrs. Margaret (or simply Margaret for short) was a bad parent towards her own son Sitka and ever since he was born, she abused him and even his father, and at some point, when Sitka was just a young juvenile, his father died, thus leaving Sitka alone and sad as his mother still continued to abuse him and she tried to make a bad Beartaur like herself, but no matter what she tried or what she did to make him more like her, Sitka always resisted to his mother's attempts, and sometimes he would even try to run away from her and have some time to himself, but deep inside his mind he always heard his mother's voice saying to him "No matter what you'll try to be good, and no matter many times you'll be friendly towards others, I will eventually have you all to myself, you will learn to be a pure carnivore, and you will end up becoming a bad Beartaur just like me. Since I'm your mother and I'm a bad Beartauress myself, then so will you be to the end of your life.".

Today, Sitka went outside the cave and went to one of the nearby deep lakes to catch some fish to eat and also to wash his face and cool down his memories, and once he reached the nearby deep lake to which he went, Sitka quickly jumped into the water and started swimming in them and he did the best he can to catch enough fish for himself to eat so he can be satisfied enough and won't have to eat again for a while, and after he swam in the water for at least 15-20 minutes, Sitka managed to catch enough fish to eat and he put them all on dry land in a pile which will satisfy his hungry stomach, but just as he started eating, he didn't noticed the newcomers who just came to drink some water from the same deep lake not too far behind him (and they too didn't noticed him around either), and these newcomers turned out to be Russell, Andy, Zoey and Violet, who were all looking for a good source of water from where they can drink, and it seemed that they haven't yet noticed the young adult male Beartaur who is eating all the good fish he caught for himself and enjoying his moment.

Russell and the toddlers approached and got near the water's edge in order to drink water, but then however, they misplaced their forelegs in some nearby mud, slipped and then they all fell forwards and right into the deep lake in front of them, and although Russell quickly managed to escape and get out of the water (because he already knows how to swim), Andy, Zoey and Violet aren't so lucky as they don't yet know how to swim on their own properly, and so they started crying for help as they moved in the deep water in distress before they slowly started drowning before Russell's eyes, and although the red leopard could've saved them, he's not big enough to carry all three out of the water at once (and this could also result in Russell drowning along with the toddlers while trying to save them).

However, help is at hand as Sitka suddenly heard the helpless toddlers' cries as they started drowning under the water's surface, and that's when he stopped eating instantly and then he turned around to see the twins and Violet drowning together under the water's surface, and then Sitka quickly ran back into the lake and then he jumped into the water again and he started swimming as fast as he could and then he dived under the water's surface to catch Violet and the twins and save them all from drowning, and luckily, Sitka was big enough to carry all three toddlers back to the surface and then drop them back on safe and dry land not too far away from Russell, who quickly caught up with the four as he ran around the lake to get to Sitka and to the three toddlers whom he just saved from drowning.

Then, Russell cried for the toddlers and asked them in a worried tone "Are you all okay?", and just then, all three toddlers soon coughed up some water which they got into their mouths (but didn't drank) and after that, they all started gasping and breathing for air again, but then another male voice which wasn't Russell's asked them "Are you three feeling alright?", and when Andy, Zoey and Violet looked up as their visions were still blurry from almost drowning in the deep lake, they saw a gigantic (yet also blurry) brown shape and they couldn't figure out what was it at first, but a few moments later, when their visions became clear, the gigantic, brown and blurry shape in front of them turned out and revealed to be Sitka the Beartaur.

However, when Andy, Zoey and Violet saw the young adult male Beartaur looking down at them, they soon screamed at him with fright before they quickly stood up on their hooves and then they started trotting and running away in terror as they thought that he (Sitka) would want to eat them for lunch, but then Sitka started running after them with Russell in tow and then the Beartaur called for them to call back, but the three toddlers didn't listened to him as they thought he's only trying to trick them into believing that he's nice, but that is until Russell managed to run past Sitka and eventually got in front of the toddlers and then he stopped them and then said to them firmly "Stop running! All of you!", and then he added "That Beartaur here just saved your lives from drowning! He won't hurt you! He and I we both wanted to make sure that you're all okay!", but then Zoey asked while still shaking with fear next to Andy and Violet "R-really? H-how do we know that we could really t-trust him?".

When he heard what the little centauress just said, Sitka said politely "Because I'm very friendly, and I really like to help others.", and then he added "Also, I'm not even a pure carnivore like most other Beartaurs who live here in this jungle or everywhere in this whole entire world, I'm an omnivore just like you, little guys. I may look like a creature who eats meat, but I actually despise and hate animal meat, and so I eat lots of fish and vegetation instead, and I promise you that I'm not even like a regular bear either, because a regular bear usually eats both living and dead animals, because it's also both a predator and a scavenger. To me, however, eating living animals which are not fish is simply barbaric.", and when they all heard what he said, the three toddlers felt less afraid around the new and much larger and older male creature, and then they started feeling that he can be trusted, although they all still kept their safe distances away from him just in case he'll get hungry again.

"So, let us get it straight, Mister. Are you saying that you're actually an omnivore and not a pure carnivore like most of your kind?" Andy asked him, and Sitka said back "Of course I'm an omnivore. The only animals which I actually do like to eat for the most are fish, and so I will never dare and I won't even have the heart to eat a land animal or a flying animal like a mouse, a small bird or a lizard.", and when the three toddlers heard what he said, they slowly started opening and warming up to the new Beartaur, and then Violet asked him "So, who are you, Mister Beartaur? What's your real name?", and then Sitka answered "I'm Sitka.", and then Russell said to him and asked "For a Beartaur, you look like you're almost a true mature adult. How old are you?", and then Sitka said back to him and to the toddlers "I'm just a young adult. I'm 20 years old.".

When Russell and the toddlers all heard what the young adult Beartaur just said to them, Andy asked him "Did you just said that you're 20 years old?", and then Sitka said and asked the toddler male centaur "Sure, why are you asking that, kid?", and then Andy said "Listen, I know you won't believe us at first, but you'll have to, Sitka.", and when he realized Andy and Zoey's expressions on their faces, he asked them "Is there's something wrong, kids? Does my age relates to your problems?", and then Andy said back and explained "Actually yes. You see, a few days ago, before Zoey and I we befriend Russell and met and befriended Violet, we both ran away from home.", and when Sitka heard what the toddler male centaur said to him, his eyes widened in shock before he asked "Why would you do that, kids?", and then Zoey sniffled and said "Because our big brother's girlfriend's older sister, Anastasia, who is just around your own age, she attacked us and harassed us and later she even lashed out at us and she blamed us for our big brother and for his girlfriend's being knocked out cold and unconscious and falling into a coma as they both tried to save us from getting hit on our heads by some falling roof shingles! She thinks that we're bad little monsters and that this was all our fault!", and then she and Andy started to cry as they couldn't forget all the bad words which Anastasia said as she yelled at them, lashed out at them and chased them away from home a few days ago.

When Sitka realized that Andy and Zoey's pain which caused them to run away from home was caused by a young adult his own age, the young adult male Beartaur gasped in shock before he said "Oh my gosh! I had no idea! I didn't know that a young adult my age attacked you and chased you away from home! I'm so sorry!", but then Andy said to him "You don't have to apologize to us! It was Anastasia who did this to us, not you!", and then Zoey added "Yes! You're good for a young adult who's about 20 years old! You had nothing to do with our pain! It's not your fault that we ran away from home!", but even though he clearly heard what they said, Sitka still felt sorry for both of them for what they've been through so recently, and so the young adult male Beartaur knelt and lowered down to their level and then he started caressing Andy and Zoey's heads in a manner to comfort them, and Violet couldn't help but shed some tears of her own as well as she and Russell watched the touching moment between Sitka and the twins.

"Listen, little guys, I may not yet know who that Anastasia is, but I promise you that even if I'm around the same age as her own, I won't ever do things like that to you or to anyone else either. I'm friendly and I'm kind and I will never to hurt anyone on purpose, and I only attack in order to defend both myself and others from those who disobey the jungle's rules and attack others for fun, and in the past, I faced so many enemies during my life and I'm still facing such enemies even today, both big and small, and I've been doing so ever since my father died, because before his death, he did the best he could to help, protect and defend others in the jungle from those who mean them harm, and so this makes me his successor in being a protector of the jungle where I live.".

However, when they, Violet and Russell all heard what Sitka said about himself being a protector of the jungle where he lives (in this here jungle), Andy and Zoey gasped in shock before they turned their heads and looked up at him in the eyes, and then Andy asked him "Wait, Sitka, your father was good just like you are?", and then Sitka nodded his head and said "Of course he was, and his spirit is proud of me and of the good Beartaur I was and still am, even today.", and then he asked them "Would you like to come with me and see the cave in which I live?", and then he added "It's not too far away from here, and I'm sure you'd like it here. I mean, for as long as my mother is away doing her hunting for today.", but then Russell asked him "Wait, what did you just said? Did you said that your mother is hunting animals and other creatures for food?", and then Sitka sighed heavily before he answered "Yes, she's not very nice to anyone, and she hates that I'm a good Beartaur just like my father was before he died, and she always tried to force to be bad and she tried to make me a pure carnivore, but I always rejected her demands, since I didn't wanted to end up like her, end up like a cruel and heartless monster with only one purpose in life - only survival by any means necessary.".

When Andy and Zoey realized that they're not the only ones who are in pain, they couldn't help but feel very sorry for Sitka and so they hugged at both of his bear forelegs and then Andy said first "We understand that you're in pain because of a member of your own family who is trying to force you to be like her against your will.", and then Zoey added and explained "We understand how you feel because we and our big brother, we all too have been through such pain because of our own father. Not to mention he got rid of our mom and tried to force us and particularly our big brother into becoming bad centaurs just like him and also like Lord Tirek so we can avenge that demonic monster in favor of our own dad.".

When Sitka heard what the twins said about that their own father Howard abused them and their older brother to make them all (particularly Stephan) his revenge soldiers to make them destroy all the rulers of Equestria and avenge Lord Tirek for his failures, the Beartaur was shocked to realize that Howard's purpose was even worse than his own mother's (Margaret), and then he said back in shock "I...I didn't know. I didn't know your father was even worse than my own mother, but thanks to knowing that, now I know that we do have something in common - we went through so much pain and endured abuse from a specific member of each of our own families.".

However, Russell soon interrupted them all and said "Well, how about we go to your mother's cave to rest in it for a while? I mean I'm really tired now and so I really need to rest.", and when they all heard what he said, Sitka said as the twins then let go of his bear forelegs "Alright then, follow me, everyone. I know this jungle like I know my own hands and paws. My mother's cave isn't too far away from here, and I know the way there. Follow me.", and with these words being said, Sitka started going back to his mother's cave and Russell and the toddlers soon followed behind him as he started leading the way back to the cave where they all can have their rest for a while.

Upon reaching the cave, Sitka showed the four newcomers how big and good is his cave, before he started leading them into the inside of the cave to show them all that it (the cave itself) is big enough to allow up to five or six Beartaurs to live inside it, but then, However, after they all reached the inside of the cave, Sitka started feeling hungry and he realized that he forgot that he must eat, but then Violet and the twins decided to go and so they went outside again while Sitka and Russell stayed inside the cave and watched them leaving, but Russell knew exactly why - they're just going to find and collect some food for Sitka to eat (in other words - they're returning him the favor for saving their lives from drowning before).

A half an hour later, the three toddlers returned back to the cave with enough food which they have found and collected from all over the jungle so Sitka can enjoy eating it, and all the food they have found and collected was wild fruits, honey and lots of berries, and when Sitka saw all the non-meat food which the toddlers have found and brought back to the cave for him, the young adult Beartaur smiled at them and said "Thank you little ones for repaying me with respect, and also thank you for bringing me all that food. That's what I like to get after I saved your lives from drowning in the deep lake near my cave. I like being treated with respect for being a good Beartaur. Other creatures usually wouldn't even repay me with respect because they're afraid of me, but you three are different. You three really do care for me, and I do appreciate all of your hard work in finding me some food to eat so I won't have to go outside myself and leave you alone in my cave.", before he then went up to the pile of food they have collected for him to eat, and that's when Sitka started eating and he chewed and swallowed his food happily as he was never been treated by others with such respect before, and he surely was happy to receive such good friends as Russell and the toddlers, as all four friends understood that he might need them or would even decide to join them at some point or later on.

Later, after Sitka stopped eating as he became satisfied enough for a while (with a little food is still left for him to eat later), he stayed and had some company with Russell and with the toddlers some more, and the four friends stayed in the cave for a few more hours until it was almost evening, and that's when Sitka told them to go as he could hear his mother coming back from her hunting, and so Russell and the toddlers said goodbye and bid farewell from him before they went out of the cave and left before Margaret (Sitka's mother) finally returned home with some lots of meat of animals which she hunted for both herself and her son, and Sitka tried his best to hide the remaining non-meat food which he received from the toddlers so Margaret won't find out that he made some friends with them and would think ill of him and would be extremely angry and aggressive towards him, and Sitka feared that she might think of him as nothing more than a traitor if she finds out that he has some non-meat food with him.

When Margaret arrived back at her home in the cave, she soon asked Sitka as she started sniffing around the inside of the cave and got the smells of unfamiliar scents which came from different creatures who aren't like her own son "Who was there in the cave besides you, Sitka?", but just then she also started smelling some non-meat food and so she asked Sitka "What did you got there behind your back?", but then Sitka said back "Nothing, Mother.", but this wasn't enough to convince Margaret that there's nothing in the cave and so she said to him "Let me see what did you got there behind your back.", and so she pushed Sitka aside and looked to see what's behind him, only to then see the remaining non-meat food, and then she went up to the small pile and she picked it up in her hands and started sniffing it, and it didn't took her very long before she got the toddlers' scents which came from the non-meat food which they have touched and then brought to Sitka's cave before, and when she identified the toddlers' scent coming right from the non-meat food which they have brought to the cave for Sitka to eat, Margaret's face changed dramatically from a neutral look into an angry one before she turned to face Sitka, who realized that now she found out that he's having new friends with the toddlers and with Russell, and this was enough to make Margaret really mad at Sitka, for now she believed that he betrayed her for three toddlers and for a leopard.

"You've been doing some things you shouldn't do?" Margaret asked Sitka after she showed him the pile of non-meat food which she picked up in her hands, and then she added "You've been fooling around with some useless babies? Non-meat food from some useless babies?", and then she dropped the pile to the cave's floor and she stomped on it and crushed it under a bear foreleg of hers, thus causing Sitka to gasp in shock as he then looked down and saw the crushed and destroyed non-meat food under his mother's bear foreleg, but then Margaret said to him "I worry about you a lot, Sitka. Sometimes, I worry a lot!", but then Sitka protested and begged "You don't understand! Mother, please listen to me!", but then Margaret angrily smacked him across the face with her hand and then she yelled at him "Not even 21 and already leaving me for some useless babies!".

Then, she pulled Sitka by the shoulder and she tried to force him to come with her by dragging him to herself, but Sitka fought back against her and said "Let me go, Mother! Just let me go and leave me be! I need to be alone!", and then he broke free from her grip and he started walking towards the opening of the cave which leads outside, but then Margaret yelled at him "Come here, Son!", thus causing him to stop, and then she said to him and demanded angrily "Don't make me go over there and collect you, Sitka! You come to me yourself this instant!", but then Sitka turned back to her and said with defiance "No, Mother.", and when she heard what her young adult son just said to her, Margaret asked him "What did you just said to me, Sitka?", and then Sitka raised his voice and said in a louder tone "I said no!", but then Margaret yelled at him and asked in anger "Are you still Mommy's little boy, Sitka?!", but then he yelled back at her "I said NO!", and then he turned around and started to run away and he went outside the cave with his mother briefly chasing after him, but soon afterwards, she stopped dead in her tracks once she reached outside the cave and let Sitka to continue to run away, but then she also yelled angrily at him as he continued to run away from her (and also from his home) "You get back here, Sitka! And in front of King Vorak, I'll whip the bear skin off of you!", and after she watched Sitka running away from her (and from home), Margaret angrily kicked a small rock away with her bear foreleg before she turned around and stormed back into her cave with both a grumpy and stern look on her face.

As for Sitka, he continued to run away with tears of pain forming and rolling down his eyes and trailing behind him, for his mother Margaret being too harsh on him as always, but this time, however, it was too much for him, and so Sitka decided that if he's going to be treated badly and harshly like this by his mother, then he shouldn't return back to her anymore, and so Sitka continued to run away until he finally collapsed under one of the tall trees near a river in the jungle and he cried himself to sleep as this time in which his mother smacked him and yelled at him turned out to be the final straw for Sitka, and so he decided that now he shouldn't go back home to her anymore.

The following day, Russell and the toddlers all continued on their journey in search for a new home, but after they traveled for about 15 minutes inside the jungle, the four found something that shocked them all for the most - they found Sitka lying down under one of the tall trees, and when they all came close to him to see what's wrong, they were all shocked to see his face - he had tears in his eyes and they also saw that he have a smack mark on the side of his face, and so Russell guessed that Margaret found out that Sitka made friends with them and that she attacked and wounded him because she didn't like that Sitka is making friends with other creatures which were not Beartaurs like himself.

Then, Andy touched Sitka on the shoulder and then he softly called his name, thus causing the young adult Beartaur to stir and move a little bit before he slowly opened up his eyes and then he turned his head and looked to see Andy, Zoey, Violet and Russell all looking at him with worried expressions on their faces, and this caused Sitka to sniffle a little bit before he slowly got up on his bear legs and feet and stood up and towered over all four of them, and then he asked them "What are you four doing here?", and then Violet said to him "We found you sleeping under one of these tall trees, so we just wanted to make sure that you're okay, Sitka.", and when Sitka heard what she said, he said back to her "I'm fine.", but then he also added and asked "Haven't you four got anything better to do than go sneaking up on someone who is sleeping?", and then Zoey said to him "We're sorry, Sitka.", and then he said back to the toddler centauress "You should be." before he turned and looked away from them as more tears suddenly formed and rolled down his eyes, and when Russell and the toddlers saw his tears, they all started getting really worried about him and so Russell decided to talk to him and see what's wrong with him.

Then, the red leopard said to Sitka "I see your tears, Sitka.", and then he added and asked him "Is there's something wrong, or there's something troubling you?", but then Sitka said "It's okay, it's fine. I'll get over it with the course of time.", but then Russell asked him "Did you got into trouble with your mother back in your home?", and when Sitka realized that the red leopard is nearly getting to know the truth, the Beartaur said back and then asked "Yes, Russell. But how do you know?", and then Russell raised up a forepaw and then he pointed up a finger and a claw of his own at the side of Sitka's face and then he said to him "Because I see that you have a smack mark on the side of your face.", and then he added and asked him "Did your own mother hurt you back in your home?", and when Sitka heard what the red leopard said to him, he said back as he sniffled as little bit "Yes, Russell. She hurt me because she found out that I made friends with the toddlers and with you.", and then he added "It was the final straw for me so I decided to run away from her. I ran away from home, and so now I'm on my own, all by myself.".

When Russell and the toddlers heard what he said, Russell reared up onto his hinder legs and then he placed his right forepaw on Sitka's upper human shoulder and said to him "Look, Sitka. We know how you feel right now, but try to cheer up. Equestria is a big world and after all, you have so many opportunities wide open and free for you to try. Maybe you should leave your old home and your abusive mother and put them behind you.", but then Sitka turned to look at him and asked "But, if I leave my old home, then where should I go next? Where am I gonna go?", and then Andy interrupted and suggested as he went up and then placed a hand of his own on Sitka's lower bear shoulder next to Russell "Maybe you should come with us, Sitka. It won't hurt us having a Beartaur like yourself as a good friend who can join us and travel along with us while we go together and search for a new place to call home.".

However, when Sitka heard what Andy and Suggested about him joining their traveling party and going together and along with them while they all continue to search for a new home, the young adult male Beartaur asked and then said to them "Who would even want a Beartaur like me for a friend? Every creature outside this jungle would think ill of me and would believe that much like most of my kind, I'm a ferocious monster who eat everything he sees and also everything in his path.", but then Zoey said to him as she went up to him as well "They won't." and then she added "You're not our first Beartaur friend, Sitka.", and when he heard what she said, the Beartaur gasped in shock before he turned and looked down at her and then he asked her "Wait, I'm not?", and then Zoey giggled and said back "Of course not, Silly! Kayden and Tallulah are Beartaurs themselves and they're also good friends of all of us, and they're also twins just like Andy and me are! Even though they're just toddlers around our own age, I'm sure they would like to meet a big good Beartaur like you.".

Then, Violet also stepped forward and asked Sitka "So what are you saying, Sitka? Would you like to leave your old home and your abusive mom behind you and join us and start a whole new life somewhere else far away from here? Would you like to be our new best friend and have a new life with all of us and without your abusive mom who barely even cared for you and didn't really worried about you?", and when Sitka heard what the toddler Zebratauress said to him about joining their traveling party and leaving the jungle behind him to start anew with many new friends and forget about his abusive mother, Sitka sniffled as tears of joy formed in his eyes, because now for the first in 20 years since he was born, Sitka is finally given a chance to prove himself as a good Beartaur to the rest of Equestria, as now he got and received true friends and new opportunities and now he won't have to live forever in the jungle and be abused by his own mother, and then Sitka said as a happy smile formed on his face "Thank you all, my friends! I'm so glad I met you all! Now I really feel like I'm ready to leave my home behind me and start anew somewhere else with all of you by my sides! I'm honored to get and receive such four good friends as all of you, Russell, Andy, Zoey and Violet! As your new friend, I'm going to join you four on your journey in searching for a now home!", and when Russell heard what he said, he said back to him with a proud and happy smile "Welcome, Sitka! Welcome to our traveling party! Now that you're the newest member and newest addition to our team, then now we can also change our group's title name! Now we are going to be called The Five! The Traveling Five!".

When Sitka and the toddlers heard Russell saying that nickname which hence their number as five, the five friends soon went to hug each other and they soon formed a group hug between all five of them, thus showing and proving that now their number is increased by one more member, and that one new member who increased their number is Sitka, who is now part of their traveling party, thus hence their number and their group's new title name - The Traveling Five. With everything's being settled, Sitka accepted joining Russell and the toddlers as all five friends continued together on their journey as they traveled through the jungle in search for a new home.


	134. Chapter 133:the great honey search

A few hours later, it turned nighttime, and so the five friends (Russell, Andy, Zoey, Violet and Sitka) knew that they all must continue and travel a little further to the next cave which stood ahead of them, and after a few more minutes of walking further (and getting more tired at the same time), Russell, Sitka and the toddlers all finally made it safely to the nearby cave in front of them, and that's when all five started searching as quickly as they can for some sleeping spots inside the cave, and eventually after a short time, Andy, Zoey and Violet all fell asleep together on the cave's floor, Sitka fell asleep in the deeper parts of the cave, while Russell fell asleep on top of a large rock inside the cave that was not too far away from all of them.

However, the cave to which the five friends have entered and went into would turn out to be not so empty as they first thought it is. A few more hours later, when morning came and Celestia's sun was raised up and started shining over Equestria, the five friends barely felt that it turned morning time, but then they were forcibly awakened from their sleep by some weird stuff which suddenly poked at their backs and forced them all to open up their eyes and then stand up on their feet, hooves and paws, and once their visions became clear, they started looking around them and then they saw some weird stuff which looked like long, solid, sharp and somewhat scary branches which suddenly appeared and came all around and surrounded the five friends, who looked at the long, sharp and weird 'branches' with both confused and surprised expressions on their faces, for none of them have ever seen such 'branches' which suddenly come and poke them all and force them all awake this easily, and also because branches don't even grow inside caves (like the one to which the five friends have entered and went into, for an instance).

Then, the next most unbelievable thing suddenly happened - the 'branches' started speaking up and talking to Russell, Sitka and to the toddlers, and then a male voice that sounded like the one of a teenager who is no older or younger than 16 years old asked them with a hint of anger in his tone "What are you five thinking that you're all doing here in our cave, you trespassers?", and when the five friends all heard what the 'branches' just said to them, Russell asked back "Trespassers? Who? Us? What are you even talking about?", and then Sitka added and asked "Who are you? And who do you even think you are that you have the right to call one adult, one young adult and three toddlers like all five of us a group of trespassers?".

When the 'branches' heard what the young adult Beartaur just said to them, the same teenage male voice who spoke to them a short moment ago talked to them again and then he asked them "Who are you five? And what are you all looking for?", and when the five friends heard what the male voice said, Sitka introduced himself and said first "I'm Sitka.", and then Russell added "And I'm Russell.", and when the 'branches' heard what they said, another male voice that sounded a bit different than the first one spoke up and said "Very well then.", and then he added and asked "Now what brings you all to our territory?", and then Andy explained "We're all on a journey in search for a new home.".

However, when the 'branches' all heard what Andy said, the first male voice asked him "Oh yeah? What's your name, little toddler?", and then Andy said back "Well, my name's Andy and my twin sister, Zoey, and our new best friend, Violet, we're all on a journey in search for a new home, and Sitka and Russell are also our friends.", and when the 'branches' heard what the toddler male centaur just said, the second male voice said to him "Very well then." but then he quickly added as one pair of the 'branches' moved and then motioned to the five friends to leave the cave "Now get out of here and don't ever come back!".

When Sitka heard what the second male voice said to him and to his friends, the Beartaur said to Russell and to the toddlers "Come on, guys. We can't stay here any longer. Let's get out of here.", and then he turned to go with Russell and the toddlers soon following behind him, and then some of the 'branches' soon moved away and went to the sides of the inside of the cave so to let the five friends go and leave the cave as soon as possible, but it turned out that despite Sitka and the others are leaving the cave, Andy stayed behind and approached the 'branches' as he became curious and he wanted to know who they really are, and when Sitka noticed that Andy wasn't following behind him and/or with the others, the four quickly stopped and then they turned around to see Andy coming close to the 'branches', and this caused Sitka to quickly call for him and ask "Andy? What are you doing?", but Andy ignored him and then he asked the 'branches' "Who...who are you?", but then the first male voice said to him "I will never tell you, stupid little centaur! Now get out of here before you'll be in so much trouble!", but then Andy said to him "No, wait! I just want to talk to you!", and then he asked the 'branches' "Can you please tell me who are you really?", and then he begged as he showed up cute puppy eyes "Please tell me?".

Eventually, the 'branches' couldn't resist to his begging anymore and that's when the first male voice said to Andy "Fine, little centaur! But first, you must do us all something before you can see who we all really are!", and when Andy heard what he said, the toddler male centaur said back "I will do whatever you want me to do! Please count me in!", and when the 'branches' heard what Andy said to them, the second male voice said back "Fine, you're in! But I must warn you though - this is going to be dangerous.", and when he heard what the second male voice said, Andy asked "What do you mean 'dangerous'?", and then the first male voice said to him "We want you to go to the western parts of the jungle to bring us some honey! Some lots and lots of honey, if you don't mind!".

However, when Sitka heard the first male voice mentioning that he's asking for honey, the Beartaur soon went back and stopped next to Andy and then he asked "Wait, did you just said that you want some honey?", and then the first male voice said to him "Well yes, Beartaur! Do you want some honey too? Well, how about that - if you and your friends go to the western parts of the jungle and find us some lots of honey and then bring it back to all of us, then you'll earn our trust and we'll even show you who we really are!", and then he added and asked "Well? Does that sounds fair to you?", and when he and Andy both heard what the first male voice said, the toddler male centaur said "Absolutely!" and Sitka added "You can all count on us!", and then the first male voice said to them "Good! Now go out and find us that delicious honey we want! We'll be waiting here in our cave until you all return here with our honey!", and then the second male voice added "Good luck and be careful! We'll wait here for you five until you return back here with our delicious honey!", and with these words being said, Andy and Sitka turned tail and started running away from the cave, as now they and their friends are requested to go to the western parts of the jungle to find some lots of honey, collect it and then take it back to the 'branches' who live inside the cave.

Later, while they're on their way to the western parts of the jungle to find the honey which the 'branches' were asking for, Andy, Zoey and Violet asked Sitka what is honey, and so he said to all three of them "Honey is a viscous source of food substance which bees make in their hives. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants, and what they take to produce honey is floral nectar, which is found in flowers, usually wild flowers.", and then he added "By using regurgitation, enzymatic activity and water evaporation, bees are able to digest and transform the floral nectar inside their bodies, and after they do that, they return back to their hives and then they store the honey in wax structures called honeycombs.", and then Sitka continued and said to the toddlers and explained to them "The variety of honey produced by honey bees is the best-known of all, and that's due to its worldwide commercial production and human consumption. Honey is collected from either wild bee colonies, or from hives of domesticated bees, and that's a practice known as beekeeping, or apiculture.".

"Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and it has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose, A.K.A - granulated or common sugar. It has attractive chemical properties for baking and it also has a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener. Most microorganisms do not grow in honey, so sealed honey does not spoil, even after thousands of years." Sitka explained as the toddlers looked up at him in awe when they heard what he said and explained to them about honey, but that wasn't before Sitka quickly added and said "Honey provides 46 calories in a serving of one tablespoon (15 ml), and it is also regarded as safe to eat when not taken in excessive amounts.", and when the toddlers heard what Sitka said about his great common knowledge about honey, they all kept looking up at him in awe as everything Sitka said to them about honey is indeed true.

Then, Sitka explained to the toddlers about something important which his own father told him about the history of honey consumption by human beings when he was just a young juvenile cub around the twins and Violet's age "When I was just a little cub around your own age, kids, when I was only 2 years old at the time, my father, whose name was Matthew, he told me about the history of when human beings started the use and production of honey for their own benefits and also about their eating and consuming honey as food. My father, Matthew, he told me that the history of human beings and honey have a long and varied history as an ancient activity. He told me that back on planet Earth where these humans live, there were several cave paintings in the caves of a country called Spain, and he also told me that these cave paintings were so important to human history because these in fact depict humans foraging for honey for the first time in history, and that the cave paintings themselves show by their old age that humans were already starting their foraging for honey about anywhere between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago. That's long before the Woolly mammoth, the closest extinct relative of the Indian elephant, became extinct, since they only became extinct about 4,000 years after humans started their foraging for honey for the first time in history.".

What Sitka told the toddlers about what his own father Matthew told him about the fascinating history of humans and honey which dates back to the cave paintings in Spain 8,500 years ago, Andy, Zoey and Violet couldn't help but keep looking up at him in awe, and since Matthew was a really smart and wise Beartaur before his death, it is very possible that he was also willing to share his knowledge about everything he knows about honey and about how honey fits right in human history with his own son Sitka, thus telling him (Sitka) all true things he needs to know about both honey and its history with humans, which indeed goes back and dates back to these fascinating cave paintings in Spain, which are today 8,500 years old.

A while later, the five friends finally reached the western parts of the jungle, where they found many tall trees with many bee hives attached to their tall branches, thus showing them all that they reached the exact right place where they can find lots and lots of honey, and so Sitka said to his four friends "We made it, guys!", and then Andy added "What are we waiting for? Let's get that delicious honey now so the branches will be happy and would want to be friends with us!", but just as Andy was about to reach one of the tall trees, Russell quickly stopped him and then he said "No, wait! Don't do it! It's dangerous!", but then Andy asked him "Dangerous? Why it's so dangerous to get all that delicious honey?", and then Russell explained "Because there are so many bees in all these hives! And female bees are known to use their stingers to give much larger creatures bigger than themselves such nasty and painful stings!", and when Sitka heard what he said, the Beartaur admitted "Yeah, I kinda forgotten to mention that part.".

"So, how do we get all that honey back to the talking branches?" Violet asked as she didn't yet know what she and the others should do in order to get these lots and lots of honey for the talking 'branches' who lives back inside the cave, but just then, however, just as it seemed impossible for the five friends to get the honey back to the talking 'branches', they all suddenly heard a male voice calling and talking to them, and so they all turned around to see a pair of 'branches' which looked very similar to all the many ones who talked to them back inside the cave and gave them the mission to find and bring the honey and bring it all the way back to them.

When Sitka saw the pair of 'branches' poking out of the nearby bushes, he said to his friends "That looks very strange, guys.", and then he asked "Where did these talking branches came from?", but then the male voice which sounded like the one of a mature man instead of the one of an adolescent said to him from inside the bushes "Branches? You're wrong. I'm no such thing as talking branches, Beartaur. I would like to come out of the bushes and meet you and your friends and show you all who I really am.", and just then, the talking 'branches' moved forward before something else also came out of the bushes, and when Sitka, Russell and the toddlers all saw what's really behind the talking 'branches', they were all in shock - a male human head with animal-like ears came out of the bushes with the 'branches' revealed to be attached to his head, and the 'branches' themselves turned out to be his antlers, but that wasn't before the male head who owns the antlers turned to look at them in the faces and said to all of them with a gentle smile on his face "Hello there, strangers.".

However, when they all saw the male creature's humanoid head after he exposed it in front of all of them, the five friends are shocked to know that the 'branches' who talked to them were actually attached to a humanoid head with animal-like ears, and when the new male creature so the shocked and surprised looks on the five friends' faces, he asked them all "What's wrong? Haven't you ever seen a Deertaur like me before?", and when they all heard what he said, the red leopard, the Beartaur and the three toddler equine centaurs were all in shock to realize that the talking 'branches' to whom they talked back in the cave before were actually the antlers of Deertaurs (common centaurid creatures with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of deer, with males (which are known as either bucks or stags like normal male deer) are known to have huge antlers protruding from their heads which allows them to fight for dominance, while females (known as Deertauresses (Deertauress if only one) and are also rarely known as either does or hinds) are known to be smaller than the male Deertaurs and they do not have antlers protruding from their heads at all, thus making them more vulnerable to dangerous predators or to attacks from large herbivores than the males).

Then, Sitka asked the male Deertaur who revealed his entire head to him and to his friends "Wait a minute, are you a Deertaur?", and then the Deertaur said "Yes I am! It's nice to meet all of you! You're the weirdest group of strangers whom I have ever seen in my life!", but then Sitka asked him "What do you mean?", and then the Deertaur came out of the bushes and revealed the rest of his body before he said "I've never three little equine centaurs, a Beartaur and a leopard walking and wandering around together as a group!", and then Russell said to him "Well, the title name of our group is The Five. The Traveling Five.", and then Andy stepped forward a little bit before he asked "Do you want to join us?", and when the Deertaur heard what he said, he said back to the toddler male centaur "I would like to join you, but first, tell me what you doing here in these parts of the jungle.", and then Russell said to him "We're here to collect some honey and then give it back to some Deertaurs who live back in a cave in which we accidentally slept last night, which now we know are Deertaurs because they used their antlers to trick us into believing and thinking that they're talking branches.", and then Zoey asked him as she also stepped forward a little bit and stopped right next to Andy "Can you please help us, Mister? Please?".

When the Deertaur heard what she said, he said back "Well, I can't help you with that, but I still know someone who can actually help you get that delicious honey.", and just then, an adult male Rhinotaur suddenly came out from behind the Deertaur before he moved to his right side and then he stopped right next to him and said "I know how to get honey from dangerous stinging honey bees without getting hurt. Give me a chance to prove myself.", and when Sitka and Russell both heard what the Rhinotaur said, the two said to him "Fine, you can help. Show us how to get that honey.", and then the Deertaur said to him "Yes, Igor, my best man. Please show these strangers how you're able to get so much honey without getting stung by the honey bees.", and then the Rhinotaur, whose name was Igor, said back "Okay.", and then he went to pick up a few large sticks and then he started to scratch them and move them against each other until smoke started coming from them and it (the smoke) moved up towards the bee hive and it caused the bees to quickly fly away from the hive and escape for their lives (since bees don't like smoke), and once the bees were gone, Igor reared up onto his hinder rhinoceros legs and then the Deertaur jumped onto his back and climbed on top of him and then he stretched out his arms and successfully managed to grab onto the bee hive and then he broke it off the branch to which it was attached, thus getting the bee hive whole and intact, before he then climbed off Igor's back while carrying the bee hive in his hands and then he gently placed it safely on solid ground so Sitka and his friends can pick it up and take it for its honey.

Then, after the first bee hive was successfully collected, the Deertaur introduced himself and said "I'm Austin, and it's my pleasure to help you guys.", and then he added as he motioned to Igor the Rhinotaur with a hand as he went back down on all four rhinoceros legs "And this is my friend, Igor. He's my best man.", and then the Rhinotaur said to the five friends "It's nice to meet you all, and it's also my pleasure to help those who are in need.", and then Sitka said back "Likewise.", but then Russell interrupted and asked "Do you think you can get us some more bee hives?", and when Austin and Igor both heard what the red leopard said to them, Austin said "Why yes, of course!", and then Igor added "It is our pleasure to help others who are in need!", and then the two started to use the same smoke and then pick up techniques in order to get more and more bee hives for the five friends.

An hour later, Austin and Igor successfully managed to bring the five friends so many hives that the honey inside all of them might be enough to feed and satisfy all the Deertaurs who live back inside the cave, and when the five friends saw all the bee hives which the nice Deertaur and his Rhinotaur friend have already collected for them, this is when Sitka said to the two of them "I think all these bee hives are enough for us to take back to these Deertaurs who live back in the cave.", and then Russell added "Yes, thanks for helping us getting all the honey we need in order to gain the Deertaurs' trust.", and when they both heard what the Beartaur and the red leopard both said to them, Austin said back "No problem!" and then Igor added as he bowed his head in front of them "It was our pleasure to help you!", and then Sitka said to them "Now we gotta go back to the cave to give all that delicious honey to all these Deertaurs who lives there!", and then Russell added and said to the two "See you later, guys!", and then Austin and Igor waved for them and for the toddlers and said goodbye before they both left.

Then, Sitka, Russell and the toddlers started picking up the bee hives and then they took them along with them all the way back to the cave so the Deertaurs can feast on the tasty and delicious honey inside them, and it didn't took them longer than one and a half hours before they finally reached and arrived back at the opening of the cave with all the delicious honey which Igor and Austin helped them get and collect from the western parts of the jungle. Then, Sitka called into the cave and asked "Hello? Is there's still anyone in there?", and then he added "We found you that delicious honey that you've been asking for! Please, come out and take it from us! It's okay, we won't hurt you!", but at first, Sitka received no answer from inside the cave.

However, just then, a large group of male Deertaurs slowly came out from the shadows of the cave and went up towards the five friends, but unlike Austin, however, the male Deertaurs appeared to be slightly smaller and shorter than him in size and their antlers appeared to be shorter than his own antlers too, thus hinting that while Austin himself was an adult male Deertaur, all the other males who approached them from inside the cave are likely teenagers or mature adolescents. Just then, one of the Deertaurs spoke up and said to the five friends in the same first male voice they heard earlier "Well, I see you all succeeded in your mission! Good job!", and then he introduced himself and said to them "My name's Oscar, and it's a great honor to accept you five into our herd!".

However, when Sitka and the others all saw that Oscar and his herd were Deertaurs just like Austin, Sitka said "I knew it! You're Deertaurs all along! Now this makes sense! This fixes everything!", but when Oscar and his herd all heard what he said, Oscar (who was possibly the leader of his herd) asked him "Wait, how do you know what we really are?", and then Russell pointed out and said "Because one of your kind have already told us of your tricks!", and then Violet asked "So now that we already know what you all are, how about we give you all that delicious honey you've been asking for?", and when the Deertaurs all heard what she said, a male Deertaur from the herd suddenly spoke up and said in the same second male voice which the five friends have already heard before "Oh, yes we want that delicious honey right now! Please, give it to us!", but then Oscar turned to him and said "First, I will have a taste of that honey, and then you'll have the rest!", and then he went up to Sitka and he took the bee hive from his hands, and then he broke it in a half and then he dipped his finger in the honey which was inside the bee hive before he then put it in his mouth to taste the honey (in which he already dipped his finger) and then he turned and walked back to the rest of the herd and said to them "This is the honey we've been asking for! Let's go eat some honey, everyone!", and just then all the Deertaurs ran towards the five friends and they violently pushed them away and even threw them aside forcefully in order to get all the honey they got from the western parts of the jungle for themselves.

During the Deertaurs' attack, Zoey got injured and so Sitka had to pick her up and take her and carry her in his arms and hands so to make sure that she doesn't get even more hurt by the Deertaurs, and so the five friends escaped from the area so to not get even more hurt by the wild manners and behaviors of the Deertaurs, who continued to fight, kick and thrash around in order to get as much honey as possible, and once they all managed to escape, Sitka placed Zoey back on solid ground and then he knelt and lowered down to take a look at her injury, and it turned out that Zoey received a scratch on her left arm caused by the Deertaurs' wild attacks.

However, just as is it seemed like that Zoey's injury is going to become infected, it soon turned out that help is at hand as Austin and Igor came out of nowhere and went up to the five friends, but this time the two aren't alone - besides them, there was also an adult Deertauress who was likely Austin's mate, as she appeared around his own age, and next to her, there was also a much younger male Deertaur who appeared to have a little to no antlers on his head, and judging by his young looks and appearance, he was likely around Vanessa's age (5 or 6 years old). For addition, when Austin, Igor and the two other Deertaurs came close enough to the five friends, Sitka and Russell saw some green leaves in Austin's hands, but then he also handed the leaves over to Igor, who quickly put them in his mouth and started chewing the green leaves for about two or three minutes, before he finally spat out the leaves as a leaf pulp and then handed it over to the Deertauress, who then slowly knelt and lowered down to Zoey's level, and then she stretched out one of her arms and hands towards Zoey and then she very gently grabbed at her left arm and tried to take a look at her injury, and then she slowly moved close with her other arm and hand while still holding the leaf pulp in it, and then she took a handful of the leaf pulp and she slowly and gently applied it and smeared it on Zoey's injury, and once she was done doing that, the Deertauress grabbed a leaf and also held up a piece of string and then she gently placed the leaf over Zoey's wound before she then tied the leaf to the wound with the piece of string so the leaf won't fall off Zoey's wound.

Then, once she was done caring for Zoey's injured left arm, the Deertauress slowly raised and stood back up on her hooves before she asked Zoey "Are you okay, little one?", and when Zoey looked up at her and then at the now dressed up wound, the toddler centauress said "Yes, Mrs! Thank you for helping me with my injury! Without you, it would've become infected!", and then the Deertauress said back "I'm happy to help.", but then Violet approached her and asked "Wait a minute, who are you, Mrs?", and then the Deertauress turned to her and said "I'm Jenna, and I'm Austin's wife. It's my pleasure to meet you, young one.", but then the much younger male Deertaur quickly stepped forward and said in a happy tone "Oh, oh, don't forget me! I'm Noah, and it's nice to meet you, little guys! I'm Austin and Jenna's child and I like meeting new creatures who are just around my age or younger! And just to let you know - I'm only 5 years old!".

However, when the toddlers heard what Noah just said to them about himself being only 5 years old (since Vanessa (Bluebell and Anastasia's younger sister) is just around his own age), Andy said to him "Wow! So you're just around Vanessa's age! I'm pretty sure she's gonna like you as a new friend once you two meet and then get to know each other!", but when Noah heard what he said, he asked "Vanessa? Who is she?", and then Andy explained "Well, she's Bluebell's little sister, and Bluebell herself is friends with our big brother, Stephan!", but then Zoey added "But that was until that big bad Anastasia lashed out at as, attacked us and demanded us to go away and never return home!", but when Noah heard what Zoey said, he asked her "Excuse me, but what are you talking about?", and when Zoey heard what he said, she said back "Andy and I we'll tell you and we'll explain to you and to your parents about it later.".

Russell and Sitka both asked Austin, Jenna and Igor if they can come with them to their home to sleep with them for the night, and the three adults said to them that since they (Russell, Sitka and the toddlers) are all travelers who are in need of help, then they should really come with them to their home and stay with them for the night, and this was the chance the five friends were been waiting for, as now not only they got a place where they can stay in for the night, but also received some new friends who can potentially help them later on when they'll continue on their journey in search for a new home, and when everything's settled, Austin, Jenna, Noah and Igor started leading Russell, Sitka and the toddlers to their home where they can all stay in for the night.

Meanwhile, Oscar's Deertaurs herd is already satisfied after they all fought for all the honey in order to eat all of it and become happy (and satisfied) for now, but just as it seemed like that we're not going to be hearing of them after this, Oscar and another male Deertaur who appeared to have a larger and taller body structure with bigger and stronger muscles and a heavier body build on both his upper and lower bodies (similar to Biff) are suddenly approached by a Deertauress, who is in fact none other than the only female in Oscar's herd (and his potential future mate), and then she asked Oscar "So, who did all of you boys had tricked in order to get all that delicious honey?", and then Oscar turned to her and said "They were just five.", and then the bigger and more muscular male Deertaur added "To tell the truth - these five were like nothing we have ever seen before.".

When the Deertauress heard what he said, she asked "What do you mean, Roger?" as she referred to the muscular Deertaur to whom she spoke (who also sat down next to Oscar), and then Roger said "Out of all these five, three were toddlers, two of which were centaurs and the third one was a Zebratauress.", and then the Deertauress asked him "And who were the other two? Were they're toddlers as well?", but then Roger said to her "Well, no. In fact, the two others were likely adults - one of them was a Beartaur, and the other was a leopard.", and when she heard what he said, the Deertauress asked him "A leopard?", and then Oscar said and explained "Yeah, Charlotte. And, to think about it, that leopard who was with these toddlers and with that Beartaur appeared and looked very different from a regular leopard - his skin and fur were actually red, and we have never seen a leopard with such skin and fur mutation before. He looked even rarer than a black panther.".

However, when Charlotte (the Deertauress) heard what Oscar just said to her about Russell being a red leopard instead of either a normal leopard or a black panther, she gasped in shock and then she asked "Did you just said that the leopard you saw with these toddlers and Beartaur was a red leopard?!", and then Oscar said to her "Yeah, he surely was one." and then he asked her "What's wrong with that?", and then Charlotte said back "Oh, darling, do you know how much worth is a red leopard's skin? That's a magical experience and we only get to have it only once in a lifetime!", but then Roger asked her as he and Oscar each raised an eyebrow as they kept looking at her "What do you mean by that, Charlotte?", and when she heard what he said, she explained "What am I trying to say here is that wouldn't it be nice to have a new beautiful cloth to wear on my upper body? That red leopard's skin might be our only chance to get exactly what I want to wear for you before we'll become mates in the future!".

When Oscar heard what Charlotte said about having Russell's beautiful red skin and fur as a new cloth, a new idea sparked in his mind and so he said to her "You know what, Charlotte? We can't let that red leopard go away this easily.", and then he added "We must get him.", and then he turned to Roger and he said to him "Roger, tell all the others that we're all going on a very important and special hunt tonight.", and when Roger heard what his leader said to him, the muscular second-in-command said back "Yes, my leader. I'll tell the rest of the herd about this right away.", and then he stood up and then he went to talk to the rest of the Deertaurs herd, and then, while Roger is telling and explaining to all other Deertaurs in the herd about the special hunt they're going on tonight, Oscar said to himself in a low and wicked tone as he looked in the direction where Russell and his friends have already went (because the five of them have escaped for their lives when the Deertaurs wildly attacked them in order to get all the honey from them and for themselves) "Prepare yourself, Russell the red leopard. Your skin and your fur will be ours! We Deertaurs we always get what we want...everything!", and judging by the scary and wicked looks on Oscar's face, it can be easily told that now he's up to no good.


	135. Chapter 134:the Deertaurs' night attack

When evening came, Russell, Sitka and the toddlers were already in Austin's home (alongside him (Austin) himself, Jenna, Noah and Igor), and it was also when Andy and Zoey explained to the good Deertaurs family and to their Rhinotaur friend why they're traveling with Russell and Sitka (and also with Violet) and not with their own family, and the toddler centaur twins even told the four that they've attacked and harassed by Anastasia, who later blamed them for both Stephan and Bluebell falling into a coma after they got hit on the heads by some falling roof shingles while trying to save Andy and Zoey from meeting that fate (which led to the two toddler centaurs running away from home).

When the good Deertaurs family and their Rhinotaur friend all heard what Andy and Zoey said and told about themselves having been blamed by someone who is much older than them, Austin said with a shocked expression on his face "I can't believe it!", and then Jenna asked "Why would a young adult centauress like that Anastasia do to toddlers like you two such horrible things?", and then Noah added "If I was much older, I would've kicked her in the butt so to teach her a lesson not to attack, yell at or chase youngsters away!", and then Igor said as he clenched his fists with anger can be seen on his eyes "Out of all female creatures which I knew as jerks who abused babies and youngsters, that Anastasia is the biggest female jerk I've ever heard of so far in my life!".

Then, Andy and Zoey asked the Deertaurs and the Rhinotaur "So, what are you going to do with us now?", and then Austin said back "Well, after what you told us about yourselves being hurt by that jerk, we decided that you can stay here with us as much as you want!", and then Jenna asked "How does that sounds?", and when the twins heard what the two good Deertaurs said to them, the two toddler centaurs said back "We would like to stay here with you, and you're also really nice compared to that Oscar and to his whole herd who hurt us when we returned to them with all the honey they asked.", and then they added "Since you helped us before, we would like to stay here in your home as much as we want so we won't have to see that Anastasia's face ever again!", but then Sitka interrupted and asked "Can I stay here too?", and then Igor said to him and asked "Sure, why?", and then Sitka explained to him and to the Deertaurs that much like Andy and Zoey, he too went through lots of abuse by his own mother Margaret, who tried to force him to be a pure carnivorous and ferocious Beartaur like herself.

After Sitka explained why he too needs a new home, Austin said to him "You're more than welcome to stay with us in our home as well, Sitka.", and then Jenna added "We hope you enjoy living with us too.", and then Violet said and explained that she too needs a new home because she was once a member of Brandon's herd, but ever since she left them and joined Russell and the twins (before Sitka did), Brandon wants to destroy her because he doesn't tolerates those who dares to leave him and his whole herd, and once she too was accepted to stay in Austin's home, it was now Russell's turn to explain why he needs a new home too.

A few long minutes later, when Russell finished explaining why does he needs a new home too, the Deertaurs and the Rhinotaur were shocked to realize that Russell was been picked on by a human toddler (Dan Ashmor) who is actually the same as evil as Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and that that human toddler was actually able to disturb Russell and ruin his life by peeing on his beautiful fur all the time (which he did to Russell all the time because he (Dan Ashmor) often, if not always treated him like a toilet), and that was before Yigal gave him (Russell) some beatings and then Black Heart picked him up and threw him through the open window of the second floor, thus not only kicking Russell out of her and her evil human friends' animal team, but also kicking him out of his own home in the process, which explains why he left the villains and ran away from them (particularly from Black Heart) so not to see her or any of the other villains ever again.

When they all heard Russell's shocking and heartbreaking neglect story (which was indeed true, as Russell was been treated too badly by Black Heart, Dan Ashmor and by the other villains, and therefore he really went through so much pain), Austin said "Your story about yourself being neglected is horrible! Why would that Pegasus for your owner do that to you?", and then Jenna added "She deserves slapping to the face, beatings and so much more for abusing a leopard like you!", and then Noah said "Yeah! And compared to her and to that Anastasia, that human toddler is an even bigger monster!", and then Igor added "I would like to find that Pegasus mare and teach her a lesson for not listening to what her now former leopard have to say about himself being neglected by her and also treated like a toilet by that human toddler! She must be found and then someone strong and forceful, but still good should give her a punishment for abusing a leopard!".

When Russell heard what the good Deertaurs and the Rhinotaur said about Black Heart should be punished for abusing him to the point he eventually left her and ran away from her and from all the other villains, the red leopard asked them all "So, does that means that now I'm here to stay?", and then Austin said to him "Yes, Russell! You too are allowed to stay here as much as you want! You deserve love, good care and kindness after what that Pegasus mare did to you!", and then Jenna added "That Pegasus mare should not be forgiven for her actions! She should spend the rest of her life rotting in Tartarus for abusing her own leopard!", and then Noah said "I would like to kick her in the butt really hard that a scar might remain on her flank so to remind her to never abuse an animal, especially a wild animal like a leopard!", and then Igor added "One day, she and these evil human friends of hers will all get exactly what they all deserve! Nobody should ever be treated like a toilet! Especially not a wild animal who is also a good partner and a loyal friend!", and then Austin said to Russell "You're here to stay and live with us in our home as much as you want, Russell!", and when Russell heard the good Deertaur said to him, tears of joy formed and then rolled down the red leopard's eyes, as now he received four new friends and a new place to stay and call a new home, or so it seems.

Later, it was after midnight, and everyone were already sleeping, but it would soon turn out to be a disastrous night as Oscar, Roger, Charlotte and their whole Deertaurs herd successfully have managed to find them when they all found Austin's house, and so Oscar decided to come up with a malevolent plan in order to get Russell and have him skinned in order to make a cloth for Charlotte from his fur, and the plan is that first, he and the rest of the herd will set Austin's house on fire, then they will surround and threaten both the youngsters and the adults, and once they get the chance they've been waiting for, Oscar and Roger will snatch Russell and will try to kill him so they can have his skin and fur and can make from it a new cloth for Charlotte, and then Oscar said to his whole herd to start making fire so they can burn down the house in order to make their first step in order to get Russell for his beautiful skin and fur.

It didn't took them very long before they (Oscar's Deertaurs herd) all successfully managed to make some fire near Austin's house, and so the next step in the malevolent plan was to set the house on fire, and that's what the bad Deertaurs did as they slowly approached until they got very close to the house, and once they all got close enough, the Deertaurs started setting Austin's house on fire, and everyone inside the house were all still sleeping, but that is until when Noah started smelling the scent of the smoke coming from outside, and so the 5 year-old Deertaur woke up immediately and so he carefully went up to the front door so not to wake up anyone, and once he opened the door and went outside to take a look, he gasped with shock and with fright to see that his family's house is on fire and is burning down, and so he said "I must warn everyone!", but before he's about to go back into the house to wake up everyone else, Roger quickly stanched him by the left hind deer leg and dragged him away from the burning house, and then he said to the younger Deertaur "You're not going to tell anyone about this!", and then he violently tossed Noah away and caused him to hit with his right side against a tree, thus knocking him out cold and unconscious.

Just then, all the others started smelling the smoke's strong scent, and that caused them all to immediately wake up and then Austin, Jenna and Igor went up to the front door (which was left open by Noah), and once they were outside, they turned to see that their house is on fire, and that's not all - they also found themselves being surrounded and threatened by Oscar and his bad Deertaurs herd, but the true terror soon kicks in when Oscar, Roger and Charlotte all stepped forward and then Oscar said to the threatened (and good) Deertaurs and to their Rhinotaur friend "Well, what do we have here.", but when Austin heard what he said, he asked him "What do you want?", and then Oscar said evilly "I'm here for the red leopard whom I suppose is hiding inside your house! Hand him over to me and to my herd and we'll promise you that we will put out the fire which is burning down your whole house!", but when he heard what the evil Deertaur leader said, Austin said back firmly "Forget it, you monster and horrible excuse for a good leader! I'll rather let Russell live than hand him over to you!", and then Igor added "And I'm pretty sure that you and your whole herd set our house on fire, and on purpose so we will surrender to you against our own will!".

However, when the bad Deertaurs heard what Austin and Igor both said, Roger said as he stepped forward a little more "If you don't wanna die like your own son, then you should listen to us and obey our leader's orders! So give us the red leopard or else you'll join your own son!", and when they heard what the muscular Deertaur just said, Jenna asked "What did you did to our precious Noah? What do you did to our son? Where is he?", but then Charlotte said evilly "He's gone! We already took care of him! So if you don't want to meet your own ends like he did, here's what we're asking for - give us the red leopard and we'll leave you all be!", but then Austin yelled at her "Forget it! If you said that you killed our son, then we'll never let you have Russell! We will rather fight you all for what you did to our precious Noah!", and when he heard what he said, Oscar said wickedly "Sounds like serious fighting words to me!", and then Austin said back "If that's what you want!", and then he turned to Igor and to Jenna and then he said to them "Igor, you help me fight those threatening enemies! Jenna, go back inside the house and tell everyone else to leave immediately as fast as they can!", and with these words being said, Jenna quickly turned tail and ran back into the burning house to warn the others and tell them to leave immediately, while Austin and Igor both stepped forward to face their enemies.

Inside the burning house, Jenna called for the others as she ran up to them, and once she reached and got close enough to them, Sitka asked her "Jenna, what's wrong?", and then she said to him "Sitka, you and your friends have to leave now!", and when Sitka heard what she said, he asked "Why? What's going on?", and then Jenna said to him and explained "Oscar's herd came here and they set our house on fire! They did this because they want Russell!", and when Russell heard what she said, he asked "Me? Why?", and then Jenna said to him "Because they want your beautiful skin and fur, Russell!", and when Russell heard what she said, he said back "Oh no! That's the last thing I need right now - to be hunted down for my beautiful fur! And also for a second time!".

Then, Violet asked "What are we going to do?", and then Jenna said to her and to the others "It's okay, everyone. I know a way to get you all out of our house without having you being captured by that Oscar and his whole herd.", and then she turned to one of the windows and went up to it, and then she started bucking at it several times until it broke, thus giving Sitka, Russell and the toddlers a way to escape from the burning house without getting caught, and with the window broken and with a way to escape from the burning house, Jenna turned back to the five friends and then she said to them "Go, quickly! One at a time!" and then she added "Russell, you go first!", and when Russell heard what she said, he said back "Yes, of course!", and then he took a few steps backwards and readied himself to leap out of the house through the broken window, and once he felt like he was ready to do it, Russell ran fast and then he leaped right out of the house through the broken window and he ended up landing on his feet outside the house, but as soon as he managed to escape and successfully got out from the burning house, two of the Deertaurs (from Oscar's herd) turned and saw him outside the burning house, and so one of them said "There he is! We should not let that red leopard escape!", and then the other said "We must get him! Right now!", before the two Deertaurs started charging towards Russell, who quickly noticed them coming towards him, and so he had no choice but to leave his friends behind as he started running away for his life from the two Deertaurs, who soon started to chase him down in the jungle and they both tried to catch up with him so they can kill him for his skin and fur and then retrieve it back to their evil leader.

Russell continued to run away for his life, only to reach a dead end as he reached the edge of a cliff above a ravine with a fast-streaming river going down below, and that's the chance the two Deertaurs were been waiting for as they finally caught up with Russell and managed to corner him against the edge of the cliff, and Russell knew that he must somehow find a way to escape from them or else this is going to be the last day of his own life, and so Russell looked at the other cliff which stood on the other side of the ravine and that's when an idea came up in his mind and he decided to do something which might be crazy for a human, an Earth pony or any kind of land animal to do, and it might be also very crazy for a leopard like Russell himself to do - jump over the edge of the cliff and over the ravine to the other side.

Then, Russell jumped over the edge of the cliff and went over the ravine and he ended up grabbing onto the edge of the other cliff on the other side of the ravine with the sharp claws on his forepaws, and so all he have to do now is to try and pull himself up onto the edge of the other cliff (on which he's holding onto for dear life). However, as he started pulling himself up to the edge of the other cliff, one of the Deertaurs stepped aback from the edge of the first cliff and he readied himself to jump over the edge of the first cliff to the other cliff on the other side of the ravine in order to get Russell, and then the Deertaur started running fast before he then jumped over the edge of the first cliff and went over the ravine and he ended up grabbing onto Russell's tail with his human arms and hands, thus catching him, and when Russell looked down and saw him holding onto his tail, he tried to kick the Deertaur off himself by kicking him in the face with his hind legs and hind paws, but no matter how many times he kicked the Deertaur, the Deertaur still held onto Russell's tail and didn't let go of him.

When Russell realized that he can't throw the Deertaur off himself, he decided to do the craziest thing he have ever done in his whole life - he willingly let go of the edge of the other cliff and he started falling down into the ravine with the Deertaur going down and along with him, and a few short moments later, the two hit the water of the fast-streaming river below and they both got swept away by the current, while the second Deertaur watched from the top of the first cliff and then he grunted and stomped his left deer foreleg on the ground before he turned tail and ran back into the jungle to inform Oscar and the rest of the herd that Russell seemingly have drowned to death in the fast-streaming river and that therefore his skin and fur cannot be retrieved from him anymore.

Meanwhile, Sitka, Jenna and the toddlers have already managed to escape from the burning house, and just as they're about to go, they suddenly saw one of the Deertaurs who chased after Russell coming back to the scene to inform and tell his leader and the rest of the herd about the bad news which will tell them all about what happened to Russell, and when Oscar, Roger and Charlotte saw him, the three approached him, after Oscar and Roger already have managed to knock both Austin and Igor out cold and unconscious, and once the three Deertaurs reached and got close enough to him, Oscar asked him "Where's the red leopard?", but then the Deertaur said to him "He's gone, he and my friend drowned to death in the river! I cannot retrieve the red leopard's skin from him anymore!", and when they all heard what he said, Sitka, Jenna and the toddlers gasped with shock and with fright, while Oscar yelled at the Deertaur in anger "What?! He drowned and died in the river?! You lost him?!", and then the Deertaur said to him "Unfortunately yes! The red leopard is now dead and his skin cannot be retrieved from him anymore!", and when they heard what the Deertaur just said to Oscar and to the rest of his herd, Andy said as tears started forming in his, in Zoey and in Violet's eyes "No! Russell is not dead! It can't be true! He's not gone!", but when the Deertaurs heard him saying that, they quickly turned their attentions to him and to his remaining friends and then Charlotte yelled "There the red leopard's friends are! Let's get them all!", and then all the bad Deertaurs started charging towards Jenna, Sitka and the toddlers, thus causing the five to run away for their lives with the Deertaurs soon giving a chase after them.

During the chase, Charlotte managed to catch up with Jenna and she successfully managed to knock the good and older Deertauress out cold and unconscious before she continued her chase with the rest of the bad Deertaurs herd after Sitka and the toddlers in order to help them all catch up with the four, capture them and take them along so to make the toddlers hostages and make Sitka a slave, and so the Deertaurs herd continued to chase after Sitka and the toddlers, but during the chase, however, something strange happened - Andy started trotting and galloping faster than the others (including his twin sister Zoey), and as he did so, he managed to outrun both the Deertaurs and his friends and after a few minutes of trotting and galloping so fast and in such a blinding speed for the first time in his life, Andy managed to get so far that when he turned his head and looked back, he couldn't see his friends (and his twin sister) coming behind him, and just then, Andy started to get tired after the blinding speed he just gave for these few minutes, and so he quickly looked around to see where he can hide before the Deertaurs will come to get him, and after a few short moments, he turned to his left and saw a small tunnel which was still big enough for him to enter and fit right in and hide inside from the Deertaurs, and so Andy used his remaining strength and he quickly trotted up towards the tunnel and he reached and entered it and then he went deeper into the tunnel until only his eyes can be seen, before his friends and the Deertaurs (who are still chasing after them) came by and then passed by without even noticing that Andy is watching them all from the deeper parts of the small tunnel, and once they were all gone, Andy decided to travel deeper into the tunnel in order to search for another way out, and once he'll find another way and will be outside and out of the small tunnel, Andy will start searching for Russell, for he believed that the red leopard whom he befriended might be still alive.

However, as for Zoey, Violet and Sitka, they got captured by the bad Deertaurs herd once they ended up getting trapped against a dead end when they reached the edge of a cliff above a chasm which was near the same ravine to which Russell and one of the Deertaurs have already fell, and so with the three friends being captured by the bad Deertaurs, Oscar said evilly "We've got ourselves three new slaves who will serve for all of us as our newest minions! Let's take them back to the cave!", and with these words being said, Zoey, Violet and Sitka are taken forcefully by the wrists all the way back to the bad Deertaurs' cave, where it is soon revealed that four of the bad Deertaurs have already taken Austin, Jenna and Igor there so that the two good Deertaurs and their Rhinotaur can also be abused by the evil leader as slaves alongside Sitka and the two female toddlers, who later arrived in the cave to find out that Austin, Jenna and Igor were also being held as hostages and slaves, but that wasn't before the bad Deertaurs pushed Zoey, Violet and Sitka up to them so that the six hostages can see each other, and shortly afterwards, Zoey, Violet and Sitka are thrown next to them before they were tied up by the bad Deertaurs (who also tied up Austin, Jenna and Igor), and once they were all tied up, Oscar, Roger, Charlotte and all the other bad Deertaurs looked down at them with evil eyes.

However, must then, Jenna screamed at them "Just you all wait! You'll never get away with this!", and then Austin added "You'll pay for what you did to our son!", but then Oscar said "I don't think so! Since I'm the leader of my herd, you're not allowed to talk to me like that!", but then Zoey screamed up at them "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will hear about this!", but when the bad Deertaurs all heard what she said, Charlotte lowered down to her level and then she slapped her twice across the face and yelled at her "Shut up your mouth and don't you dare talk to my future mate like that, you little brat!", but then Sitka said to her "You should be ashamed of yourself! A teenage girl or an adult woman should never slap a toddler or a child across the face!", but then Charlotte turned to him and asked rudely "And who are you to tell me how to behave towards slaves?", but then Sitka yelled at her "We're not slaves! You kidnapped all six of us so we can serve for you as your minions!".

However, Roger soon slapped him three times across the face and yelled at him "Shut up your mouth, you stinky Beartaur!", but then Igor said to the muscular Deertaur "Sitka's right - you're so bad that you don't even care to abuse both children and adults and treat them like slaves! You shall be found by some of Equestria's most respected rulers and they will make sure to banish you all to Tartarus!", but when they heard what the Rhinotaur said, Oscar and Roger approached him and then they both punched him hard in the upper humanoid chest before Oscar said "Equestria's most respected rulers should never mess up with us! Male Deertaurs like us are known to be very dangerous because or our enormous antlers, and that's because just like the normal male deer who aren't centaurids like us, these enormous antlers are made out of solid bone!", and then Roger added and said to the six prisoners "Let me show you just how our antlers works!", and then he grabbed and picked up a large rock in his arms and hands and then he threw it up into the air and towards the cave's ceiling, and once the rock started falling back down towards him, Roger moved with his antlers pointing up towards the falling rock, and when it hit with Roger's antlers, the rock broke in pieces while Roger's antlers remained intact and whole, thus showing and revealing to the six prisoners why none of Equestria's most respected rulers should never underestimate the thickness and strength of the male Deertaurs' enormous antlers.

Then, after Roger demonstrated the thickness and strength of his own antlers on the rock, he said wickedly to the six prisoners "Now you all see that none of Equestria's most respected rulers should mess up with male Deertaurs like us?! Our enormous antlers are very dangerous weapons and these are even strong enough to break a large rock into small and useless pieces!", but his words didn't made them scared of him or of the rest of his herd, and so Violet said to him "That's what you think, but there are some powers or strong sources of magic which are powerful enough and can break down and destroy everything, including teeth, claws, horns, tusks and bones!", but then Oscar said to her "Don't count on it, little Zebratauress! We Deertaurs we'll always win against anyone who dares to mess up with us!", but then Zoey cried "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the changeling kings will stop you! All of you!".

However, when the bad Deertaurs all heard what she said, Oscar said to her "Okay, little centauress! Now you're just talking nonsense!", and then he pulled out six muzzles and then he walked up to Zoey and then he put on and tied one of the muzzles on her nose and mouth so to prevent her from talking to him, before he then turned to Violet and put on and tied another muzzle on her own nose and mouth too so neither female toddlers will be able to insult him or his villainous herd, but when he did so, Igor yelled at him "Stop that, you jerk! You can't put muzzles on helpless toddlers! That's against the law!", but then the evil Deertaur leader turned to him and to Sitka and then he put on and tied two of the other muzzles on their noses and mouths so to make sure that they don't talk to him either, before he malevolently said back "I do not listen to or even care about laws! I'm a leader myself and so I'm making my own laws!", and then he turned to Jenna and Austin and said to them "And you two should be ashamed of yourselves for not choosing to live with me and with my herd!", but then Austin said back "We would rather stay good Deertaurs than choose to join and stick with a heartless leader like you!".

However, with these words being said, Oscar put on and tied the two remaining muzzles on Austin and Jenna's noses and mouths before he violently slapped them both hard across the faces and yelled at them to shut up or else he and his whole herd will destroy them, Sitka, Igor, Zoey and Violet all together, and then he turned back to look at the rest of his herd and he said "Let's make sure that these six prisoners are all ours! We'll all make sure that none of them escapes from our cave! We'll make sure that these six prisoners are ours! Only ours!", and with these words being said, all the Deertaurs of Oscar's herd cheered for their evil leader, all except for one young male who appeared to be just around Stephan and Zach's age, and judging by the looks on his face, he appeared quite handsome for his age, but the look on his eyes was worried and sad as it appears like that he didn't like the idea of his leader and of his whole herd abusing four grownups and two toddlers and treating them all like hostages and slaves, and so he watched the six prisoners and felt sorry for all of them, much unlike the rest of the bad Deertaurs herd.

Meanwhile, as for Noah, he slowly started moving before he opened his eyes and then he slowly stood up on his hooves and recovered from last night's attack, and then he briefly shook his head and then he asked "What...what happened?", but when he turned and looked and saw his family's house which is now burned down into ashes, a realization soon hit him and so he gasped in shock to realize that his family's house is now destroyed and that now, to make matters even worse - he's all alone, as he looked around and saw that his parents and Igor have already been taken away by Oscar and by his whole herd, but as he looked around and checked for some clues which might tell him that his friends might have managed to escape, he found some pawprints on the ground and so he knew instantly because of the shape of the pawprints that this trail of pawprints belongs to Russell, and this made him believe that Russell have managed to escape, and so Noah decided to follow the trail of pawprints in hopes that he might be able to find Russell.

However, once he reached the edge of the cliff above the ravine and the fast-streaming river which is going down below, where Russell's trail of pawprints have ended, this at first made Noah believe that Russell had drowned and died in the river, but then the young Deertaur shook his head in disbelief as he still believed that if he goes and travels all the way down near the river, he might actually be able to find out if Russell is actually still alive after all, and so Noah started traveling down near the ravine and the fast-streaming river and so he left the jungle in search for Russell, and he hoped that he'll find out that Russell is still alive and well and that he's waiting for him (Noah) to come and join him (since Noah's family's home is now destroyed and so he (Noah himself) almost have nowhere else to go to anymore).

Meanwhile, as for Andy, he continued traveling inside the tunnel in order to search for another way out, but it seems that he's slowly getting tired after he managed to escape and avoid being captured by Oscar's Deertaurs herd, and so Andy started feeling very weak with each passing minute, and it didn't took long before he finally collapsed and fell unconscious in the middle of the dark tunnel as now he couldn't walk any further, thus also drifting into a deep sleep which he needed because now he's too tired to continue, but a few minutes after he collapsed and fell unconscious and then into a deep sleep, a shadow suddenly came out of nowhere and it started approaching the unconscious toddler male centaur, and once the shadow got close enough to him, it stopped and looked down at him, and the shadow itself soon turned out and revealed to be an African leopard who is from the same species as Russell, and judging by the leopard's looks, his gender was likely a male, and that's because and much like other species of Big Cats, adult male African leopards are often bigger, heavier and even stronger than females, and judging by his size and his weight, the leopard who approached the unconscious Andy is indeed an adult male who is likely more or less around Russell's age.

However, instead of killing and/or eating him right on the spot (like any predatory animal would do), the adult male African leopard let Andy live, but instead of leaving him alone like this, the male leopard went around him and then he crawled and moved right underneath his unconscious body and he started lifting him up, and after a few short moments, Andy is now lying down on top of the male leopard's back, and so that's when he (the male leopard) started walking away slowly in a random direction while carrying Andy's still unconscious body on top of his back, thus carrying the toddler male centaur away to somewhere else which may be safe and without having any intentions to eat him.

Meanwhile, on a river bank outside the jungle, Russell's body lied down with his head, upper half and forelegs are resting on dry land, while his lower half, hind legs and tail are all still in the water, and judging by how he looked after he got swept away by the current and ended up on the river bank outside the jungle, we still don't know if Russell is either dead or just lying unconscious. However, just then, a large adult male leopard suddenly came out of nowhere and then he started approaching and inspecting Russell's body and he started checking if Russell is still alive, and once the male leopard placed his own ear close to Russell's chest, he suddenly felt Russell's heart beating inside his body, which soon revealed to him (and to us) that Russell is still alive, and therefore he's only lying down unconscious, with the front half of his body lying on dry land and with the hind half of his body is underwater, but despite this, however, Russell is luckily still alive and can be rescued by the male leopard who just found him (while at the same time, we also get to know and realize that only the bad random male Deertaur from Oscar's herd who attacked him as he and Russell fell down into the ravine and got swept away by the river's current is the only one who died, as it is very likely that the bad random male Deertaur who attacked Russell and fell down with him drowned to death in the river while Russell managed to survive).

Then, the large male leopard crawled and moved underneath Russell's body, and so it didn't took long before he managed to lift Russell up and carry him away from the water (and also away from the river bank), and once Russell's hind (or lower) half is out of the water, the male leopard who found him started carrying Russell on top of his back and take him away from the river bank to somewhere else which may be safe and without having any intentions to hurt him or kill him, and what the male leopard just did when he rescued Russell is pretty much unusual for leopards to do and that usually defies nature, and that's because back on planet Earth, adult male African leopards are known to be hostile enough to attack or even kill other adult males and cubs (from either gender) from their own species.

However, this would soon turn out to be a coincidence, since it's very likely that these two adult male leopards (the one who saved Andy and the other who saved Russell) are likely friends or maybe even relatives (maybe cousins or even siblings) and it's also very likely that these two adult male leopards are likely part of a leopard leap (a group of leopards which consists both male and female leopards, mostly teenage leopards, but can also be led by one or two fully grown adults, and the number of individuals in each leap varies depending on the size of the territory they share in order to get more food, with a minimum number of three or four individuals in a small leopard leap, but in rare cases, the maximum number of leopards in a larger leap can be up to 10 or maybe even 12 individuals), and so it's very possible that these two adult male leopards who are carrying Andy and Russell on their backs are part of a leopard leap and possibly have a leader as well, but the real question is - where these two leopards are taking the both of them and what are these two leopards' intentions to do with both the toddler male centaur and the red leopard? Right now, there's nothing yet to worry about, as it seems that both Andy and Russell are safe from harm, and with these two adult male leopards who found them carrying them on their backs, it's very possible to tell that they're taking the both of them to a new home, and so for now, Andy and Russell are both going to be safe and sound, as now, with no enemies are after them, Andy and Russell are both going to be safe (or so it seems).


	136. Chapter 135:Azaad the leopard prince

A few hours later, Russell opened up his eyes, moved his body and slowly stood up on his feet and recovered to find himself inside an unfamiliar cave and when he turned to his left, he saw that Andy is lying unconscious next to him, and so Russell quickly placed his forepaws on the toddler male centaur's still unconscious body and then he said "Andy! Andy, wake up! Wake up!", and when Andy heard what Russell said, the toddler male centaur opened up his own eyes, moved his own body and slowly went into a sitting position on his horse haunches, which soon prompted Russell to sit down on his butt next to him as the two friends looked at each other in the eyes, and it seems like they're both so happy to see each other again since Oscar's herd's attack during the last night.

Then, Russell wrapped his right foreleg and forepaw around Andy's upper human back and said to him "It's nice to see you again and know that you're okay!", and then Andy said back as he then wrapped his arms around Russell's chest "It's so good to see that you're alive and okay too, Russell! I thought that you drowned in the river! We all thought that way after what that bad Deertaur said!", but then Russell said to him with a reassuring "Lucky for me, I managed to survive drowning in the river and I'm still alive and feeling well, although I still don't know how did you and I we both ended up here in this unfamiliar cave.", and when Andy heard what he said, the toddler male centaur said back to him "I don't know how did we both ended up here either, but luckily for us, we're both safe and sound and we're also together once again!", and with these words being said, the red leopard and the toddler male centaur shared a two friends hug, as both of them were happy to still have each other, despite they lost all the others (including Zoey), who are now hostages of Oscar and of his bad Deertaurs herd.

Then, when the two friends broke their hug, Andy looked behind Russell and saw a piece of red meat and flesh that looks good enough for the red leopard to eat, and so he said to Russell "Russell, look behind you!", and when Russell heard what he said, he asked him "What is it, Andy?", and once he turned around and then looked down, he saw the piece of red meat and flesh lying right in front of him, and so it made Russell feel hungry as he then started licking his lips before he said "Red meat!" and then he added "It reminds me that I haven't eaten anything for a while!", and then he quickly went up to the piece of red meat and flesh and then he said as he was about to eat it "Bon Appetit!", and with these words being said, Russell started eating the piece of red meat and flesh which lied down at his feet, thus finally eating something else since the jackal which he killed and then ate a few days ago.

However, once he finished eating the piece of red meat and flesh, Russell suddenly heard the growls and snarls of another leopard, and because the sounds were so loud to his ears, Russell knew instantly that there's another leopard from his own kind inside the same cave where he and Andy are (but of course, not with the same extremely rare mutation which only he (Russell himself) have), and that therefore the other leopard must be very close nearby, and just then, a medium-sized adult female leopard (with a normal fur mutation) came out of the shadows of the cave and then she jumped and pounced on Russell and pinned him to the floor upside down on his back, and then she angrily spoke up and asked him "Who are you, red leopard? What are you doing here in my leap's cave?".

When Russell heard what she just said, she said back to the female leopard "Well, I'm Russell, and you should know that I'm the only red leopard around here and maybe the only red leopard who actually exists in this entire world (Equestria), but don't worry, because I mean you and your leap no harm, and I also want to thank you for not only saving me and bringing me here, but also for sparing Andy and for choosing to bring him here too, and for last but not least, I also want to thank you for bringing me that piece of red meat so I can eat, because I haven't eaten much meat since that jackal which I killed and ate a few days ago.", and then he added and asked with a friendly smile as he kept looking up at the female leopard who is still pinning him to the floor "So what do you say? How about you accept me and Andy to your leap so we can have here a new home where we can both stay and live with all of you?".

However, when the female leopard heard what he said, she yelled back at Russell in the face as she looked down at him in the eyes (and while she's still pinning him to the floor) "Never! I will never accept a red leopard like you and/or a little centaur such as your so-called friend to the leap! It will be utterly preposterous!", but then Andy said to her (after the toddler centaur stood up on his hooves) "Please, let us stay here, Miss! We don't have anywhere else to go to!", but when she heard what he said, the female leopard turned to him and yelled "Nice try, little centaur! But you can't fool me into accepting you and this red leopard friend of yours into the leap!", and then she added "And by the way, if you dare to try to convince me into letting you two into the leap, I will kill your friend and then I will eat you for lunch!", and when Andy heard what she said, he gasped with shock and with fright before he said to her "You can't be serious!", but then the female leopard said back to him "I've never been more serious!".

However, just as the female leopard is about to end Russell with a bite to the neck, the same two male leopards from before (who are also the same two leopards who saved both Russell and Andy and brought them to the cave) suddenly came out of nowhere and shoved the female leopard aside and getting her off of Russell, who then quickly stood back up on his feet and watched as the three leopards started growling and snarling at each other like if they were about to have a battle of two-on-one (the two males versus the female), but just then, another male leopard came out of nowhere and said to the three other leopards "Stop doing that! All of you!", and when they heard what he said, the two male leopards quickly obeyed him and bowed their heads in shame while the female leopard just looked annoyed at him before she rolled her eyes in disrespect.

However, the third male leopard turned to the leopardess and then he said to her "You've gone far enough with your hostile behavior, Chuluun! Askari won't like hearing about it! Now you go outside and stay outside until I call you to come back to see Askari! Do you understand?", and when the leopardess, whose name was Chuluun, heard what the third male leopard just said to her, she said back in an annoyed tone "Fine! If you say so, my prince!" before she then turned around and walked away with the first two male leopards following close behind her to help making sure that she doesn't double back and/or decides to continue her attack on Andy and Russell, thus leaving them alone with the third male leopard.

Once Chuluun and the two male leopards are gone, Andy and Russell looked together at the third male leopard, whom they assumed is the leader of the leopard leap, and then the third male leopard stepped forward and approached and went towards them before he stopped and then reached out his right foreleg and forepaw to the two and said "I'm so sorry for how you two were treated a few short moments before, so please accept my apology.", and when Andy and Russell both heard what he said and then looked down at his right forepaw, Russell reached out his own forepaw to shake paws with the male leopard who stood right in front of him, and once the two leopards shook paws with each other, Russell kindly said back to him and then asked "Of course I accept your apology, we both accept your apology, although I still must ask you something - who are you?".

When the third male leopard heard what Russell said, he answered as he introduced himself "I'm Prince Azaad, the son of King Askari and the future leader of the leopard leap.", and then he added "It is my pleasure to meet you, and that's not only because you're a red leopard, but also because you're friends with a centaur.", and then he continued and explained "Because I've never seen such a strong friendship bond and a good connection between a predator and a prey animal like you two. Saving you two and letting you both live here with our leap is a pleasure, because such strong friendship bonds and good connections between predators and prey animals are very rare, and I've only seen this a very few times during my whole life, like 13 or 14 times, and that's all.".

"14 times?" Andy suddenly asked, and then Azaad turned to him and said "Yes, little centaur. I've already seen such strong friendship bonds and good connections between predators and prey animals only 14 times during my whole life, and yours with your friend's is the 15th I've seen overall.", and then he reached out his right foreleg and forepaw and then he gently placed his forepaw right on Andy upper human chest and said to him "And it is also my pleasure to save the life of such a young centaur as you, because I've barely even seen centaurs in my life, and you are in fact the first ever centaur whom I've ever got to meet up from so close.", and then Azaad asked "If a prince may ask, what's your name, little one?", and then Andy said back "I'm Andy, and I'm friends with Russell. Thank you so much for saving the both of us, Prince Azaad.", but then Azaad giggled kindly and said to him "There's no reason to call me 'Prince Azaad', Andy, because calling me just Azaad is also fine, and I promise you that I will make sure that my subjects will treat you both with respect, and in case one of the leap might think ill of you two, you can tell me about it and I promise I will take care of him or her for you and I'll also try to reason with them right away.", and when they both heard what the leopard prince said to them about that he'll promise them that he'll make sure that only good things will happen to them within the leopard leap, Russell said to Azaad with a sign of relief "Thank you, Azaad. You're indeed someone whom we can truly trust.".

Then, Azaad said to both Andy and Russell "So, how about I take you both with me to see everything that is outside this cave? I'm sure you both would like it.", and when they both heard what he said, Russell said to him "Oh, yes! Please! I hope the area around your home outside this cave looks good and is also favorable, just like you should know that my name is Russell!", and then Azaad said to him "It's okay, I already know your name because your little friend just told me that.", and then he asked "Now would you both like to come with me and I'll show you everything outside and all around in my leap's home?", and then Andy said with excitement in his tone "Oh, yes! Please! I want to see if the area and the environment outside this cave are good and favorable for lots and lots of animals to live within your home!", and with these words being said, Azaad said to both Andy and Russell "Follow me." and then he turned around and started to walk away with the toddler centaur and the red leopard soon following close behind him, thus letting Azaad take the lead.

When the three exited the cave, Andy and Russell couldn't help but gasp in shock and look in awe at the area and at the whole environment outside the cave, which turned out to be grassy savannah plains with some trees can be seen standing far away from Andy, Russell and Azaad, and these were indeed a good place for leopards (like Russell and Azaad) to live, and that was also a good home not only for Russell but also for Andy, since the centaurs' (including Andy's) ancestors used to live in African grassy savannah plains about anywhere that is from 3 to 4 million years ago (during the Pliocene epoch), and during that time, centaurs' ancestors were among the weirdest creatures, with the upper bodies which were those of apemen (the same ones of the extinct ape-like human ancestors) and the lower bodies of primitive horses which had three hoof-like toes in each foot like a rhinoceros instead of a single hoof like modern day horses (the same ones of the extinct Pliocene horse ancestor which lived at the same time as 3 or 4 million years ago), and that's not all - they're also the extinct ancestors to the African Zebrataurs, including Zach, Layla, Timmy, Violet, and of course - Brandon and his whole herd, which means that centaurs and Zebrataurs are closely related to each other due to having the same extinct common ancestor, which lived in and during the Pliocene epoch, about nearly 4 million years ago.

Then, Azaad said to both Andy and Russell "Let me show you two everything you need to see all around.", and then he started walking away, and so Andy and Russell soon followed behind him as they started to look everywhere at everything within the favorable environment, which has lots of water, lots of plants, some trees and even animals from many species, and one of these animal species which fascinated the two friends for the most was the Sable antelope, a large Artiodactyl mammal which inhabits wooded savannah in East Africa, south of Kenya, and in Southern Africa back on planet Earth.

This large species of antelope is among the most impressive ungulates in the African plains and savannah, with adult male Sable antelopes being heavier and they're also 20% taller than the females, and the head-and-body length varies from between 6 and a half to almost 9 feet long, depending on both the age and the gender of each individual animal. Adult male Sable antelopes reach from 4 to about 4 and a half feet tall at the shoulders, while adult females are slightly shorter, some of them only reach less than 4 feet tall at the shoulders, and another important thing about the Sable antelopes is their body weight, with adult males are slightly heavier than adult females, as males typically weigh 235 kilograms, whilst females weigh only about 220 kilograms, and depending on their age, size and gender, the Sable antelope's tail reaches from 1 and a half to 2 and a half feet in length, with a medium-sized tuft can be seen at the end.

Later, after showing Andy and Russell everything all around, Azaad took the two to the trees which stood far away from them, and once they arrived there, they came face-to-face with a large leap of leopards who are most likely Azaad's leopard leap, there were many leopards than there usually are in a real leopard leap you would or might expect to see back on planet earth, as the number of leopards in the leap appeared to be equal to the number of lions in Jayma's lion pride, which means that Azaad's leap is in fact a whole and united family consisting of adult males, adult females, adolescents, juveniles and even baby cubs, but the real question is - will they all accept both Andy and Russell to their beautiful homeland, or will they all chase them both out instead?

When all the adult leopards saw Russell, they were shocked to see his looks and especially his red skin and fur, and when some of them saw Andy standing right next to him, they started growling hungrily at him as it seems like they want to eat the little centaur for lunch, but then Azaad stepped in between them and said to his whole leap "Everyone, please, listen up! Today, I'm glad to represent to all of you two new guests which two of the leap have brought here to our homeland! These two were unlike everything you've seen in your lives! A red leopard who is best friends with a little centaur! Their names are Russell and Andy, and they're both here to stay in our homeland as our new guests! So, as your future king, I'm asking you all to treat these two with respect, show them some love, befriend them and show them that they're welcome to stay and live in our beautiful homeland for as much as they want!", and then he asked after he explained about Andy and Russell being the two newest guest in his and in his leopard leap's beautiful homeland "Who wants these two to stay?", and when the leopards heard what their future leader said to them all, they all accepted his decision to let both Andy and Russell stay and live in peace in their homeland and then they all said in unison "We all want!", but then a familiar female voice suddenly said in disapproval "But I don't!".

When everyone heard what the female voice said, they all turned to see Chuluun sitting down and looking disappointed with the fact that Andy and Russell are both welcomed to Azaad's homeland, and when Andy and Russell saw her, they both recognized her by her appearance before Andy said to her "Hey, it's you! We've seen you around before!", but then the leopardess said back to him with a strong hint of hatred can be seen on her face "Don't mind me, you little brat! And I expect that that reddish friend of yours (referring to Russell) should also do the same! You two are nothing but total strangers and I bet that you're also jerks!", but when everyone heard what she said to Andy and Russell, Azaad raised his voice and the warned her "Don't you dare insult our new guests, Chuluun! They did nothing to deserve such disrespect from you! And if you keep referring them to as outcasts, then you're going to be facing my father, Askari! And I'm pretty sure that he'll be more than interested to hear what you just said to Andy and Russell!", but then Chuluun blew up a raspberry at him before she then stood up, turned around and started walking away and leaving all the other leopards with whom she sat down, and when Andy and Russell saw and watched her leaving, they couldn't help but feel sorry for her, although they shouldn't have because Chuluun is actually a bad leopardess, and a little did they know is that she wants to have both Andy and Russell banished and exiled from Azaad's homeland, thus revealing that she already came to hate them both from first sight.

"What's wrong with her?", Andy asked Azaad as he and Russell both kept watching Chuluun leaving, and then Azaad gave a heavy sigh and he said and explained to the two "Chuluun doesn't tolerate new guests and newcomers whom I welcome to my homeland, and she can be very hostile towards other animals and creatures sometimes.", and then Russell asked him "How much do you know her, Azaad?", and then the leopard prince explained "She's the princess of my homelands.", and when they both heard what he said, Andy asked him "Is she your wife?", but then Azaad said back "No, she's my sister, and unlike any other female leopard I know and love, she always looks up to no good and even goes behind my back to look for troubles.".

"Poor lady. She needs some friends, I bet." Andy said about Chuluun, and then Russell added "Yeah, I think the same as you. She needs some friends.", but then Azaad said to the two "Don't mind or pay much attention to my sister. She's always acting like this and she doesn't want to have any friends at all. I already know of her unkind nature and of her bad attitude, and so I'm doing my best to make sure that she doesn't make too much troubles in my homelands, because she does so much trouble for too many times, I'll have no other choice and I will have to take her to face Askari, who is our old and wise father.", and then he asked Andy and Russell "Would you two like to meet him?", but then Andy asked him "Do you think your father will be nice to us the same way as you, Azaad?", and then Azaad said to him "Yes, he may be very old, but my father, Askari is still a good leopard and he has a kind and friendly soul, and he always liked to help other animals when he was very young, even before Chuluun and I we were born.", and then he said to Andy and Russell "Come with me, guys. I'm sure my father will be happy to see and meet you two. He's not too far away from here. In fact, he's very nearby. He's living under one of these big trees nearby, inside the one which is hollow and every animal can go there to meet him face-to-face.", and when they both heard what he said, Russell said to him "If you want us to meet your father, then lead the way and show us where he is, Azaad.", and then Azaad said back "Okay, fine. Just follow me, guys. We're very close to get to meet my father, Askari face-to-face. Come along, he's waiting to meet you two.".

With these words being said, Azaad started leading Andy and Russell towards a large and hollow tree, and once they went through the entrance, the three started going down into a cavern which leads down under the hollow tree, and once they reached the end of the cavern, they all entered a large space with ball-shaped lamps which are tied to the ceiling and each of the lamps has lots of fireflies inside them to make sure that the space is lit, and in the end of the lit space, there was an elderly male leopard who appeared to be lying down on his belly with his head and neck raised up and looking and facing forward, and when he saw Azaad, Andy and Russell in the lit space, the old male leopard just gave them all a gentle smile in order to reassure them that he means them no harm.

Then, Azaad stepped forward and said to the elderly male leopard "Father, I want you to meet these two new guests whom my subjects and I we've saved and brought here to our beautiful homeland.", and then he turned back to Russell and Andy and told them to step forward so that the elderly male leopard can see them, and then Russell said first "I'm Russell, and as you can see, I'm a red leopard.", and then Andy added "And I'm Andy. I'm Russell's best friend and the only one who is currently with him.", and when the elderly male leopard heard what they both said, he said back with a smile "I'm Askari, the king of our homeland and Azaad and Chuluun's father. It is my pleasure to meet you, travelers. You must've been through a lot.", and then Russell said "Yes, you can say that, your majesty.", and then he and Andy both bowed their heads down before him.

However, when Askari saw them bowing their heads down before him, he said "You may raise your heads up, Andy and Russell. There's no reason for you two to bow your heads down before me. I do not ask for other leopards or for any other creatures to be formal with me. You can treat me the same way as with any elderly animal or creature in this world.", and then he asked "So now tell me, Andy and Russell, where are you two from?", but the moment they both heard him saying that, Andy's face started becoming saddened, and so was Russell's the same way, and when Azaad and Askari both noticed the change on both the red leopard and the toddler centaur's faces, Askari asked the two "Is there's something wrong?", but then Russell said "Nothing, your majesty. It's nothing, really.".

However, both the elderly leopard king and the young leopard prince didn't really believed what he said because they weren't really buying it, and so Azaad asked them "Is there's something you don't want to tell us about that involved you two before you arrived here in our homeland?", and then Andy confessed "Yes, Azaad." and then he started sniffling as tears started forming in his eyes, and this made both the leopard prince and the leopard king feel worried about both him and Russell, before Askari asked the two "Would you both like to tell us about what happened to you two before you arrived here in our homeland?", and then Russell said as tears started forming in his own eyes as well "Yes, your majesty.", and so he and Andy both started talking to Azaad and to Askari about what happened to them before they arrived in the grassy savannah plains which are the leopard leap's homelands.

20 minutes later, when Russell and Andy finished explaining about what happened to themselves before they arrived in the grassy savannah plains, Azaad said to them "I had no idea. I'm so sorry, and I truly am for both of you.", and then Askari added "Nobody should ever be treated like that, not a young child or even a full grown adult.", and then Russell said to them "Thank you both for being so kind and caring for the both of us. Andy and I we both need protection, because we lost all our friends to a herd of bad Deertaurs who took them all hostages, and so now Andy and I we both have only each other support, but even the support we give to each other isn't enough to help us, so if we're going to live here in your beautiful homeland, then we do need your help so you can help us survive here as much as possible.".

Then, Andy asked Azaad and Askari "Will you be willing to help us adapt and get used to our new life in your beautiful homeland?", and when the two leopards heard what he said, Askari said to him "Of course we'll help you, both of you.", but then he also added and asked "Andy, if a king may ask, can you and Russell please come close to me for a minute?", and when the two heard what he said, they looked at him with hesitation before they turned to look at Azaad, who gave them both a reassuring smile before he said to them "It's okay, guys. My father won't hurt you. He just wants to talk to you from a closer look, that's all.", and then he encouraged them by saying to them "Go to him.", and that's when Andy and Russell both started approaching the elderly leopard king, and then the two came to a stop once they're only a foot away from Askari, who looked at the both of them with the gentle kindness can be seen both in and behind his eyes, similar to Asha (the matriarch and leader of the okapi family) before she died.

Then, Askari said to both Andy and Russell "I'm so glad I got to see such a strong friendship bond and such a good connection between a predator and a prey animal like you two, and I hope you enjoy staying and living here in our homeland. Azaad will make sure that nobody treats you badly, especially his sister, my daughter, Chuluun. I'm also very glad to meet you two face-to-face and I hope that you both will stay here in our homeland.", and then he barely raised up his right foreleg and forepaw and then he gently touched Russell on the shoulder with his forepaw and said to him "Russell, you didn't deserve to be treated like a toilet and/or to be mistreated by your former masters.", and then he moved his own foreleg and forepaw away from Russell's shoulder, before he then gently placed his forepaw on Andy's upper human chest and said to him "And you, Andy, you didn't deserve to be blamed for what happened to your older brother and to his girlfriend before you and your twin sister ran away from home.", and then he moved his forepaw away from Andy's upper human chest and then he placed his right foreleg and forepaw back down and on the floor.

Then, Askari said to both the toddler centaur and the red leopard "Nothing was your fault, and neither of you are to blame for what happened to you two before you ran away from your homes. Please, try to understand what I'm trying to say. Please, trust me.", and when Russell and Andy both heard what he said, Russell said back to him "I trust you, Askari. We both trust you.", and then Andy added and said in agreement "Thank you so much for telling us that we didn't deserve to be blamed for everything that's happened. You may be very old for a king, but still you're indeed a wise leopard who does knows the differences between right and wrong and also knows how to tell between who's good and who's bad. Thank you so much, Askari. We're so glad we came here to meet you.", and when Askari heard what they said, the elderly leopard king gave both Andy and Russell a kind and friendly smile to show them that they both can stay and live in his and in his leopard leap's homelands as much as they both want.

Then, Andy and Russell both smiled back at Askari after they thanked him for telling them that they're not to blame for anything from what happened to them before they ran away from their respective homes, and then Russell said "Goodbye for now, Askari. It was our pleasure to meet such a wise king as you.", and then they both turned back to Azaad and then Andy said to him "Now we're both ready to go out of here and have some lots of time interacting, befriending and having fun with all the other leopards who are all waiting for us outside.", and then Azaad said to them "Follow me, Andy and Russell. I'll take you two out of here with me so you can interact with the rest of the leap.", and then he started walking away from the lit underground space which was Askari's layer (in which the very old leopard king is currently lying down, but still alive as he still has some short time to live), and so Azaad started leading Andy and Russell away from Askari's layer and the three went together back to the entrance which leads both in and out of the hollow tree, and once the three exited and went out of and through the hollow tree, they reached back to the surface where all the other leopards were been waiting for them to come, and so that's when Andy and Russell started interacting with, befriending and having fun with all the other leopards, thus receiving lots of good attention, love and respect from all of them.

Meanwhile, far away in the Great Animal Graveyard, Chuluun is walking and wandering around, but that is until a female voice suddenly called and asked "Stop! Who goes there?", and then Chuluun asked back "Is there's someone there?", and just then, Shanzi, Benzai and Eddie (the same three Hyenataurs whom Russell and Andy have encountered before) came out of nowhere and appeared right in front of Chuluun before they slowly approached and then stopped right in front of her, and when they saw the leopardess in their territory, Shanzi asked her "Who are you, leopardess?", and then Chuluun said to her and to the two male Hyenataurs who stood right next to her from both of her sides "I'm Chuluun.", and then Benzai asked her "What are you doing here? What are you looking for?", and then he added "Do you want us to eat you for lunch, you trespasser?", but then Chuluun said back "Oh no, I'm not looking for trouble.", and then she added with an evil smile can be seen on her face "Actually, I'm looking for some help, and I think that you three can actually help me get rid of two new enemies of mine whom I want to be gone from my homeland, AND from this entire world!".

Then, she started to explain to the three Hyenataurs about her evil plan to get rid of both Russell and Andy by fooling a very close relative from Azaad's family (who is also part of the leopard leap) into going to the Great Animal Graveyard (and to end up getting eaten by the Hyenataurs), and that if Andy and Russell will see him or her trying to sneak away and go there all alone, they might decide to go after him or her and they will get themselves eaten by the Hyenataurs as well, and when Chuluun explained her whole plan to the Hyenataurs, Shanzi and Benzai said to her together with evil smiles on their faces "Count us all in!", while Eddie laughed both crazily and menacingly, and behind their backs, there were more Hyneataurs, and they weren't just a few, they were an army of almost 100 individuals from both genders, and judging by all the evil looks on all their faces, they all looked like they're up to no good.


	137. Chapter 136:Chuluun's plan (part 1)

The following day, Andy and Russell were both enjoying their day having fun with the other leopards, and they even met and made best friends with Azaad's little son, whose name was Feliks, a young male leopard cub who is just around the same age as Andy, and because of him being Azaad's son, Feliks, therefore is the chosen heir who will succeed his father Azaad as the future king of the grassy savannah plains, but his time to become the new king of his homeland is still very far away and ahead of him, and so because of his very young age, Feliks is being called the future prince by all the other leopards who will one day succeed in Azaad's reign, but that will happen only after Azaad will die in the far future, and not to mention that Askari (who is Feliks' grandfather) is still the current king because the elderly male leopard is still alive, but because of his old age, Askari is too old to move and he can't even leave his underground layer, which means that after his death, Azaad will become the new king, and this will make Feliks very happy for him, because he knows that one day, he (Feliks himself) will become a king too after his father Azaad passes away in the far future, and that right now, Feliks is enjoying having his good father around to take care of him and have lots of fun with him and with all the other leopards in his leap.

However, out of all the leopards in Azaad's leap, only one leopard didn't liked Feliks and was in fact really jealous of him, and that is none other than Chuluun herself (who is coincidentally Feliks' aunt, due to herself being Azaad's sister), and she even said before Andy and Russell arrived in the leopard leap's homeland that she herself _was_ the next queen in line until Feliks was born, and that ever since he was born, Chuluun was jealous of her own nephew and she even thought of a few plans to wipe both Feliks and Azaad out so she can become the new queen of their and their whole leap's homeland instead, and now that Andy and Russell are new inhabitants of the leopard leap's homeland, as well as the leap's two newest honorary members (with Andy being the first one who is obviously not a leopard himself), Chuluun is now planning to wipe out both of them and Feliks all together so she can become the new ruler of the African grassy savannah plains instead, with the help of the Hyenataurs clan, whom she made a deal with when she arrived in the Great Animal Graveyard (just yesterday).

Today, Russell and Andy were both enjoying their new lives together in Azaad's homeland, and they also started getting used to all the other leopards, and especially to none other than the young future prince himself - Feliks, who appeared to be happy to make friends with both Andy and Russell, which is something that is very unlikely for leopard cubs to do back on planet earth, because back there, leopard cubs are often being hunted and killed by adult males from their own kind, and the very good reason to this it's because an adult male leopard knows which cubs are his own and which are not, and so if a leap of leopards is led by an adult male (or even two which are likely brothers) and then a stranger (another male (or even two) from the same species) comes to his (or their) territory, challenges him (or them) and ends up chasing him (or them) away, the stranger male (or two) who came out victorious will kill any cubs who are the offspring of the previous adult male (or two) before mating with the females to better ensure that they become pregnant and later on will give birth to his (or their) own offspring instead.

Luckily for Feliks, however, Russell has no intentions to even mean any harm to the young male leopard cub, and one of the few reasons to this it's because Russell is not only a rare leopard by appearance, but also by his very unique personality to spare the lives of cubs from his own species which he knows are not even his own, for he has no heart to do the same cruel and heartless things as most other male leopards who live back on planet Earth do, and since Russell is now friends with Azaad, this is another good reason which tells why Russell wouldn't mean Feliks any harm and wouldn't even let other animals from other species mean him any harm either, and Feliks started enjoying having Russell around and have fun with him and within a few short hours, he even started to treated the older red male leopard like his own uncle and not just like his new friend, and all the other leopards in the leap felt happy for both their future prince and for Russell, as now Russell is showing quick signs of taking the spot and role of an uncle figure for Feliks, and in doing so, Russell is also allowing Feliks to spend more time with him and also with Andy while his father Azaad is away to do his royal duties and do both his hunting and patrolling with some of the leap while the others stay at home to tend to the cubs, and while Chuluun rejected the role of taking care of Feliks while Azaad is away, Russell saw this as his opportunity to make himself useful enough to help the leap by seizing and taking the role of tending to and taking care of Feliks so the young male leopard cub won't be feeling any neglect from his ignoring and uncaring aunt who was always and still is jealous of him and wants to get rid of Russell, Andy and him so she can become the future queen of the grassy savannah plains without having any of the three interfering with her plans.

Later, during the afternoon, when Azaad is away and is on his daily patrol, Feliks went to see how Chuluun is doing and so he went looking for her and after a few minutes of searching for his aunt whom he also loved for the most (completely unaware of the fact that unlike both his father Azaad and his new uncle Russell, Chuluun actually hates him and is jealous of him for the most), Feliks was able to find her lying down on a rock and so he quickly ran towards her and called for her, causing Chuluun to turn to see him coming towards her, and so she stood up on her feet and then she climbed down from the rock which she lied down on just a short moment ago and then she turned around and slowly started walking away, not even minding that her nephew is coming towards her as she did her best to try and ignore him, growling to herself due to herself being jealous at the young male cub for him going to become the new king after Azaad in the far future.

"Hey Auntie Chuluun, guess what!" Feliks asked his aunt, and when she heard what he said, the adult leopardess slowly turned her head back to look at him for a moment and then she said to Feliks in a low and grumpy tone with a scowl can be seen on her face "I despise guessing games.", and when Feliks caught up with Chuluun, he said to her "I'm going to be the future king of our beautiful homeland after my Daddy!", but then Chuluun said back "Oh goodee.", and then Feliks said to her while not even realizing she's jealous of him and that she has intentions to get rid of Russell, Andy and him "After Mommy died, Daddy showed me the whole kingdom so to cheer me up and show me that I will make her proud by becoming the future king of Daddy's homeland, and someday, I'm going to rule it all. Heh heh." he laughed as Chuluun started walking away from him and she tried to mind her own business instead.

"Yes. Well...forgive me for not leaping for joy...bad back, you know." Chuluun said as she sat down on her butt, before she then fell down and collapsed on her side on purpose while turning her back on Feliks, who then quickly approached to her side and asked her as he then placed his forepaws on the side of her back "Hey, Auntie Chuluun? When I'm king, what will that make you?", and then Chuluun said back without turning her head "A baboon's auntie.", and when he heard what she said, Feliks laughed and said to his aunt "Heh heh. You're so weird.", and when she heard what he said, Chuluun turned her head to look at him for a moment and said "You have no idea.", before she then stood back up again and asked him as she then turned and walked away from him "So, your father showed you the whole kingdom, did he?", and then Feliks went up to her and said "Everything.", but then Chuluun pointed out and said to him "Well, he didn't show you what's beyond that rise at the northwestern border...?", and when he heard what she said, Feliks said back "Well, no...he said I can't go there.", and then Chuluun said to him "And he's absolutely right!" and then she added "It's far too dangerous. Only the bravest leopards go there.".

However, Feliks looked up at his aunt and said to her and asked "Well, I'm brave! What's out there?", but then Chuluun said back to him "No, I'm sorry, Feliks. I just can tell you.", but then Feliks asked her "Why not?", and then Chuluun said back "Feliks, Feliks. I'm only looking out for the well-being of my favorite nephew.", before she then reached out her foreleg and then she stroked at the top of her little nephew's head with her forepaw, thus making Feliks say back into agreement "Yeah, right. I'm your only nephew.", and then Chuluun said to him "All the more reason for me to be protective...the Great Animal Graveyard is no place for a young prince...", but then she quickly said "Oops! My mistake!", but when Feliks heard what she said about the Great Animal Graveyard, he asked "the Great Animal what? Whoa!", but then Chuluun said to herself as she placed a forepaw on her own face, left eye and forehead "Oh dear, I've said too much...", and then she said to Feliks "Well, I suppose you'd have found out sooner or later, you being so clever and all...", but just as Feliks was about to go all by himself, Chuluun pulled him back to herself and said to him "Oh, and just do me one favor...", and then she said in a somewhat mocking tone while pretending to show him some love and make him think that she cares and worries about his safety "Promise me you'll never visit that dreadful place.", and when he heard what his aunt said to him, Feliks said "No problem.".

Then, Chuluun let go of Feliks and then she said to him "Well, there's a good lad." before she then added as she gently pushed him away to make him start running "You run along now and have fun.", but just before he's about to start his journey to the Great Animal Graveyard all by himself, Chuluun said to Feliks "And remember...it's our little secret.", and with these words being said, Feliks started running away towards the rise at the northwestern border (since the Great Animal Graveyard is located beyond and behind it), and when she saw and watched her nephew going there all by himself, she said evilly to herself "Perfect, the first step is going exactly as I planned! When I get to have a talk with Russell and with his little centaur friend, I'm going to ask and make them go after that little morsel of a nephew of mine so all three will get killed all together by the Hyenataurs and everything will go exactly as I planned! Soon I will be the grassy savannah plains' new queen!", and then she started laughing evilly before she then turned around and left to find Russell and Andy in order to make the other part of her plan to get rid of both of them alongside her own nephew become a huge success.


	138. Chapter 137:Chuluun's plan (part 2)

Meanwhile, Russell and Andy are having a good time lying down under a tree next to each other, and just then, they're approached by Azaad, who have just returned from his daily patrol over his homelands, and then he asked them as he saw that Feliks isn't anywhere around (or with them) "Russell, Andy, where's Feliks?", and when they heard what he said, Russell said "I bet he's having some private time to himself, or maybe he's just talking to one of the older leopards in the leap.", and then Andy added "I just hope he didn't went to talk to the wrong leopard.", but when Azaad heard what the toddler centaur just said, the leopard prince asked "'Wrong leopard'? What do you mean?", and then Andy explained "I'm talking about your sister, Chuluun. I don't think your good little son should talk to or even interact with her at all.".

When Azaad heard what Andy said about Chuluun not being a good leopard for Feliks to talk to or to interact with, he asked him "What makes you think that my own sister, Chuluun is dangerous to my only son?", and then Russell explained to him "Because you saw how she attacked us when your subjects first brought us both to your homeland alive and well and in one piece, before you stopped her from meaning us any more harm.", and then the red leopard added "And not to mention, when you accepted the both of us to your leap, despite Andy is not even a leopard himself, Chuluun is the one and only leopard in the whole leap who despised the idea of accepting and/or having him and even me around here with all of you.".

When Azaad realized that Russell and Andy does not trust Chuluun and that they both also believe that she might actually mean harm to his son Feliks, the leopard prince gasped in shock before he said to his two newest friends "No! It can be true. My sister would never try to hurt my son or even turn on me.", but then Andy said to him "I bet your sister wants to get rid of your son because judging by the look in her eyes, she seems to be doing something wrong that is also up to no good at all.", but then Azaad asked him as anger started rising behind his face and eyes "How dare you talk to my own only sister like that? Who do you think you are that you have the right to blame her for something she haven't done?", but then Russell said to him and then asked "Hey, chill up, Azaad. Andy might actually be talking the truth about your sister. I mean, think about it - why do you think Chuluun ignored and neglected your son like this before I came and took the role of caring for him instead?", and then he added "Was it because she's too busy to watch him? Or is it because she doesn't really likes him at all?".

When Azaad heard what Russell just said to him about thinking about why Chuluun would ignore and neglect Feliks like he said she does, Azaad gasped with shock again before he then grew even angrier and then he angrily said "How dare you?! How dare you think about my sister like that and in that way?! Who do you even think you are that have the right to judge her by what she usually does?!", but Andy said to him "No, wait! Azaad! Please, listen to us! You don't understand what we're really trying to say!", but then Azaad said to him "I don't even want to hear or know what you're really trying to say!" and then he added and declared "As a punishment, I'm going to banish you two from my homeland for saying such bad and deceptive things about my own and also one and only sister!", but then Russell begged "Azaad, please! Listen to us!", but then the leopard prince raised his voice and so he yelled and roared at them "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!", and when the two heard what he said, they couldn't believe their ears, nor they could believe their eyes when they saw Azaad's angry face glaring at them, as now the good bonds between Russell and Andy and Azaad seems to be severed, before Azaad angrily raised up his left foreleg and then he pointed with his whole left forepaw and motioned for both Russell and Andy to go away and never come back, thus leaving the two friends with no choice as they slowly turned around and started walking away together in both sadness and in shame, while Azaad himself briefly watched them leaving before he growled angrily and then he turned around and started walking away in the complete opposite direction, thus having his good bonds with both Andy and Russell fractured and severed.

However, what none of them didn't know is that Chuluun was been watching them from behind a large rock which stood nearby, and when she saw both Andy and Russell leaving together in shame and then also saw Azaad walking away in the complete opposite direction with an angry expression on his face, an evil smile grew on the leopardess' face as it instantly told her that even though she didn't really expected Azaad to banish both Andy and Russell from the leopards' homeland, she still knew that that to her, it was in fact what's taking her even closer to her own advantage, before she then gave a feminine yet also a lowly chuckle and then she started to sneak after and follow both Andy and Russell without having either or both of them noticing her anywhere around.

Meanwhile, Feliks almost have managed to reach the Great Animal Graveyard, but he's still completely unaware of the danger lying within that dangerous territory, and so Shanzi, Benzai and Eddie, as well as all the other Hyenataurs waited patiently for him to come and reach all the way to the middle of the Great Animal Graveyard so they can attack him right there on the spot because once he reaches there, there will be no escape for Feliks at all and so he will up becoming a meal for the Hyenataurs, despite his body is obviously way too small in size to feed them all, but all the Hyenataurs really cared about, however, is that they will be able to trap Feliks and keep him hostage for a while so Chuluun's plan will succeed, as they were also waiting for Andy and Russell to come to them too so they (the Hyenataurs) can eat them both alongside Feliks so to make sure that Chuluun's plan succeeds completely.

Back with Andy and Russell, the two continued walking together aimlessly as they started looking for a way out of Azaad's homeland, but then they suddenly heard a familiar voice calling for them, and then they turned around to see Chuluun running towards them and calling for them "Russell, Andy, please help!", but when the red leopard and the toddler centaur saw her and recognized her, Russell just said and asked her with a hint of anger in his voice "Oh, so that's you, Chuluun. What are you doing here?", and then Chuluun said to them "I came here looking for you! I need your help!", but then Andy cried "Please, just go away! Russell and I we both don't want to know what do you want from us and we don't even want to hear or listen to anything you have to say!", but then Chuluun pretended to be crying in distress and said "Feliks is in danger! You have to go and rescue him!", and when the two heard what she just said, they both gasped in shock before Russell asked "Wait, come again?", and then Chuluun cried and explained "He's in the Great Animal Graveyard, and the Hyenataurs who lives there have caught him and they're preparing to eat him! You must rescue my precious nephew before it's too late!".

When the two heard what the leopardess said, Russell said to Chuluun as he then placed a forepaw on her shoulder so to comfort and reassure her that he and Andy won't let anything bad happen to Feliks and/or mean him any harm "It's okay, Chuluun! Don't worry about it! We'll go to the Great Animal Graveyard to rescue your nephew right away!", and then he added "You go back to the rest of the leap to inform them and Azaad that Andy and I we both went to rescue Feliks from the Great Animal Graveyard and that we'll be back home with him by sunset!", and then he asked her "Is that understood?", and then Chuluun nodded and said "Yes, Russell! Now, please go save my precious little nephew before it's too late!", and with these words being said, Russell and Andy left together as fast as they both could and went together to the Great Animal Graveyard to rescue Feliks from the Hyenataurs, not knowing and also completely unaware that Chuluun only pretended to be crying and in distress so she can have the Hyenataurs killing them both alongside Feliks once they reach the Great Animal Graveyard to rescue him, and once Andy and Russell were both too far away from Chuluun, the leopardess smiled evilly before she said "Ha! Fools! They both fell for it! For such a beautiful and gorgeous lady, or better yet to say leopardess, I'm also the smartest and most cleverest trickster in this world!", and then she started laughing evilly before she turned around and started running away and went all the way back to Azaad and to the rest of the leopard leap to inform them all that Feliks was eaten by the Hyenataurs and that Andy and Russell also died trying to rescue him in the Great Animal Graveyard.

Meanwhile, Feliks continued to wander deeper and deeper into the Great Animal Graveyard, and yet he's still completely unaware of the danger lying within that dangerous territory, but that wasn't before he finally reached the middle of the Great Animal Graveyard, where he started laughing proudly to show that he's a brave leopard (although he's still a very young cub), and soon after he laughed, Feliks soon heard many unfamiliar voices laughing which he have never heard before, and all of these sounded like a cross between the ones of humans and the ones of wild animals, and just then, Shanzi, Benzai, Eddie and all the other Hyenataurs slowly emerged from the shadows and started approaching and making their way towards Feliks, as some of them even came from different directions from all around him and then started surrounding him so he won't be able to escape from the Great Animal Graveyard, thus making the young male leopard cub start feeling scared and afraid of all of them because of their scary and intimidating appearances, but the three Hyenataurs who really scared him for the most are none other than Shanzi, Benzai and Eddie themselves, who stood right in front of him and towered over him, due to them having the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of hyenas, which made them tall, scary and intimidating enough to scare every young animal or creature who comes to meet face-to-face with them.

Just then, Benzai said evilly "Now look at what we have here.", and then he laughed evilly and the sound of his laughing indeed sounded like a cross between the one of a human and the other of a hyena (probably because of himself being a Hyenataur), and that was enough to make Feliks feel really scared of him that he stepped aback in fear, and then the young male leopard cub asked in fear "Who are you?", and then Shanzi introduced herself first and said to him as she and all the other Hyenataurs looked down at him with evil grins creeping on their faces "I'm Shanzi, the matriarch and queen of the Hyenataurs clan!", and then Benzai added as he introduced himself soon after she finished "I'm, Benzai, Shanzi's mate and second-in-command of the Hyenataurs clan!" and then he added as he pointed and motioned with a human hand and an index finger of his own at Eddie "And this is Eddie, the third-in-command of our clan!", but then he also said "Although I have to admit that he doesn't talk and that he's actually really stupid!", and then the dumb and stupid male Hyenataur who stood on the other side next to both Shanzi and Benzai laughed and cackled with his tongue sticking outside of his mouth and the pupils of his eyes pointing and looking away from each other rather than facing forward, which means that Eddie has derpy eyes (much like Derpy the Pegasus (A.K.A Derpy Hooves), an Equestrian mailmare who is best known for having her cross-eyed expression).

Feeling frightened by the Hyenataurs' scary and intimidating appearances, Feliks said and begged for mercy with great fear shaking within his tone "P-please, don't hurt me! I-I promise I won't come back here ever again!", but then a young male voice which sounded like the one of a young preteen boy said to him "Too late, little leopard! You're going to stay here because we need you to stay here!", and then Feliks turned around to see a young male Hyenataur who, judging by his appearance and looks, appears to be a not much older than 11 years old, but even that juvenile male Hyenataur, much like all the adults in the clan, appeared to be really bad as an evil smile full of sharp hyena-like teeth can be seen when he grinned evilly at Feliks, who lowered himself down in fear before the juvenile male Hyenataur went up to the three leading adults and then he introduced himself and said "I'm Jonjo, Shanzi and Benzai's son, Eddie's nephew and the future second-in command who will succeed after my own father and uncle will both die, and so you can say that right now, I'm currently being called the fourth-in-command of the Hyenataurs clan, despite I'm only a juvenile, and I'm also no older than 11 years old!", before he then let out a childish yet also scary and malicious laugh which causes Feliks to shiver in fear as he's still being surrounded by all the Hyenataurs, who kept looking down and grinning evilly at him while also showing their sharp hyena-like teeth and some were even licking their lips, which causes Feliks to shiver in even more fear.

Then, Shanzi said evilly "And, for addition, we all know who you are - you're Azaad's little boy and the future prince who will come after him and next in line to be king after he dies in the far future!", and when he heard what the Hyenatauress just said, Feliks gasped with both shock and with fright and then he asked "W-what? H-how do you know that?", but then Shanzi said back to him "I will never tell you why, little prince!", and then she added as she stepped forward and loomed over him "You may have managed to survive your infancy and become a little older, juvenile cub who doesn't depends on or needs milk anymore, but your short life will end HERE!" she yelled as she was about to charge and attack the young leopard prince.

However, just as Shanzi could do and mean Feliks harm, Russell suddenly came out of nowhere and then he angrily leapt right onto her face and started attacking her, thus prompting all the other Hyenataurs to attack both him and Feliks, who quickly took off and ran as fast as he could between the Hyenataurs' lower hyena legs so they won't be able to catch him, but when one of them, an adult male, did caught him in his human arms and hands and then picked the young leopard prince up so he can eat him, this is when Andy too came to the rescue as the toddler centaur climbed up onto the male Hyenataur's lower hyena back, before he then jumped up and bit the Hyenataur in the left arm, causing him to scream in pain and let go of Feliks, who quickly started running away before Andy let go of the Hyenataur and trotted and galloped away to join the young leopard prince, and so the two youngsters tried to escape together from the Great Animal Graveyard alive and well and in one piece.

However, as Andy and Feliks tried to escape from the Great Animal Graveyard, some of the Hyenataurs started chasing after them, and the one who was in the very front of them all (who was also the closest Hyenataur who is almost catching up with both the young leopard prince and the toddler centaur) is none other than Jonjo, and as the preteen male Hyenataur got close enough to catch both Andy and Feliks, he licked his lips and laughed evilly before he said evilly in his young voice tone "Hahahahaha! I got ya now!", but just as he's about to snap down at the two youngsters, Russell suddenly came out of nowhere (likely he have managed to take on the leading adult Hyenataurs and managed to get away without getting seriously injured) and then he said to the evil preteen male Hyenataur "Oh no, you don't!", and then he quickly pushed him aside and knocked him away, before the two leopards and the centaur continued and kept running away for their lives, and once they managed to escape and get out of the Great Animal Graveyard, this is when all the Hyenataurs stopped following them and started growling and snarling angrily at them before turning around and walking back into the Great Animal Graveyard in shame to inform their leader and lieutenants about their failure, having lost their meal once again.

With Feliks being rescued from the Hyenataurs and from the Great Animal Graveyard, Russell said to him as he looked down at him with a stern face "Do not go there ever again, Feliks! You almost got yourself killed! The Great Animal Graveyard is too dangerous for a young leopard cub like yourself! Your father will be very disappointed in you when he finds out what happened!", but then Feliks said as he begged and protested "But...Russell...I...", but then Russell sternly said back to him "No buts, Feliks! When we get back home, your father, Azaad is going to hear about what to you in the Great Animal Graveyard! I'm sure he'll more than interested to hear about what could've happened to you if Andy and I we didn't got there after you and saved you in time!", and when Feliks heard what the older male red leopard said to him, he sniffled in shame and said "I'm so sorry, Russell! Please, forgive me!", and then tears formed and rolled down his eyes.

However, just then, Andy placed a human hand of his own on Feliks' shoulder and then he said to the other youngster "Shhh, it's okay, Feliks. I'm not angry at you at all, it was all just a mistake you've already made, but next time try to be more careful and try not to go to any dangerous places which could cost you your life, okay?" the toddler centaur said and asked in a serious yet also a young and gentle tone in order to both calm Feliks down and also to help him understand that next time he should be more careful and think twice before he goes to some place which might be too dangerous for him to go to, and when Feliks heard what Andy said to him about that he should be more careful the next time and also think twice before he goes to somewhere dangerous, the young leopard prince nuzzled against him and he cried and said "Thank you, Andy! You're really a good friend! I promise I won't go to somewhere dangerous like the Great Animal Graveyard ever again!", and with these words being said, Andy started comforting Feliks as they and Russell continued together on their way and went all the way back home to Azaad's homeland.

It was sunset when Azaad and all the other leopards in the leap (expect for Chuluun) were looking worried about Feliks, after what Chuluun told Azaad about him (Feliks) being eaten by the Hyenataurs in the Great Animal Graveyard and that Andy and Russell also died there as well while trying to save him, but then they all suddenly heard Feliks' voice calling out for his father, and when Azaad recognized his son's voice and then went with some of the leopards of the leap to look down from the top of the hill, he and the other leopards saw who came with him saw Feliks running and climbing up the hill with Russell and Andy following him in tow, and it didn't took them longer than a single minute to reach the top of the hill before Feliks is finally reunited with his father, and that's when the two royal leopards shared a touching moment, which was in that case - the one between a father and a son (or better yet to say - between a king and a little prince).

However, when Chuluun saw that Feliks is back home and that he's also reunited back with his father, before she then turned to see that Andy and Russell were also back with the rest of the leopard leap, the leopardess growled angrily and then she gave them all an angry scowl as she realized that her plan to get rid of Feliks, Andy and Russell have failed, before she quickly ran away when no one (none of the leopards in the leap) is watching her and so she went as fast as she could all the way back to the Great Animal Graveyard so she can talk to the Hyenataurs again and try and make them work with her once again as she'll hatch her other plan she still have for the good leopards and for the toddler centaur in order to get rid of Feliks, Andy and Russell, and this time - along with Azaad and for good.

As for Andy and Russell, they both got accepted back into the leopard leap by Azaad, after he realized that the two actually risked their own lives to rescue his son from the Hyenataurs who lives back in Great Animal Graveyard, and with Andy and Russell both being reaccepted and welcomed back to the leopard leap, Azaad realized his mistake when he refused to listen to them and so he said "I'm so sorry for what I did to you two before. I was wrong when I banished you out of my homeland. Now that I know that you both fought the ferocious Hyenataurs and rescued my precious little son from the Great Animal Graveyard, I want to say thanks for you being Feliks' saviors and that now you're both welcome back to live here with my leap in our homeland, and this time - to stay.", and when Andy and Russell heard what he said, they couldn't help but shed tears of joy before Russell said to Azaad "Thank you so much for accepting us back into your leap and to your home, Azaad!", and then Andy added "You're really a good friend, and we're happy to be friends not only with you but also with your little son!", and with these words being said, both Russell and Andy are now accepted back to Azaad's homeland to stay not as honorary, but as official members of the leopard leap for saving Feliks' life from the Hyenataurs and from the Great Animal Graveyard, but what they all didn't know is that in the next morning, Azaad, Feliks, and all the rest of the leopard leap will be experiencing the saddest, painful, and most heartbreaking moments of their lives.


	139. Chapter 138:long live the king

The next morning, Russell and Andy woke up, only to discover that all the leopard leap is gone and that not even one single leopard from the leap can be seen anywhere, and when the two friends saw that even Azaad and Feliks are gone as well and are also nowhere to be seen, Russell asked "Where's all the leap?", and then Andy added and asked "Where did they all go?", and then the toddler centaur asked his much older red leopard best friend "What do you think just happened to all of them?", but before Russell could say something to him so to answer his little friend's question, one of the leopards who is a member of the leap, an adult male, suddenly came out of the hollow tree and then he quickly approached Andy and Russell, and once he stopped right in front of them, the male leopard said to the both of them "Russell, Andy, you both must come with me now!".

When the two friends heard what he said, Andy asked "Come with you? Where are we going?", and then the male leopard answered "To see Askari! He sent me here to retrieve you! He wants to see you both now! It's very important!", and when Andy and Russell both heard what he said, the two stood up on their feet and hooves and then Russell said to the other male leopard who was sent to take both him and Andy to see Askari again "Alright, take us to see Azaad. If you say that he needs to see us and that he wants us to be in his layer too, then that's where we're going.", and then Andy added "Please, take us to him. Take us to see Askari.", and with these words being said, the male leopard said to both Andy and Russell "Follow me!", and then he started leading the two to the hollow tree which leads down to Askari's lit underground layer.

Once Russell and Andy entered Askari's lit underground and went to see him, they something that shook their eyes - all the leopards of the leap, and even Azaad and his young son Feliks are seen crowding around together and talking to each other with extremely worried looks can be seen on their faces, right where Askari would be, and when Andy and Russell saw all the leopards crowding around and talking to each other with extremely worried looks on their faces, the two friends clearly noticed that something's bad is going on, and then the male leopard who called for the two to come to Askari's layer told some of the other leopards to move to the sides so to give Andy and Russell some space and also to let them go forward to see Askari, and with some of the leopards moving to the sides to let both Russell and Andy come through, the two friends slowly approached and made their way to Askari's rock bed to see him.

However, when the two reached close enough to Askari's rock bed, they saw the elderly leopard king lying down on his side and is barely unable to move, and then one of the leopards from the leap, a female, made her way to Askari from a different direction and then she gently and very carefully gave and placed a bowl made out of wood with some water in it next to Askari, who barely moved his head and neck to the side and then he started drinking slowly from the water which were given to him to drink, and once he was done drinking, he said to the leopardess who gave him the water to drink "Thank you, Cassie.", and then the leopardess (whose name is Cassie) said to him back "No problem, your majesty.", and then she went to the side as Russell, Andy, Feliks and Azaad all came to see him and meet him face-to-face, although it would soon prove to them to be the very last time they're ever going to see him alive again, as right now, Askari is slowly dying of old age, and so for the old leopard king of the grassy savannah plains, the end is near.

When Askari barely saw his son, his grandson and their two newest friends looking at him with worried looks on their faces alongside the rest of the leopard leap, the elderly leopard king said "Thank you all for coming here to watch me.", but then Feliks asked him "Grandpa, what's wrong?", and then Askari said as he barely looked at him in the eyes "Feliks, my time to go is here.", and when they all heard what he said, the leopards and centaur all gasped in shock and there was also some horror growing bigger within each moment behind their eyes, before Andy then asked "What do you mean, Askari? I-I mean, your majesty?", and then Askari said "For me, the time has come. The end is near, and I don't have much time left to live in this world.".

However, when the leopards and centaur all heard what he just said, Russell said to him "No! You can't be serious! Everything's going to be fine! You'll see!", but then Askari said back "I'm so sorry I have to say this to all of you here, but I almost finished my journey in the circle of life.", but when they heard what he said, Cassie said and muttered "No.", and then Azaad said "Please, don't say that, Father! I'm begging you! I don't want you to die, Father! I don't want you to die!", but then Askari said back "I'm so sorry, but my time to go has come.", and when he said that, all the leopards and the centaur are shocked and horrified to realize that Askari is really dying of old age (and of natural causes).

Then, Askari said to Azaad "Azaad, my boy, there's something I have to tell you before I go.", and when he heard what his father said, Azaad asked him "Yes, Father?", and then Askari said "From now on, you're the king of our homeland.", but when Azaad heard him saying that, he said "No. I can't be the king. You're the king, Father. Please don't say these things to me.", but then Askari said to him "Azaad, you already have everything you need to be king. Now you're ready to do this.", but then Azaad said with tears in his eyes "No, Father! I'm not ready!", but then Askari said to him back with a reassuring smile "You are, son. And I know you will be a good king.".

With these words being said, Askari said last words to each and every single leopard who came to watch him in the final moments of his life, and once he was done with all of them, it was now Russell, Andy, Feliks and Azaad's turns to receive last words from Askari before he passes away. Then, Askari said "Feliks.", and then the young male leopard cub asked him with tears in his eyes "Yes, grandpa?", and then Askari said to him "I know that you'll also be a good king after your father one day in the far future. Your father will teach you everything you'll need and will have to know in order to be king.", and when he heard his grandfather said, Feliks sniffled and said to Askari with tears rolling down his eyes "Yes, grandpa!", and then he nuzzled the dying elderly leopard king on the side of the face to show him that he'll miss him after he (Askari) dies.

Then, it was Andy's turn to receive last words from Askari, and then he stepped forward so Askari can look at him right in the eyes, and then the dying leopard king said to the toddler centaur "Andy, it was been my pleasure to meet such a good and kind young centaur as you. I'm also glad to hear that you and Russell saved my precious little grandson and even fought the ferocious Hyenataurs in the Great Animal Graveyard to save his life from harm.", and then he barely reached his forepaw to touch at Andy's upper human chest again (and for the last time) and then he added "I'm proud to have you as my grandson's new special friend, even if you're not a leopard yourself.", and these words touched Andy's two small hearts (since centaurs have two hearts instead of only one), before he then moved both of his arms and touched the elderly leopard's forepaw with both of his small human hands and then he said to him "Thank you, Askari. Your majesty.", and with these words being said, Askari smiled at him before he moved his forepaw away from Andy's upper human chest and then he moved it back to himself, as the toddler centaur started sniffling with tears starting to form and roll down his eyes.

Then, it was Russell's turn to receive last words from Askari, and then he stepped forward so Askari can look at him right in the eyes, and then the dying leopard king said to the red leopard "Russell, it was been my pleasure to meet such a rare and extraordinary leopard as you, and I also want to say thank you for saving my grandson's life from the Hyenataurs back in the Great Animal Graveyard.", and then he reached out his foreleg and touched Russell on the shoulder once again (and for the last time) and then he added and said "To me, you're more than just a friend, Russell. You're one of our family now, and it is my honor to call you my son, just like my Azaad who is really my own, but even though you're not really my son, Russell, Azaad will still need you to help him succeed in his life as a good king of our beautiful homeland.", and when he heard what the dying leopard king said to him about staying and helping Azaad in the leopards' homeland, Russell said back with tears forming in his own eyes "Thank you for accepting me into the leap as an official member, Askari.", and with these words being said, Askari smiled before he slowly moved his forepaw off Russell's shoulder and then he moved it back to himself once again.

And then, it was Azaad's turn to receive last words from his dying father, and then he stepped forward so Askari can look at him right in the eyes, and then the dying leopard king said to his son "Azaad, your time to become the new king of our homeland has come, and I hope that you'll rule our homeland with good and strong paws and that you will also help other animals and creatures who need your help in order to survive in our grassy savannah plains.", and when he heard what his father said, Azaad said to him with tears in his own eyes "Yes, Father. I promise I will succeed you as the new king of our homeland.", and then Askari said back with a smile on his face "I know you will, Azaad. I know you will.", and with these last words being said, Askari slowly closed his eyes and his smile slowly faded away from his face as his head slowly fell down to the side where it rested on the rock bed, motionlessly.

When they all saw this happening before their eyes, the leopards and the centaur soon realized the bitter truth - Askari has just finished his journey in the circle of life, and therefore he's now dead and gone, and with all of them are now crying and shedding tears over the old leopard king's death, it is now Azaad's time to become the next king of the grassy savannah plains, and after taking out and burying Askari's dead body with and under lots of flowers to show him respect one last time, as well as calling all the herds who lives in the grassy savannah plains to come and meet with the leopard leap near Askari's layer, Russell, on behalf of Azaad announced Askari's death, but then he also announced that Azaad will become the next king after him and that his coronation will happen and will occur at sunset, and all the animals were sad and happy to hear what he said - they were all so sad to hear about Askari's death, but then they were all also very happy to hear that they're going to have his son Azaad as their homeland's new king, who is soon going to succeed his late father's place, and later on, at sunset, Azaad's coronation took place and Azaad became the new king of the grassy savannah plains, and Russell was there to announce that Azaad is now the new king of the grassy savannah plains, and all the animals (especially all the leopards in the leopard leap) were all so happy to meet, adore and respect their new king, all except for one leopardess who wanted to kill both him and his son Feliks, alongside both Russell and Andy and become the new queen instead - Chuluun.

Back in the Great Animal Graveyard, Chuluun and the Hyenataurs clan made another deal as they all came up with a new plan to get rid of Azaad, Feliks, Russell and Andy once and for all, and when (or if) all four of them will be destroyed all together, Chuluun will not only become the grassy savannah plains' new queen, but she will also become the new leader and commander of the Hyenataurs clan, who will do as she'll say and will work for her and under her orders, thus Chuluun will be receiving a new army of ferocious centaurid beasts who will help her destroy and crush down all her enemies whom she hates for the most, and with her new plan to get rid of her own brother, her little nephew and their two newest friends being settled and will be put into action tomorrow, Chuluun said wickedly "Be prepared, Azaad. Be prepared!" and then she started laughing evilly with all the Hyenataurs clan joining in and laughing evilly right behind her, as tomorrow, Chuluun and her soon-to-be future army will be doing their best to try and get rid of Russell, Andy, Feliks and Azaad once and for all.


	140. Chapter 139:stampede and exile

The following day, it was early morning when Feliks is still sleeping with Russell and Andy, but that wasn't before they're being slowly approached by none other than the cruel, heartless and scheming leopardess herself, and the one and only who hates them for the most - yes, it's none other than Chuluun. Then, once she got close enough to the three friends, she stopped right in front of them and said and whispered to them "Pst. Pst, hey. Hey, wake up, you three. It's morning time, and there's something that I need to show you.", and when the three barely heard what she said, the three opened their eyes and then they yawned and stretched out their bodies and limbs before slowly standing up on their feet and hooves and looking to see Chuluun standing right in front of them.

When Feliks saw his aunt standing right in front of him and right in front of his two new friends, the young leopard cub asked her "Auntie Chuluun? What are you doing here right now? Where have you been during Daddy's coronation when he became the new king?", but then Chuluun shushed him and said "Nevermind!" before she then added and said "Now listen to me, there's something that I need to show you, and your new friends too.", and when they heard what she said, Feliks asked in excitement "Oh, really? What is it?", and then Chuluun said to him and to his two friends "Come with me and I'll show you. All of it.", and when the three of them heard what she said, Feliks, Andy and Russell all started following her as she then started leading them away from all the still sleeping leopards, and so she led the three friends a mile away from home towards a gorge which was more than a 150 feet deep, and that was the exact place Chuluun chose to use in order to get rid of the three and also of Azaad (when she'll go back to fetch him too).

A while later, the four arrived at the bottom of the gorge, where they continued to walk in it, and during their walk in the gorge, Chuluun let out some loud leopard roars, which impressed the two other leopards and the centaur, who said together "Woah!" before Russell alone said "What nice roars you just gave, Chuluun!", and then Chuluun said back "Well, thank you, red leopard.", but then Andy corrected and said "His name is Russell!", but then Chuluun rolled her eyes in annoyance and said "Whatever.", and then she explained as they continued to walk in the gorge between the two tall cliffs which were stretching along the way on both sides of the gorge "This gorge is where all leopards come to find their roars.", and when they heard what she said, both Feliks and Andy looked at her and then turned to look up at the tall stretching cliffs on both sides of the gorge in awe, although Russell didn't seemed to believe in what she said, for him not being native to Azaad's homeland, and therefore he wasn't even trying to 'find' his roars at the bottom of the same gorge when he was just a little cub himself, and now as an adult leopard, it was actually Russell's first time when he's just visiting the gorge.

"All leopards? Even my dad?" Feliks asked his aunt, and so she said back to him "Even Azaad came here when he was your age.", and then she added "And he refused to leave...until his roars could be heard above the rim.", and when they heard what Chuluun just said, Feliks and Andy said again "Whoa!", but then Russell said with a hint of disbelief in his tone "I don't believe you, Chuluun! This just sounds ridiculous!", and when she heard what he said, Chuluun turned her head and looked back at him before she then asked "What did you just said to me?", and then Russell pointed out and explained "I've never found my roars here at the bottom of this gorge! I was never even born here in Azaad's homelands either! I'm not native to this land and I was never even here before when I was just a young cub who is just around Feliks' age! As an adult leopard, I'm still here for a very short time, and in fact, this is actually the first time I'm ever visiting this gorge!".

When Chuluun heard what Russell said about that he never 'found' his roars in the gorge in which he, Andy, Feliks and she (Chuluun herself) already are, she gave him a huff and said "How dare you underestimate my words, red leopard?!", but then Russell said "I'm not lying to you about my past! I'm here only a short time! I was never here in your, your brother and your whole leap's land before when I was a little cub! So because I didn't found my roars in this here gorge when I was a little cub a long time ago, that means that I only found my roars when I _learned_ to roar!", but then Chuluun said back "Enough! I don't want to hear anything else you have to say, red leopard!", and then she added "We're going further ahead to that rock over there *she motioned over to a large rock which stood further ahead of them with a forepaw* so you three can wait on it patiently until I come back with the ultimate surprise that I want to show you and also give to my precious nephew, and I don't want YOU to ruin it, do you understand?!", and when Russell heard what the rude leopardess said, he huffed and said back angrily "Fine!", and without anything else to say, Russell, Andy, Feliks and Chuluun all continued until they reached the large rock which stood further ahead of them, and that's when Chuluun told Russell, Andy and Feliks to stay and wait on the rock until she comes back to them and returns back with the 'ultimate surprise' she have for them (and especially for Feliks), before she then left the three of them to wait together patiently on the rock and embrace themselves for the 'ultimate surprise' to come, but what Russell, Andy and Feliks didn't know is that this is just what Chuluun wanted them to do so the first part in her plan to get rid of them (and of Azaad) and become the new queen of the grassy savannah plains will go exactly as she planned.

Meanwhile, on the top of one of the gorge's tall cliffs, near the pathway which leads all the way down to the bottom of the gorge itself, there was a large herd of Indian rhinos grazing on and eating some grass, and all of these Indian rhinos are none other than all the same ones (the same Indian rhinos herd) whom Buldeo provoked before in order to destroy both Jayma and Agatha (although his plan to destroy both Jayma and Agatha have failed). However, the Indian rhinos herd weren't alone, as Shanzi, Benzai, Eddie, Jonjo and another adult male Hyenataur (whose name is unknown) were looking and spying on the Indian rhinos, and just then, Jonjo asked his mother "Oh, Mom, can I please have one of these big guys for lunch?", but then Shanzi shushed him and said "No! We need to chase this herd down into the gorge!", and then Benzai said "Your Mom's right, son. This is part of Chuluun's plan so she can become the queen of this big and fertile land which looks pretty good and big enough for all of us Hyenataurs to live in.", and then Eddie cackled and laughed as he nodded his head in agreement with the two other adults, and just then, the unknown male Hyenataur turned around to look away towards the gorge, and then he saw Chuluun coming and then stopping on the edge of the other tall cliff on the other side of the gorge.

Then, the unknown male Hyenataur said to the four other Hyenataurs "There she is! Chuluun is on the other side of the gorge! She's standing on the edge of the other cliff! She's giving us a signal!", and when they heard what he said, they all turned around to see Chuluun standing on the tall cliff that was on the other side of the gorge, and that's when Shanzi said to her family and to the unknown male who is part (and a member) of the Hyenataurs clan "Let's go!", and then the five Hyenataurs started charging towards the Indian rhinos and use their intimidating heights, as well as their hyena-like claws and teeth to scare them all and then chase them all away and towards the pathway which leads down to the bottom of the gorge so the second part of Chuluun's plan to get rid of Russell, Andy and Feliks (and also of Azaad) and become the new queen of the grassy savannah plains will go exactly as she planned.

Back in the bottom of the gorge, Russell, Andy and Feliks were all still waiting on the rock for the 'ultimate surprise' that Chuluun said she have for them to come, but Russell appeared to be not so trusting and also very suspicious of her and of her words, and so he said "I don't know about you kids, but I don't think we should trust Chuluun or what she said about that ultimate surprise she said she have for us.", but then Andy turned to him and asked "What do you mean, Russell?", and then the red leopard explained "Ever since you and I we both arrived here in Azaad's homeland, Chuluun was behaving badly towards us.", and when Andy heard what his red leopard friend just said, the toddler centaur asked "And?", and then Russell said back to him "And, I don't think we should trust her or listen to what she says.", and then he added and pointed out "I mean, what kind of ultimate surprise will be coming for us while we're here at the bottom of this gorge? I think that Chuluun is merely fooling us into believing in what she says!".

However, when Feliks heard what Russell said about his aunt being a liar, the young leopard turned to him and yelled "How dare you talk about my auntie that way?! You're such a jerk, Russell! Maybe when I'll find my roars in this here gorge, I will be able to scare you to your very core!", and then Feliks angrily let out a few loud meowing noises which could easily be heard from halfway up the rim above him and his friends, thus surprising both Russell and Andy, who then looked at him with shock can be seen on their faces and eyes. However, shortly after Feliks let out his loud meowing noises in anger, a large rumbling sound was suddenly heard, the ground started shaking, and the small stones around the three friends started jumping up and down repeatedly, and when the rumbling sounds got bigger and closer, Russell, Andy and Feliks all turned to see the large herd of stampeding Indian rhinos coming towards them, thus causing the three friends to gasp both with shock and with fright before they quickly turned around and started running away together for their lives in the other direction which leads further into the gorge, as the stampeding Indian rhinos soon started chasing after them, with the Hyenataurs forcing the last Indian rhinos who are at the very back of the stampede to run as fast as they could down the pathway which leads down into the gorge, and once they were done, the Hyenataurs stopped right on the beginning of the pathway which leads all the way down into the gorge and they looked down and watched from above as the Indian rhinos kept stampeding after Russell, Andy and Feliks, who ran away together as fast as they could in order to escape and get away from the stampede.

Meanwhile, back with the rest of the leopard leap, Azaad (who is also there with the other leopards) noticed that his son, as well as Andy and Russell were missing, and so he asked worriedly "Where's Feliks? Does anybody here knows where did he go?", but just then, he suddenly heard a voice calling for him, and it was none other than his sister Chuluun, who ran up to meet him and the rest of the leap with a shocked and horrified expression on her face (which obviously was fake), and once she reached back to Azaad and to the leopard leap, she said in a horrified tone "Azaad! Quick! Come with me! Stampede! In the gorge! Feliks and his friends are down there!", and when the leopard king and his whole leap heard what she said, he and the other leopards all gasped with shock before Azaad asked and yelled in shock "What?!".

Back in the gorge, Russell, Andy and Feliks are all still running away together for their lives, but then they spotted and noticed and saw a large rock which stood at least six feet tall standing in front of them, and the large rock also appeared to be big enough for all three friends to climb up and stand on top of it, and so the three decided to go and quickly climb up onto the rock and stay on top of it until either Azaad comes to rescue them, or until the Indian rhinos stampede is over. However, even when Russell, Andy and Feliks all managed to climb up and stand on top of the large rock, they knew that because there are so many stampeding Indian rhinos, the rock won't be standing in place much longer before it will break down in pieces from the Indian rhinos' charging, hitting and smashing against it.

Luckily for them, however, help is at hand (or should be said at paw) as Azaad and Chuluun came together to the gorge and went down to the edge of a cliff which was in midway down to the bottom of the gorge where the Indian rhinos are still running and stampeding, and then the two leopards started looking for Feliks and for his friends everywhere, but that is until Chuluun spotted them on top of the large rock, which is slowly breaking down from the Indian rhinos' charging, hitting and smashing against it, which results in the rock to break down into pieces, and then she called for Azaad to look as she pointed down at Feliks, Andy and Russell with a foreleg and a forepaw "Look, Azaad! There they are! On the top of that large rock over there!", and when Azaad turned and looked down and saw his son and his two friends standing on top of the large rock, which is slowly breaking down into pieces due to the Indian rhinos charging, hitting and smashing against it, the leopard king called out for Feliks "Hold on, Feliks! Don't worry, my son! Daddy is coming!", and when the three heard him calling for them from the top of the cliff which was closer to their level than the main cliffs which stood much taller above the gorge itself, they all turned to look up at him before Feliks cried "Hurry, Dad! Hurry!", and then Russell also called back for the leopard king and said "Please, help us! That rock won't stop these stampeding rhinos much longer!".

Without hesitation, Azaad willingly jumped off the edge of the cliff and he went down and landed safely on the bottom of the gorge, before he then quickly headed towards the stampede in order to save Feliks, Andy and Russell from getting killed by the Indian rhinos, who are keeping charging, hitting and smashing against the large rock again and again, and one after another, and just when Azaad managed to get close enough to his son and to his two friends, the large finally broke down into pieces, and this forced the two leopards and the centaur to quickly start running away again for their lives, with Azaad trying to catch up with them and help them escape from the stampede.

During their attempt to escape from the stampede, Feliks accidentally tripped over a stone and fell on the ground, but before he's about to be crushed and trampled by the Indian rhinos, Azaad suddenly came out of nowhere and he managed to save his son by grabbing and holding him tightly by the scruff of the back of the neck (which can be found in every type and/or species of big cats, including leopards), before the leopard king started carrying his little son away from the stampede and take him up to safety so the Indian rhinos won't be able to crush or trample Feliks underneath their massive bodies, but once Azaad did managed to place Feliks down on a tall rocky ledge safely, the leopard king gets separated from his own son once again when Azaad is being dragged back into the stampede by the Indian rhinos before he can escape together with him (Feliks).

However, despite this happened to him, Azaad soon managed to recover and then he jumped out of the stampede again and so he started to climb up on the rocky cliff with all his might so that he can pull himself up to safety, and when Feliks saw his father is climbing up on the rocky cliff not too far from him, the young leopard cub started climbing up a rocky pathway which may lead him to the top of the cliff where he can meet up with his father, and as for Andy and Russell, they too managed to escape from the stampede and they soon started to follow and then catch up with Feliks as they continued to climb up on the rocky pathway which may lead them up to the top of the cliff so that they can meet up with Azaad, and so Russell will be able to save him by helping him out of the gorge so that all four of them can escape from danger all together.

However, as Azaad continued to climb up the cliff and nearly reached the top, he saw Chuluun looking down at him with a darkened expression on her face, and when Azaad saw his sister standing just above and that she's close enough to help him climb up to safety, the leopard king cried and begged from her "Chuluun! Please, sister! Help me!", but instead of helping him, Chuluun just stood there and kept looking down at him with her darkened expression on her face, and then, just a short moment later, she quickly went forward and then she cruelly and heartlessly dug her own claws into Azaad's forepaws, causing him to roar out loud in pain as he looked up at her with fear and horror in his eyes, and what Chuluun said next shook Azaad to his very core.

"Long...live...the KING!" Chuluun said and declared in an evil tone as she then smacked Azaad across the face and sent him falling back down screaming towards the Indian rhinos stampede, and when Feliks, Andy and Russell saw him falling but didn't saw that Chuluun is the one who sent him falling back down towards the stampede, the three screamed together "NOOOOOOOOO!" as they watched helplessly from a higher vantage point as the last rhinos came and went by before the stampede was over, and once all the Indian rhinos left, there was nothing but a massive cloud of dust on the bottom of the gorge, and once the cloud of dust slowly disappeared and the area slowly became clear again, the three friends went back down to the bottom of the gorge to search for Azaad, and they hoped that he might be still alive and that he's around somewhere and that he's also waiting for them to come and find him.

"Dad?" Feliks called and hoped that his father will answer back to him, but when nobody answered his calls, he tried to call for him (Azaad) again and again, but still no answering back, but that is until the one last and final Indian rhino suddenly came out of nowhere and quickly ran past them and left without harming the three friends, but as they turned to look in the direction in which the one last and final Indian rhino just went in order to catch up with the rest of its herd, Feliks, Andy and Russell all suddenly saw something small and black which looked like a tiny furball standing not too far away from them, and saw when the three friends went close enough to get a closer look and inspect the black furball, they soon recognized what the black furball actually supposed to be - it was the black tuft of fur that was supposed to be in the very end of Azaad's tail, and since it was everything they found from Azaad so far (since they didn't successfully managed to find Azaad's body), saddened expressions formed on their faces as they Feliks, Andy and Russell all started to believe that Azaad is now dead and gone and that the black tuft of fur from the very end of his tail is the only thing that was left from him.

However, just then, the totally unexpected happened - a familiar young male voice suddenly called for both Andy and Russell "Hey, Andy! Hey, Russell! There you are, guys!", and just then, the two started to turn their heads and look around in different directions to see if there's someone else around here besides just Feliks and themselves, before Russell then asked "Huh? Who said that?" and then he added and demanded "Show yourself!", and just then, a familiar juvenile male Deertaur came out of nowhere and went towards them before he stopped right in front of them, and when Russell and Andy both recognized the Deertaur standing in front of them, they knew exactly who he was - the juvenile male Deertaur is none other than Noah, who in fact spent the past few days looking for the both of them (Andy and Russell), and when Russell and Andy both noticed that it is none other Noah himself who is standing in front of them, Andy cried "Noah! It's you! You're okay!", and then he asked him "Where have you been this whole time?", and then Noah explained "I actually spent the past few days looking for you two, and now that I finally found you, you can help me rescue my family and all of our other friends from that Oscar and from his herd!".

However, when Russell and Andy both heard what he said, Russell said "Of course we would like to go and save all of our friends, but now it's not a good time for us to do so.", and when he heard what the red leopard just said, Noah asked him "What? Why not?", and then Russell turned to look back down at Feliks, who is now on the verge of tears from losing his own father to the stampede, and when Noah lowered his head and looked down and noticed the young leopard cub, who is almost about to cry and shed tears over the loss of his only father, the 5 year-old juvenile male Deertaur asked Feliks in a very soft tone so not to scare him "And who are you, little leopard cub?", but instead of answering him, Feliks finally started to cry and shed tears over the loss of his own father.

When Noah noticed that the young leopard cub is crying because he's sad and heartbroken, he asked Russell while still talking in the very soft tone he used just a short moment ago "Russell? What's wrong with him? Did I said something wrong?", and then Russell said to the juvenile Deertaur "This is Feliks, and he's the prince of the grassy savannah plains outside this gorge.", and then he added and explained "His father, Azaad, who is the king of the grassy savannah plains got trampled by a stampede of Indian rhinos while trying to save him.", and then he finished and said "Now the poor little guy is an orphan and he has nowhere else to go to anymore, and he can't even go back to his own home where he belongs.", and when Noah heard what Russell just said about Feliks having nowhere else to go to anymore, which means that now he got only him (Russell himself) and Andy to keep him company, the juvenile Deertaur asked him "So, does that means that this poor little guy has no one else to care for him but Andy and you?", and then Russell nodded his head in agreement and said back "Yes, exactly. Feliks got only me and Andy to keep him company.".

When Noah realized and understood Feliks' pain, the juvenile male Deertaur said very softly to him as he then knelt down to the young leopard cub's level in order to get to look at him in the eyes "It's okay, little buddy. I won't hurt you and I really do understand your pain. I promise to stick around with you and with Russell and Andy too so I can help keep you some company.", and when he heard what Noah said, Feliks looked up at him for a moment and studied his looks and appearance before he then asked "W-who are you, Sir?", and then Noah said back "My name's Noah, and there's no need to call me 'Sir'. I'm just 5 years old and I didn't even started growing my antlers yet. I'm a young juvenile who is just a little older than you.", and when he heard what he said, Feliks asked "Do you have a family? Or you're traveling alone?", and when he heard what the young leopard prince just said to him, Noah said back "Well, I do have a family, but I got separated from them and from our best man, Igor. Since then, I spent the past few days searching and looking for Russell all alone by myself, and now that I found him, Andy and you, I'm ready to rejoin your group once again. Count me in and together we'll be four - you, Russell, Andy and me.", and then he asked "How does that sounds to you?", and when Feliks heard what he said, he sniffled before saying with tears still forming and rolling down his eyes "Y-yes, Noah! Thank you so much for accepting me as your friend! I never made any friends with a Deertaur like you before!", and then Noah said back while giving the young leopard cub a reassuring smile "It's okay, that's no problem.".

However, Feliks' joy of having Noah as his newest friend would turn out to be short-lived as Chuluun suddenly came into view and approached the young leopard cub from right behind him before she then said with both a shocked and disappointed expression on her face "Feliks!", and when he heard his aunt's voice suddenly talking to him from right behind his back, this is when Feliks gasped in shock before his face returned to its saddened and mourning expression as he then quickly turned around to see Chuluun looking down at him with both shock and disappointment can be seen on her face, before she then asked him "What have you done?", and when the young leopard prince saw his aunt looking down at him with both shock and disappointment, as he soon realized that she's blaming him for Azaad's death, Feliks soon started to tear up again before he cried and said "It was a stampede! He tried to save me! It was all an accident! I...I didn't mean for it to happen!".

When Chuluun heard what he said, she said back as she then reached and stroked at her nephew's back with a forepaw "Of course you didn't. No one ever means for these horrible things to happen, but the king is dead. And if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive.", and then she added and said to Feliks while putting the blame for Azaad's death on him "Your father had such hopes for you, he gave you so many chances, he showed you so many opportunities, he loved you with all his heart - and this is how you repay him.", and when Feliks heard what his aunt said to him about what 'he' did to his own father, he sniffled and cried in shame "I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I didn't know!".

Then, Chuluun stopped stroking at his back and asked "Oh, what will the rest of the leap will think of you?", and then she added and said "A son who causes his father's death. A boy who kills a king.", and when Feliks heard the next horrible thing she just said about what 'he' did to his own father, he asked Chuluun with tears still forming and rolling down his eyes "What am I gonna do?", and then Chuluun said to him back with a hardened and angry expression on her face "Run. Run away, Feliks. Run away and never return!", and when Feliks heard the last horrible thing she just said to him, he sniffled before he then turned around and started running away in tears, and when Russell, Andy and Noah watched him leaving, the three soon started following him as Russell called for the much younger leopard "Wait for us, Feliks!", and then he added "We're coming with you!" as the four friends quickly left the area as fast as they could and went to the other side of the gorge to find their way out of the leopards' homeland and kingdom, while Chuluun stayed behind and watched them leaving all together with an evil look on her face.

Just then, things started get really dark as Shanzi, Benzai, Eddie, Jonjo and all the other Hyenataurs suddenly came out of nowhere and approached from right behind Chuluun's back, and once they got close enough to her, the evil leopardess commanded and said to all of them in a cruel, heartless and evil tone "Kill them all!", and the moment she said that, all the Hyenataurs started running past her and going fast after the four friends in order to chase them down and kill them before they manage to escape from the leopards' homeland and kingdom.

A few moments later, while the four friends are still running away and searching for a way out of the gorge so that they can all escape from the leopards' homelands, they all suddenly heard some familiar growls, which only Noah didn't recognized at all, and that's because since he haven't yet met the Hyenataurs clan before, he couldn't figure out what's coming from behind him that is soon going to get him and his friends for lunch if they don't run away for their lives as fast as they all can, but once the juvenile Deertaur turned around and saw the Hyenataurs running very quickly and coming towards him and his friends, he was so scared and horrified to see their scary and intimidating appearances, which soon prompted him to run away faster, which soon caused Feliks, Andy and Russell to do the same thing as they quickly turned around to notice that the Hyenataurs are coming towards them, and so all four friends started running even faster in order to escape from the Hyenataurs (completely unaware that they're working with Chuluun and are trying to kill the four friends (Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell) under her orders).

However, despite their attempts and efforts to escape the ferocious Hyenataurs, Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell all ended up reaching the edge of a tall cliff at the end (or at least one of the ends) of the gorge, and that's when the Hyenataurs got their chance to kill the four friends and eat them for lunch, and then two of the Hyenataurs of the clan, a male and a female, charged together towards them, causing Noah to misplace a hind deer leg and a cloven hoof over the edge of the cliff before he then lost his balance, slipped and fell down from the edge of the cliff, and the same thing soon happened to Feliks, Andy and Russell as well when the two Hyenataurs started attacking them, and it soon caused them (Feliks, Andy and Russell) to lose their balances, slip and fall down from the edge of the cliff, taking the two Hyenataurs down along with them.

Then, shortly afterwards, Shanzi, Benzai, Eddie and Jonjo arrived at the scene and when they reached the edge of the cliff and then looked down to see where did Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell go after they fell off the edge of the cliff (oblivious to the deaths of the two Hyenataurs of their clan which fell off the edge of the cliff with the four friends), and then Shanzi said as she then turned to her mate, her son and her brother-in-law (Eddie is Benzai's brother) "Go down and make sure they're all dead.", and then she turned tail and started running away with the rest of the Hyenataurs clan soon following behind her, thus leaving Benzai, Eddie and Jonjo to look around the area and check if Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell are all still alive after their fall from the edge of the cliff.

However, because the cliff was too steep for them to go down and check properly if Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell have all died, Jonjo said to his father and to his uncle "No little cub could survive that fall.", and then he came up with a lie which he, Benzai and Eddie should tell Shanzi, and so the preteen male said as he looked up at the two older males "Listen, Dad and Uncle Eddie, we're gonna tell Mom that we went down there and we ate both the little centaur and the Deertaur.", and when they both heard what he said, Benzai said "Great, that sounds like the perfect lie we should tell your mom, Jonjo.", but then he quickly added and asked "But what about the little prince and Russell?", and then Jonjo came up with another lie which may sound relevant due to the fact that back on planet Earth, male leopards will kill and even eat cubs who aren't their own (since Russell is obviously not Feliks' father, nor a close relative from his family), and then the preteen male Hyenataur said to his father and to his uncle "I know, we'll just tell Mom that Russell killed and then ate Prince Feliks and that he ran away and will never return.", and when they both heard what he said, Eddie laughed and cackled evilly at what his preteen nephew said, before Benzai said to his son in agreement "That lie indeed sounds good enough to tell Shanzi about what happened to both Russell and the little prince!".

However, just then, Benzai soon seemed to miss the point in his son's lies before he asked him "But wait a minute, son, when did we ate the little centaur and the Deertaur?", and that's when Jonjo snapped at his own father and uncle and then he said to the both of them "We didn't ate them, and we're not gonna eat them either!", and then he added "You don't understand the real point in my lies, do you? The little centaur and the Deertaur are both dead, and Prince Feliks was eaten by Russell! Russell killed and then ate Prince Feliks and then he ran away and will never return! That's all Mom (Shanzi) ever has to know!", and so with nothing else to say, Jonjo turned tail and started running away, and when his father and his uncle realized that they he's going to tell his lies to his mother about Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell's whereabouts, Benzai said in agreement with his preteen son's decision to lie to her "Sounds good to me.", and then Eddie nodded his head in agreement before the two adult male Hyenataurs soon left the area and started following Jonjo all the way back to Shanzi and to the rest of the Hyenataurs clan so that they can tell her the lies about Feliks, Andy and Noah's deaths and about Russell's escape from the leopards' homelands.

As for Feliks, Andy, Noah and Russell, the four luckily managed to survive the fall and managed to hide in a cave which was big enough for all four of them to hide in, while both Hyenataurs who fell down with them have died from the fall, and once Jonjo, Benzai and Eddie were all gone from the area (and from sight), the four friends slowly came out of their hiding place and left the cave in which they managed to hide from Jonjo, Benzai and Eddie, and then Russell said to his three younger friends "Come with me, guys. We need to get out of here. We can't stay here anymore.", and with these words being said, the four friends started traveling together as they left the leopards' homelands and started on their journey to rescue their friends from Oscar's Deertaurs herd, and once they will rescue their friends, they will resume their long journey in search for a new home.

Meanwhile, back at home in Canterlot and in the royal castle, Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and everyone else (minus Stephan and Bluebell who are both still in a coma) are all deeply worried about Andy and Zoey, since Anastasia chased them both away for what happened to both Bluebell and Stephan when they got hit on the heads by some falling roof shingles and fell into a coma while trying to protect Andy and Zoey from getting hit on the heads themselves, and during the past few days since she chased them away from home, Anastasia felt, showed and expressed no regrets for her actions, but last night, however, she suddenly started feeling a sudden pain in her lower horse stomach, and in there lies the secret which Anastasia has been trying to hide away from everyone (including her own parents and little sister) this whole time, and the true reason to Anastasia's aggressive behavior towards both younger and older male centaurs her own age, older or younger, as well as the same towards toddler centaurs who are just around the same age as Andy and Zoey themselves would turn out to be something that would shock a woman's whole family to the very core, but that was in fact none other than the real truth - Anastasia is pregnant, and she's going to be a mother very soon, but then she was also been trying to hide the fact that she's having a baby and that within a matter of a few days, she's going to be a first-time mom, and since it's been almost a full year since she became pregnant, Anastasia knows that she won't be able to hide her secret away from everyone else (including her own family) much longer, and that she would have no other choice but to tell everyone the truth.

For addition to Anastasia being pregnant with a baby inside her lower horse stomach (which is and would always be the case with centauresses), she also started feeling more and more regret with each passing hour during the night, and while feeling and suffering pain from being pregnant with her first child which will be born soon, Anastasia asked herself "I know I should've been angry with those little twins and that I should've taught them a lesson when my younger sister and their older brother were both hit on the heads and fell into a coma, but now that I think about it all over again...is banishment really the answer? I mean, is banishing a couple of toddlers like these Andy and Zoey away from their home over such an accident is really necessary?".

However, just then, Anastasia suddenly felt her heart aching before she then shook her head when she soon realized that what she did to Andy and Zoey was wrong, before she then said "No, what I did was wrong, from the start. I never should've banished Andy and Zoey away from home, I should've told them to stay so I could tell them the truth.", but then she quickly added "But then, if I do that and if I ever tell them, my own family and everyone else that this is the truth, Ron would surely want to kill me and have my lower horse hide mounted on his wall, and I'm pretty sure he would also want to have my baby for himself.", and then Anastasia asked herself "What should I do? What should I do?" as she felt the inner struggle building up inside her own body.

Then, after a few minutes of fighting the inner struggle within herself, Anastasia finally made it up in her mind and then she said "I must go look for Andy and Zoey, find them and apologize to them, and then tell them the truth behind my aggressive behavior. It was my fault that these poor little twins ran away from home, banishing them over that accident is not the answer, and since I was been trying to hide the fact that I'm pregnant with my own child throughout the last year, to me it is the right time to confess the truth to everyone.", and then she struggled to stand up on her hooves again and then she added "But first, I must find these little toddlers, apologize to them and bring them back home. I must! As a princess and a future ruler of my own home back in the centaur kingdom, it is my duty to make sure that no one is suffering and that no one is in pain, and I will not end up becoming a bad centauress and I will not continue to be mean and cruel towards innocent toddlers from my own kind just because I'm pregnant and I'm going to be a mother myself. I'm going to find Andy and Zoey, apologize to them and tell them the truth no matter what. I don't care about what happens to me, because all I care about now is to make sure that these toddlers are safe and sound and back at home.", and then the young adult centauress said and declared before she's about to go look for Andy and Zoey "Don't worry, Andy and Zoey, I promise I won't hurt you anymore, and I'm also going to make sure that you're safe and sound and that you're back at home.".

With these words being said, Anastasia decided to sneak out of the royal castle during the middle of the night so she can go searching for Andy and Zoey, find them, apologize to them and tell them the truth behind her aggressive behavior, and so she tried to keep and stay very quiet while she's sneaking out of the royal castle so not to get an unwanted attention from any of the royal guards, or even to be spotted by Shujaa, who is awake at the time, and after a few minutes of keeping and staying quiet while she snuck away, Anastasia ended up reaching and getting close enough to an open window of the second floor, and when she went to look through the open window, she saw that it's still the middle of the night, but a moment later, when she turned her head and then looked down, she saw that the ground is at least 20 feet below her, causing her to gasp in fear and take a few steps back before she then silenced herself by covering her mouth with her own hands, before she slowly went once again to look out through the open window, and since it was big enough for her size to go through it, she decided that the quickest way to get out of the royal castle is to jump through the open window, and so Anastasia tried to encourage herself as she then stepped aback from the window, and then she took a deep breath to calm herself before her brows started furrowing in determination as she looked through the open window, and then she said with no second thoughts "It's now or never.".

Then, she took off and ran as fast as could before she then jumped out of the royal castle through the open window and then she started falling down, but just as she was about to hit the ground, the totally unexpected happened - a pink magic aura suddenly started glowing inside Anastasia's lower horse body before it then slowly enveloped and surrounded her in it and kept her floating and hovering in the air and then going down very slowly, before she finally ended up having a smooth landing on her hooves, much like a duck or a plane, and once she was standing on her hooves and on solid ground, and alive and well with no injuries on her body at all, the pink magic aura slowly faded and lit off and disappeared like if nothing ever happened, and that told Anastasia one thing which turned out to be very clear - whatever the magic which came from inside her body and saved her life from crashing against the ground was, it wasn't normal and it never happened to Anastasia before.

However, Anastasia knew that now it's not the time for herself to think about why did that unknown source of magic just saved her from crash landing, because she knew that now that she's outside the royal castle, she's now able to go look for Andy and Zoey, and when she looked away into the horizon, a determined expression formed on her face before she then said "Don't worry, Andy and Zoey. Anastasia's coming to save you from trouble and take you back home, to where you belong. I'm also going to tell you both the truth about the way I behaved towards you before, that I'm in fact pregnant with a child of my own and going to be a first-time mom very soon. I also hope that you both will find it in your good little hearts to forgive a young adult centauress like me for saying such harsh words and for misunderstanding and misjudging you over such a horrible accident. I should've known that what I did to you two before was wrong, but now I'm going to look for you, find you, apologize to you two for my aggressive behavior, and make it up to you by telling you the truth.", and with all these words being said, Anastasia walked away from the royal castle and she started her long journey and began her long search for Andy and Zoey, and she hoped that she'll be able to find them, apologize to them, tell them the truth and take them back home before it's too late.


	141. Chapter 140:Zoey and Austin are set free

The following morning, King Edward, Queen Camilla and Princess Vanessa, who are still guests in the royal castle awoke from their sleep, but just then, however, Vanessa went to check and see if Anastasia is awake, and when she went to check the guest room in which Anastasia would be in, the 5 year-old centaur princess soon went into shock when she found out that her 20 year-old young adult older sister is not in her room anymore, and this caused Vanessa to quickly trot and run back towards her parents to tell and inform them that Anastasia disappeared during the night.

A few minutes later, after the two adult royal centaurs already heard what their youngest daughter said to the both of them about Anastasia being missing, they went to the throne room to ask Celestia and Luna, who were just beginning to sit down on their thrones, to help them find her and bring her back home, and just then, Chloe, Aylene and Shujaa also came into the throne room and joined the conversation, and when the three heard from King Edward and from Queen Camilla that Anastasia suddenly disappeared during the last night, Shujaa said as he mistakenly believed that Anastasia probably went to look for but then also hurt Andy and Zoey again, and this time - for her own pleasure, for he and for everyone else are all being still completely unaware of the fact that Anastasia is actually pregnant and that she was been acting aggressively towards the twins because she believed that they might tell her parents and everyone else about that.

When everyone else heard what Shujaa just said about that Anastasia left during the night because she's probably willing to mean Andy and Zoey more and more harm, King Edward said "We gotta find my daughter and bring her back home!", and then Queen Camilla added "We have to stop her before she can mean these poor little twin toddlers further more harm!", and then Chloe said as she and Aylene's faces turned angrier with each passing second "Anastasia, if you mean Andy and Zoey more harm than what you already gave them, nobody's going to forgive you! Not us! Not our friends! And not even your own family!", and just thinking about what Anastasia could do to Andy and Zoey after she already attacked them and chased them away from home was enough to cause both Chloe and Aylene's eyes to start burning in pure rage.

Then, Celestia wrote and sent quick letters for the mane seven so that they can help going after Anastasia, find out what she's up to and do their best to stop her from trying to mean more harm to Andy and Zoey like she already did before, and about a half an hour later, the mane seven, Kenai and Agatha arrived in the royal castle to help in finding Anastasia and stopping her from trying to mean harm to Andy and Zoey again, but they're not the only ones who came to help - Tah and her son Trog (the good Rhinotaurs), Kayden and Tallulah (the good Beartaur cubs), Zach, Layla and Timmy (the good Zebrataurs), Aron, Linda and the triplets, Egbert, Shelly and Yoko (the good Tigertaurs), Simba and Sirga (the good Liontaur cubs), and even the CMC, Spike, Trixie and the student six also came and volunteered to help finding both Anastasia and the twins and make sure that the young adult centaur princess means no harm to the two toddlers whom she already attacked and chased away from home a few days ago.

With everyone else will be helping King Edward, Queen Camilla and Princess Vanessa to search for Anastasia, find her and stop her before she can mean more harm to Andy and Zoey, King Edward said to everyone "Let's go, everyone! Let's find my daughter, Anastasia, before she means Andy and Zoey more harm!", and with these words being said, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wished them all for good luck and to be careful during their search after the twins and Anastasia, and then everyone (minus Celestia and Luna) left the royal castle and started all together on a long journey in searching for both Anastasia and for the twins, and they all hoped that they will be able to find Anastasia before she finds the twins, fearing that she might attack and hurt them again once she finds them first.

Meanwhile, back in the bad Deertaurs herd's cave in the jungle, Zoey, Violet, Sitka, Igor, Austin and Jenna are all still tied up and are still kept as hostages, and right now, Oscar and his herd are all feeling very hungry and they are all also very willing to go outside for a hunt, and just then, Charlotte said to Oscar "I'm so hungry, Oscar!", and then Roger added and said "Yeah! I wanna go outside and hunt for some fresh and tasty meat! I'm starving!", and then another male Deertaur with both a short and thin body structure similar to Stanley the Zebrataur from Brandon's herd spoke up and said "How about we all go outside and hunt for some fresh and tasty meat right now? I mean, think about it guys, we don't wanna starve by keeping our eyes on these six prisoners we've got here, right?".

When Oscar, Roger and Charlotte all heard what the short and thin Deertaur just said to them, Oscar said back to him "You know what, Raymond? You're right! We can't just sit in here and keep our eyes stuck on and keeping watching these six prisoners we've got here! We must go outside for a hunt!", and then the short and thin Deertaur, whose name was Raymond, said to his leader and to the two other main Deertaurs "See what I mean? If we're all hungry, then we all must go outside and hunt for some meat!", and with these words being said, Oscar stood up on his hooves and then he called and said to the rest of the bad Deertaurs herd "Everyone, listen up!", and when they all heard what he said, all the Deertaurs (who were all males, since the herd doesn't consists of any females except for Charlotte) heard what their leader said, they all turned to look at him, and then Oscar added and said to all of them "We're all going together on a hunt so we can all have some fresh and tasty meat to eat!", and when they all heard what he said, all the male Deertaurs immediately stood up on their hooves to show respect to their leader and to his words, and also to show him that they're all willing to go outside for a hunt with him.

However, just then, Oscar added and said "But one of us has to stay behind and keep an eye on the prisoners while the rest of us we're all gone on our hunt!", and then he asked his herd "Which one out of all of you is willing to stay behind and keep an eye on the prisoners?", and then a male voice spoke up and said back to the Deertaur leader "I wanna do that!", and when he heard what the voice said, Oscar turned to see the handsome male Deertaur from before (the one Deertaur who felt sorry for Zoey and for the other prisoners) stepping forward and bowing his head down to him before he added "I accept staying here in the cave to keep an eye on the prisoners!", and when Oscar heard what he said, he smiled evilly at the handsome Deertaur and said to him "Very well then! You're in, Simon! You will be the one to keep an eye on the prisoners while all the rest of us we're gone on our hunt! Good luck for you, Simon! Don't let these six prisoners get away while we're all gone on our hunt!", and then Oscar added and said as he then turned his attention to all the other Deertaurs of his herd "Let's go outside and have a good hunt!", and with these words being said, Oscar, Roger, Charlotte, Raymond and all the other Deertaurs of their herd went outside the cave and left for a hunt, while Simon stayed behind to keep an eye on the prisoners and make sure that they don't escape.

However, it was just what Simon (the good, young and handsome Deertaur) actually wanted and expected to have - to receive and have his advantage to set the prisoners free one by one while the rest of the herd is away on their hunts from time to time, until all six of them are free to go. Then, Simon slowly approached the six prisoners, who are all still tied up and are also unconscious (likely from being slapped, punched or smacked really hard across their faces by Oscar and his three main followers), and then he pulled out a very sharp stone tool which might help him cut off the ropes tying the prisoners, and the next thing he needed to do is to choose which one out of all six prisoners he's going to set free first, and after a single minute of looking between all six prisoners, Simon decided and chose to set Zoey free first, and so he knelt down in front of the toddler centauress before he slowly lowered his upper human body down to her level, and then he used his sharp stone tool like a knife to carefully cut the ropes which were tying up Zoey and keeping her unable to move, and once he was done cutting the ropes and setting Zoey free, Simon went to hide his sharp stone tool behind some rocks which stood in the corner of the cave, before he then returned to the prisoners and then he very carefully picked Zoey's unconscious body up in his arms and started carrying and taking her along as he then went out of the cave and started searching and looking for a safe place where he can hide Zoey before Oscar and the rest of the herd will return back from their hunt.

Later, after a half an hour of searching and looking for a safe place where he can hide Zoey from Oscar and from the rest of the herd before they return from their hunt, Simon finally found a good and safe place where he can hide Zoey from Oscar and from the rest of the Deertaurs herd, and in that case - it was behind some tall bushes with some smaller ones standing behind them, and so Simon went around the bushes while still carrying Zoey's unconscious body in his arms, and once he reached behind the tall bushes, Simon carefully lowered himself down before very gently placing Zoey down on the smaller bushes which stood behind the much taller ones, but before he's about to go back to the cave to where the five other prisoners are still tied up, Simon carefully removed the muzzle away from Zoey's nose and mouth and threw it away and then he very gently stroked the toddler centauress on the top of her head for a brief moment, before he then stood back up on his hooves and carefully stepped away from Zoey's unconscious body, and once he was a few yards away from her, Simon turned tail and carefully trotted away and went all the way back to the cave while leaving Zoey to lie down on the small bushes which stood behind the much taller ones until she recovers and then goes and leaves the jungle, thus making sure that Oscar and the rest of his herd won't be able to find her after they all return back from their hunt.

When Simon returned back to the cave to tend to the five remaining prisoners, he chuckled and said to himself "Perfect, my plan to set the prisoners free from captivity is going exactly as I planned. All I need to do now is to wait patiently for five more opportunities to come if I want to set each and every single one of these five remaining prisoners free. Once they're all free and ready to go, I may decide to join them so that in case Oscar and the rest of the herd actually finds out that I set the prisoners free, I will be traveling far away from home so that Oscar and his three main friends won't be able to get me or have my hide (skin) to show the rest of the herd that I decided to help the prisoners and set them free.", and then he added "The way I saw Oscar treating the prisoners like he did and still does makes me feel so sick and tried of him and of all the rest of the herd, and so I guess that it's better to set the prisoners free and let them all go and also join them than staying here in this jungle with the rest of the herd. I hate all the herd for all of them being such cruel and heartless monsters, especially that Oscar, although I can also say that Roger, Charlotte and Raymond are also acting and behaving in same or in many ways just like him. It is time for me to show them all that I will not tolerate abusive manners or behaviors, even if they all come from none other than the leader himself, because I can tell a good leader from a bad one, and Oscar is really a bad leader and I wish for him and for all the rest of the herd to be captured for their abusive actions and then banished to Tartarus where they all will spend and live the rest of their days.", thus revealing that despite he's part of Oscar's herd, Simon indeed hates him (Oscar himself) and all the rest of the Deertaurs herd for all of them being bad, cruel, heartless, abusive and vengeful.

Then, after Simon successfully managed to set Zoey free and then placed her down in a safe place where Oscar and the rest of the herd won't be able to find her, this is when all the Deertaurs herd (including Oscar himself) finally returned back to the cave with some junglefowls (wild chickens), some rabbits, and some wild boars which they all hunted outside the cave and within the jungle range, and upon returning back to the cave, Simon greeted and welcomed them all back to the cave (while at the same time, he was also trying to hide the fact that he actually hates them all for the bad Deertaurs they all are) and then he said and added "Well, I see that you all got and brought here some lots of food so that all of us can eat tonight.", and then Oscar said back "Yeah, Simon! It wasn't easy to hunt down and catch all of these junglefowls, rabbits and wild boars for food! But now that we all did, we can set up some fire and start cooking these tasty animals' meat so that we can all enjoy eating tonight! By the way, I'm sure that our prisoners would also like to eat some meat too if they're going to stay here forever as our captives!", and when Simon heard what he said, he said back to his evil leader "Well, yes. Of course they need to eat. Nobody can survive without food or water.".

However, just then, Roger suddenly called and said to the rest of the herd "Oscar! Charlotte! Raymond! Everyone! The toddler centauress have disappeared!", and when they all heard what their muscular second-in-command just said, Oscar yelled and asked "What?! Are you sure?! How did this happened?!", and then he turned to Simon and asked him "What happened here while we were gone on our hunt?!", and then Simon lied and said to his leader "It was a big male black bear, and he entered the cave while you all were gone on your hunt. I tried to defend the prisoners and get the black bear out of the cave, but instead of running away, he just fought me back and managed to get past me and eat the little centauress. There's nothing I could've done to stop him from eating her. She's gone.", and then he started shedding fake tears to make Oscar and all the rest of the herd believe that Zoey was eaten by a black bear while they were all gone on their hunt.

When Oscar fell for Simon's trick, the bad Deertaur leader said to Roger, Charlotte and Raymond that they're going outside again with him, and this time - just the four of them to find, hunt down and kill the black bear who 'ate' Zoey, and when they heard what their leader said, the three main Deertaurs who always and still does follow their leader and always did everything he told them to do accepted going outside once again with their leader to hunt down and kill the black bear who allegedly 'ate' Zoey, and so the four main Deertaurs went outside the cave together (and just the four of them, of course) to hunt down the black bear, kill him and come back to the cave with his skin so it (the black bear's skin) can be used either as a black bear skin rug or for clothing (since it's very likely that most, if not all the male Deertaurs in Oscar's herd don't wear clothes on their upper human bodies, which also means that their upper chests, upper torsos and upper stomachs are exposed, and so that means they can get seriously injured on the upper bodies during their fighting practices in order to attract mates (Deertauresses), so hunting the black bear who 'ate' Zoey will provide the Deertaurs herd with the skin and fur needed to make warm fur clothes for some of the Deertaurs in the herd).

An hour later, the four Deertaurs returned back to the cave from their hunt while carrying along the skin of a large male black bear to show it to the rest of the herd, and when they all saw the black bear's skin, the rest of the Deertaurs herd gasped and then looked in awe at the black bear skin, and then Oscar said to all of them "Everyone, listen up! Roger, Charlotte and Raymond helped me hunt down that large male black bear and get his skin so we can make some nice clothes out of it! We're going to wear some good warm fur clothes on our upper bodies at last!", and when they all heard what he said, all the Deertaurs cheered for him, but that wasn't before the five remaining prisoners (Violet, Sitka, Igor, Austin and Jenna) all suddenly woke up from hearing all the Deertaurs cheering for Oscar, and when Oscar, Roger, Charlotte and Raymond noticed that they all have awakened and came back to consciousness, Oscar said evilly "Well, well, well! Looks like our five remaining prisoners here have finally awakened!", and then he and his three best friends and main followers all laughed evilly as they enjoyed the five remaining prisoners' helplessness.

However, when the five remaining prisoners heard what Oscar said about them being five instead of six before he and his main followers and best friends laughed at them, Sitka asked him while his voice was muffled by the muzzle on his nose and mouth "Wait a minute, five? What do you mean 'five'?", but just then, when Igor looked down and saw Violet and then he turned his head and looked around and saw Sitka, Austin and Jenna, but (of course) no Zoey, the Rhinotaur asked (with his own voice was also muffled by the muzzle on his own nose and mouth) "Where's Zoey?", and when the Deertaurs herd all heard he said, one of the Deertaurs said to the prisoners "She's gone! While we were all gone on our hunt, a large male black bear entered the cave and ate your little friend while you were all unconscious!", and then he added "In other words, we don't need to worry about that useless little centauress anymore!", and then he and all the herd, minus Oscar, Roger, Charlotte and Raymond, laughed evilly at the five remaining prisoners, who looked at all of them in both shock and anger as they couldn't believe that Zoey is now gone forever.

Then, Jenna asked angrily with her voice being still muffled by the muzzle on her nose and mouth "What did you monsters did to Zoey?!", and then Charlotte said to the older Deertauress "We did nothing to her! She got eaten by the black bear whom we just hunted and skinned for clothing! She's gone for good and we're happy with that because now that little brat won't be here to annoy us anymore!", but then Austin yelled at her with his voice being muffled by his muzzle which was and still tied onto his face "You may be a young lady, but you're also a big jerk! Zoey is not a little brat at all! For a 2 year-old toddler, she's one of the nicest and friendliest centaurs whom Jenna and I we both have ever met in our lives! And a young lady like you should be ashamed of yourself for what you're saying about her! And even though you're not a fully grown adult yet, Jenna and I we both hope and wish that you and all of your evil friends will be captured by Equestria's supreme and respected rulers and then sent to live the rest of your lives in Tartarus for what you're daring to say about poor, young and defenseless babies and toddlers who are just the same as cute, friendly and lovable as Zoey herself!".

However, when she heard what the fully grown adult male Deertaur just said to her, Charlotte's face quickly changed into an angry expression as she then trotted up to Austin, and once she got close enough to him, she forcefully grabbed him and pulled him up to look at him right in the eyes before she then yelled at him in the face "What did you just said to me?!", and then she forcefully started dragging him away from the other prisoners and took him with her towards the herd, and once she reached back to the herd, she said to Oscar "Oscar, dear, please teach that filthy older male Deertaur a life lesson!", and when he heard what his future mate said to him, Oscar smiled evilly and said to her back "As you wish!", and then he grabbed Austin and took him from Charlotte's grip and then he turned around and started walking while dragging him away as they went out of the cave with Charlotte, Roger and Raymond soon following behind him as the four Deertaurs left the cave while taking Austin along with them, and when Jenna saw her husband being taken away from her, she started crying and shedding tears over losing both her son and her husband because of Oscar and of his Deertaurs herd's mad and wild behaviors as well as their wrathful nature.

As for Austin, he's taken out of the cave by Oscar and his three main followers and best friends, who dragged him far away from the cave so to isolate him from the other prisoners, and after traveling within the jungle range for about a half an hour, Oscar, Charlotte, Roger and Raymond ended up walking towards a big tree, and then they laid him down with his back lying against the tree before they then pulled out some other long and strong ropes and started to use these ones to tie Austin to the big tree as that's exactly what the four bad Deertaurs were planning to do with him - tie him up to the big tree and then leave him to either get him eaten by the predators of the jungle or die from starvation, and once they were done tying Austin up to the big tree, Oscar slapped Austin twice across the face and sent him to fall unconscious again, before the four bad Deertaurs turned tails and then started traveling and walking all the way back to the cave while leaving Austin tied up to the tree so that the predators of the jungle can eat him and help in getting rid of him for good.

However, what did they didn't know is that Simon have followed them all the way to the big tree (while keeping himself hidden from sight this whole time), and he saw this as his chance to rescue Austin earlier than he expected, and so once Oscar and his three main followers and best friends are all gone from sight, Simon came out of hiding and he started approaching the unconscious Austin while holding his sharp stone tool in his hand, but now we all know what he's going to do with him. Just like with Zoey, once Simon got close enough to Austin, he used his sharp stone tool to carefully cut the ropes which were tying the older male Deertaur to the big tree, thus causing him to fall and nearly hit the ground face-first and on the front, but then Simon caught him just in time before he then used his sharp stone tool one more time to carefully cut the other ropes which were tying Austin's body and limbs together (in a way that he couldn't move), and once he was done cutting the ropes which were tying Austin's body and limbs together, Simon carefully cut and removed the muzzle which was tied onto Austin's face, and once he was done removing the muzzle (and then throwing it away), Simon gently stroked the older male Deertaur on the left cheek for a brief moment before he then carefully grabbed and picked him up and took him along with him to the exact same place he took Zoey to - to the small bushes which stood behind the much taller ones so that Austin can also recover from the hard slaps he received from Oscar's hands not so long ago.

Later, when Simon reached and got back to the small bushes which stood behind the much taller ones, he gently placed Austin's unconscious body on the small bushes right next to Zoey's body and said to himself in his mind " _Two prisoners rescued from captivity, and four more to go_.", and with both Zoey and Austin being rescued and then placed down on the small bushes behind the much taller ones where it's safe for them to be until they recover, Simon turned tail and then he carefully started trotting away and he went all the way back to the cave, thus leaving both Zoey and Austin to rest on the small bushes until they both recover from the attacks they received from Oscar and from the rest of the Deertaurs herd.

An hour later, Zoey started moving, and then she opened her eyes and slowly climbed down from the small bushes she lied on (while she was unconscious) as she then slowly stood back up on her hooves and recovered, only to find herself outside the cave in the jungle and not as a captive prisoner anymore, but when she turned and looked at the small bushes and at the taller ones which stood very close nearby, she saw Austin who is lying down and is still unconscious on the small bushes, and so Zoey decided to try and wake him up and see if he will respond to both her touch and to her voice, and after 5 minutes of trying to wake the adult male Deertaur from his unconsciousness, Austin finally started moving his own body, opened his eyes and then he slowly climbed down from the small bushes and stood up on his hooves, thus showing Zoey that now he finally recovered from Oscar's last attack.

However, when Austin looked down and saw Zoey standing before him and also looking up at him in the eyes, the father Deertaur couldn't help but gasp in shock to realize that Zoey is actually still alive and well and that she was never eaten by the black bear whom Oscar and his three best friends have already hunted for clothing, and when Zoey saw his shocked expression, she asked "Austin, is there's something wrong?", but then Austin said back "Thank goodness, you're safe, alive and well, Zoey!" before he then shook his head and became relieved to see that the toddler centauress who is one of his own son's newest friends is indeed still alive and was never eaten by the black bear whom Oscar and his three best friends have already hunted for clothing, and when she heard what he said, Zoey said back "Well, of course I'm safe, alive and well.", and then she added and asked "What's wrong? Did something bad happened?", and then Austin explained "Well, Oscar and his herd told us that you got eaten by the black bear whom they've already hunted for clothing!".

However, when she heard what the father Deertaur said to her, Zoey asked and then said "Got eaten by a black bear? Me? Well, of course not, silly! I'm still alive here and now, and I'm also feeling very well! Don't you believe me that I'm still alive and very real?", and when Austin heard what the toddler centauress said to him, he said back "I suppose you're right! You are still alive and very real!", and when she heard what he said, Zoey said back "I'm glad to hear that you believe and understand me, Austin!" and then she added "And now that we're free, we can leave the jungle to search for my twin brother, Andy, as well as for our red leopard friend, Russell!".

However, Austin said back to the toddler centauress and reminded "But we've heard Oscar and his herd saying that Russell is dead, as well as my son, Noah.", but then Zoey said to him "You're wrong, Austin! I'm pretty sure that Russell and Noah are both still alive and might be traveling along with Andy! I can feel it deep in my heart that both Russell and Noah are both still alive and that they're also waiting for us to come and reunite with them!", and then she grabbed and held at Austin's right hand with both of her own much smaller hands and added "Listen to me, Austin! Your son, Noah, is still alive! And so is our red leopard friend, Russell! We'll find them, Austin! We'll find them!", and when the father Deertaur heard what the toddler centauress just said to him about that his son and Russell are both still alive and well, Austin suddenly started feeling the truth deep in his own heart and he soon realized that what Oscar and his herd told him and Jenna about that Noah's being dead was a lie, and when he realized the truth, Austin clenched his left hand into a fist and said "So what that vicious monster for a leader and his whole herd told me about that my son's being dead was all a lie! I should've known I should've not believed them!".

Then, Austin looked down at Zoey and said to her "Zoey, let's go find my son! Now that I believe that he's still alive, I'm pretty sure that he's missing us! Especially Jenna and me! Let's go, Zoey!", and then added and he said to himself in his mind "Don't worry, Noah, my precious son! Daddy is coming! We'll be together again very soon!", and with these words being said in his mind, Austin was ready to go and leave the forest and start searching for Noah, but not before Zoey let go of his right hand and then said that she's also ready and willing to go with him and leave the jungle to search for Noah, Russell and Andy, and with Austin and Zoey both feeling ready and willing to go together and leave the jungle and start searching for Noah, Russell and Andy, the two started trotting and running away together, and after a while of traveling as fast as they both could within the jungle range, Austin and Zoey finally managed to find their way out and they soon left the jungle and started together on their long journey and also started to search and look for Andy, Noah and Russell, and they also hoped that they will be able to find the three and get reunited with them, eventually.


	142. Chapter 141:encountering Ron

Meanwhile, back with Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, the four of them have reached the badlands where Howard's home is located and after traveling in the badlands for almost two hours, they all spotted Howard's house in the horizon and they quickly went as fast as their legs, hooves and paws could carry them until they finally reached Howard's home, and upon their arrival in front of Howard's house, Andy explained to Russell, Noah and Feliks that this was used to be his, Zoey, Stephan and their parents' home (before he, Zoey and Stephan ran away from home to live with ponykind instead), and when Russell, Noah and Feliks all heard what Andy said about that the house they're all standing in front of is his and his family's old home, Russell first looked up to see Howard's name on the door sign above the door, which indicates that it's indeed Howard's home, before the red leopard stepped forward and then he knocked on the door with a forepaw before Andy also followed by knocking on the door too using his own small human hands to see if there's someone inside Howard's house (although it would appear to be obvious to us that ever since Howard was defeated, his house is in fact empty and so that there's no one inside it).

However, just then, the door suddenly opened and then an elderly male centaur who is likely 75 years old or so came out of the house and looked down to see Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, and when the four looked up to see the strange and unfamiliar elderly male centaur looking down at them, Andy said "We're so sorry, we must've knocked on the wrong door." and then Russell added and explained "We were looking for Howard." and then he asked the elderly centaur "Is this place is his home?". "Howard?" asked the elderly centaur, and then Russell said back "Yes." and then he asked "Is this Howard's home?", but then the elderly centaur back "There's no Howard here." and then he added "unless...", but that was before a realization suddenly hit him and then he asked "You don't mean Howard the despicable centaur who abused his own family?", and when they heard what he said, Andy answered and said back "Yes, he's my father.".

When the elderly centaur heard what Andy said about Howard being his father and about that the house he and his friends are standing before is Howard's home, he said back and explained to the four friends "Oh, kids. I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, strangers, but ever since Howard was defeated, I came to live here in his home in the badlands.", but when they heard what he said, Russell said back to the elderly centaur "But, on the door sign it says...", but when the red leopard looked up at the door sign again, he saw the name 'Hammond' instead of Howard, and so this made the red leopard say "Oh! 'Hammond'! At first we thought it actually said Howard.", and then the elderly centaur said to him and to his three younger friends "I'm Mr. Hammond.", and then he added and said to Andy "I knew your daddy a little.", but just then, a short moment later, the elderly centaur suddenly smiled at the four friends and said to them "Come in, kids. Let me give you and your older friend something to eat and something to drink.", and then he started leading them and inviting them into the house, but then Andy said "No, we couldn't.", and then Russell added "And I don't want to enter the home of a total old stranger just like that!", but then Mr. Hammond the elderly centaur said back "You could and you will. I insist.", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks reluctantly entered 'Mr. Hammond's home.

Once they're inside the house, Mr. Hammond said to the four friends "Well, feel free to look around." and then he asked and suggested "Perhaps you guys would like to freshen up?", and when they heard what he said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all went to the bathroom door, and once they reached and stopped right in front of the door which leads into the bathroom, Russell turned to Andy and said to him "You go first, Andy." and then he added with a reassuring smile "It's okay. We'll be right behind you.", and then Noah added "Yeah! After all, it was once your daddy's home so it wouldn't hurt any of us if you go freshen up first, Andy.", and then he said to Andy "Once you're done, we'll be going in there one at a time and in turns, okay?", and when he heard what the juvenile Deertaur said, Andy took a deep breath to calm himself down before he then opened the door and went to the bathroom to freshen up, and a few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom (since he was done freshening up) and told Feliks to go into the bathroom next, which the young male leopard cub soon did, and once he was done freshening up too, Noah was the third to go into the bathroom to freshen up, and finally it was Russell who went into the bathroom to freshen up, as his own turn to go freshen up in the bathroom was the last out of the four, and once Russell was done freshening up, he opened the door and told Andy, Noah and Feliks to come inside as the last thing none of them did yet is washing their faces, and during their respective turns to wash their faces, the four friends ran a bit of water and then they hesitated.

However, just then, the four friends suddenly heard a loud knocking on the door before Mr. Hammond's voice called for them "Hey! Did you guys fall asleep in there? Lunch is ready!" and then he added and said to Andy, Noah and even Feliks "The hot milk is waiting for you!", and just then, the three youngsters and Russell looked down at the sink again, only to discover and realize that it was now halfway full of water from the leaky faucet, but it wasn't before Andy said in a soft tone "Hot milk. Hot milk would be nice." and then Feliks added "Yeah, I think so too.", before the four friends finally came out of the bathroom and went together to the living room to drink some hot milk, or in Russell's case - some raw meat (since he's an adult leopard).

In the living room, Andy, Noah and Feliks all sat on three chairs near a table that was in the middle of the living room, while Russell sat down on the floor behind them, and just then, Mr. Hammond came in and to the living room and went up to them with four cups of hot milk and with a feeding bowl of raw meat (the bowl of raw meat was obviously for Russell to eat), and then he lowered down and placed the feeding bowl with the raw meat in front of Russell so that the adult red leopard can enjoy eating the raw meat, before the elderly centaur then went up to the table and placed the four cups of hot milk on it, and three out of the four were for Andy, Noah and Feliks, while the fourth cup of hot milk was for Mr. Hammond himself, who then went up to the other side of the table and sat down on a larger chair near the table and right in front of the three youngsters.

Then, Andy said to Mr. Hammond as he looked around and saw that the place is now looking very good and that the conditions inside it are favorable unlike anytime before the toddler centaur ran away from home with his twin sister and big brother "Well, I like what you've done with the place, Sir. It's so different and it's also unlike the way it used to be before I ran away from home.", and then Noah added in agreement "Yeah, that's right. I have to agree with you too. This place is so nice and I think we can all stay here for tonight." and then Russell said behind them as he too liked the good looks of the place on the inside "I agree with you guys too. I like this place. It's so cozy.", and when he heard what the two youngsters and the full grown adult male said, Mr. Hammond said to them "How kind you are, kids.", and then he quickly added and explained "I call all the cute little toddlers and youngsters 'kids', don't take offense.", but then Andy said back "Oh no." in reassurance to show the elderly centaur that he's not offended by being called a kid, and then Russell added "I may be an adult myself, but it's okay for you to call me kid, Sir. After all, I'm not yet a father and I haven't yet made my own family either, so that's okay to call me 'kid'. I was used to be called like that a lot when I was a little cub, and it's still okay to call me 'kid' even now, because I'm not offended by being called that way. It's fine with me.".

However, soon after Russell expressed his feelings for being called kid as a full grown adult leopard, Mr. Hammond picked up his cup of hot milk and then when he started drinking, he made nasty slurping sounds while drinking his hot milk, and that caused the three youngsters to look at him with weird expressions on their faces, while Russell stared and looked up at him with a little disgust when he heard the elderly centaur nastily slurping down his hot milk, and once he was done drinking his milk, Mr. Hammond placed his now empty cup on the table and then he said to Andy, Noah and Feliks "Well, go on, kids. Drink your milk while it's nice and hot.", and then he gave the three youngsters a smile, but when they saw the elderly centaur's smile, Andy, Noah and Feliks are almost shocked to see that his teeth are turning gray and are rotting down very quickly and in such a short time, and when Russell looked up and also noticed that Mr. Hammond's teeth are turning gray and are rotting down very quickly, the adult male red leopard couldn't believe what he's seeing before his own eyes.

However, the true terror and the pure disgust both kicks in when Andy, Noah and Feliks were all about to drink their cups of hot milk, because when the three looked into their cups (before they're about to drink from the hot milk in them), they suddenly yelped with both shock and with fright to see that the hot milk in their cups has transformed into urine water, thus prompting the three youngsters to quickly throw the cups away, thus resulting in the cups crashing and smashing into pieces and spilling the urine water on the floor. Then, for addition, when Russell witnessed that moment happening before his own eyes, he immediately turned to look down at the feeding bowl, only to discover that the raw meet in his feeding bowl has transformed into feces, thus causing Russell to exclaim in pure disgust before he then used a foreleg and a forepaw of his own to quickly kick the bowl away from himself, resulting in the feeding bowl crashing and smashing into pieces against one of the legs of the table and spilling the feces right next to the pieces of the broken cups and the spilled urine water on the floor, and once these two things were done, Andy, Noah and Feliks quickly got up from their chairs, while Russell quickly stood up on his feet and first looked down at the pieces of the broken cups and of the broken feeding bowl as well as at the spilled urine water and the spilled feces, before he and the three youngsters all quickly turned their heads and looked up at Mr. Hammond with both shock and with great fear in their eyes.

However, when he saw the shock and the great fear in the four friends' eyes, Mr. Hammond suddenly said a little evilly with a tooth-rotten smile that also suddenly started growing a little demonic "Oh, don't trouble your cute little heads, kids. I'll get it.", and then he turned his head and face away from them and looked down at the floor and then he lowered down and started picking up the pieces of the broken cups and of the broken feeding bowl, and just then, a realization suddenly hit Russell as he then realized that the name on the door sign was indeed Howard, and so this realization made him say as he soon realized the danger "It did say Howard's name on the door sign." and then he added "We should've known it was all a trap!", and when he heard what the red leopard said, Mr. Hammond said to him and to his three younger friends as his elderly voice started sounding more menacing and threatening while he kept picking up the pieces "If you're all wise, you'll run, kids. Run. Because to stay here will mean worse than your own deaths.", and then he added as his voice suddenly changed from an elderly voice into the one which was that of a much younger adult male "You'll be all mine forever.", and then the new voice added "You'll be all mine.".

Then, when 'Mr. Hammond' finished picking up the pieces of the broken cups and of the broken bowl, he was no longer Mr. Hammond anymore. Instead, the centaur who appeared before Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks was the frightening image of Howard, who then turned his head and looked back at them before standing up to his full height, thus also scaring the four friends with his horrid appearance, causing Andy, Noah and Feliks to scream with fright as all three youngsters stepped aback in great fear because of Howard's horrid appearance, as the demonic centaur had many scars covering both his upper and lower bodies and his bighorn sheep horns are (obviously) missing, but that wasn't before Howard said to Andy in a horrid tone "I worry about you, Andy. Sometimes, I worry a lot.", but when Andy, Noah and Feliks all heard what Howard just said, they all screamed again with fright and started running away with Russell following close behind them as all four friends tried to escape together and leave the house before it's too late.

However, as soon as Russell and the kids started running away, 'Howard' soon started chasing after them and he yelled "It won't do you or your friends any good to run away, Andy!", and when they reached to the door which leads out of the house, 'Howard' managed to catch up with them and he managed to grab and pull both Andy and Noah by the shoulders and also pin Feliks to the floor and trap him under a cloven forehoof to prevent the three from having their escape, but then the three youngsters and Russell all started screaming in horror from the demonic centaur's scarred and horrid appearance, and then Andy cried "Ahhh! Ahhh! Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" and Russell added as he yelled up at 'Howard's face "You're not real! You're not real!", before the red leopard jumped up and slashed the demonic centaur on the upper human chest with his left forepaw and with his sharp claws to make him let go of Andy, Noah and Feliks, and once he let go of the three youngsters, they and Russell quickly opened the door and so the four of them managed to escape out of the house and they all ran outside and went back to the badlands (outside Howard's house).

Once they got out of Howard's house and reached back outside to the badlands, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all turned around and looked back to see a centaur whom they have never met before. The centaur appeared to be a young adult male who is just around Anastasia's age, and judging by the long horn on the center of his forehead, the centaur was a Unicorn centaur (horned centaur) just like Queen Camilla, and for addition to his type, his hair and tail were both dark brown, his eyes were purple and he had the lower body of a dark beige horse, but what they didn't know about him is that he's in fact Anastasia's mate. The horned centaur's name was Ron, and he's also the one centaur who told and even warned and threatened Anastasia to never tell about her pregnancy to anyone, including her own family, and also said to her that if she does tell anyone about that her aggressive behavior is because of her pregnancy (since Ron is going to be the father of Anastasia's baby), he will come to take her baby away from her and have it all to himself shortly after its birth and then he will also have Anastasia's hide on his wall (Anastasia even mentioned that before).

When Ron saw Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks looking shocked and terrified from his trick (since he's the one who pulled that heartless trick and prepared and made that trap for them), he pressed and tapped himself on his own nose with the index fingers in both of his hands and said "Beep beep!", and then he started laughing and shaking back and forth frantically from him (Ron himself) being successful in nearly scaring Russell and the kids to death with his heartless prank. When the four friends saw him laughing and shaking back and forth frantically, Andy asked "Who...who's he?" and then Noah added as he then pointed at Ron "Where did he just came from?", and then when Ron stopped laughing and and also stopped shaking back and forth frantically, he looked at the four friends again as he then walked back into the house, but before he closed the door, he laughed loudly at them one more time before he then closed the door shut before their eyes.

Just then, the totally unexpected happened - the same herd of Indian rhinos from before suddenly came out of nowhere and stampeded towards Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, and when Russell turned and saw them coming, he called and yelled to his three younger friends "Look out, guys! The rhinos are coming!", and when they heard what he said, Andy, Noah and Feliks all quickly moved out of the way with Russell helping them by quickly leading them away from the Indian rhinos just in time before the stampeding Indian rhinos herd came by and started passing by Howard's house very quickly, and it didn't took long before the last Indian rhinos at the very back and end of the stampeding herd came by and then passed by Howard's house as they continued stampeding away and soon left the area with all the rest of the herd like if nothing had happened.

However, once the stampeding Indian rhinos herd was gone, Noah suddenly called to the others "Hey! Look at this! Look at what just happened here!", and when they heard what he said, Russell, Andy and Feliks all turned to look back at Howard's house again, only to discover that the house is now boarded over and long abandoned. When the four friends saw that Howard's house is now abandoned, Russell said with a shocked expression on his face "Howard's home...it's abandoned!", and then Feliks added and asked while also showing a shocked expression on his own face "How is that even possible?", and then Russell said back "I don't know! It must be some kind of evil magic or something!", before he then added "We must go away from here as fast as we can! Who knows what could happen next!", and then Andy said in agreement "Yes, Russell. That horned centaur was so weird, and who knows what else he can do to us next.", and then Russell said to him, Noah and Feliks "We must hurry! We can't stay here in the badlands anymore! It's too dangerous for us in here!", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all turned around and started walking away from Howard's now abandoned house and continued together on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their friends.

Meanwhile, back with Chloe, Aylene, King Edward, Queen Camilla, Vanessa and all the others, they still continued on their way and kept searching for both Anastasia and for the twins, and during their search for the three, Chloe said "I hope we'll be able to find Andy and Zoey before Anastasia does.", and then Aylene added "Yeah, that's right. We have to find them before Anastasia does. I can't even imagine what she still has in mind for these poor little toddlers.", and then Shujaa said to them "If she finds, attacks and yells at Andy and Zoey again, just like how she already did before when Stephan and Bluebell got knocked out cold and unconscious, I will make sure that this time she doesn't gets away with it that easily!", and then King Edward said with his brows furrowing in anger and his eyes filled with determination "Anastasia, if you ever dare to harm these innocent little toddlers again, I will have no choice but to banish you away from the centaur kingdom until you learn your lesson!" and then he added "No daughter of mine shall go unpunished for abusing a couple of toddlers just like that! When we find you, Anastasia, I swear you'll pay for the pain you caused these toddlers before and after Bluebell and their big brother, Stephan, both got knocked unconscious!", and with these words being said, King Edward was determined to find and punish his own young adult daughter for the great pain she caused Andy and Zoey before they ran away from home.

Later, when evening came, and back with Russell and with the kids, the four continued on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their friends, but now that evening time came, they're all getting so tired that they need to find a shelter where they can rest in for the night and continue on their journey the next day, and so with the four getting tired from traveling far and from the arrival of the evening time, Andy asked Feliks "How long do you think it will take for us to get all the way back to the jungle?", and when the young leopard cub heard what the toddler male centaur said to him, he said back "I don't know, Andy." and then he added "I wish I could've helped you with that too, but since I never left my own home before, I don't yet know how much time it will take for us until we'll finally reach and arrive in the jungle.", and when Andy heard what he said, the toddler male centaur said back "I suppose you're right, Feliks. After all, you're still new here within our group.".

However, just then, Noah suddenly interrupted them and asked "Well, if you guys ask me, I feel so tired right now, so how about we just go to sleep in that nice nearby cave tonight?" and then he pointed with his hand and index finger at a nearby cave which stood not too far away from them, and when they heard what he said and then turned their heads to the side and saw the big cave nearby, Russell said back to him "That sounds like a good idea, Noah." and then he added "I don't think that that weird horned centaur will be able to find us while we're all sleeping in that cave.", and then Andy said in agreement "You have a point, Russell. He will have to travel really fast in order to keep up with us, and I don't think that he actually can keep up with us or something like that, because that would be ridiculously hard for him to catch up with us.", but just then, Feliks let out a yawn and then he asked "Guys, I feel so tired, how about we go to sleep in that cave now?", and when they all heard what the young leopard cub just said, Russell said "You know what? That's fine! We can go to sleep in that cave tonight, and when we'll wake up in the next morning, nothing will appear to be different around us.", and with these words being said, the four went up to the nearby cave and once they entered it, they chose their sleeping spots inside the cave and then Russell said to his three friends "Goodnight, Andy. Goodnight, Noah. Goodnight, Feliks." and the three of them said back in return "Goodnight for you too, Russell. We'll continue on our way to save our friends in the next morning.", and so with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all fell asleep inside the cave for tonight.

However, during the night, when it was nighttime, Russell suddenly woke up as he started hearing some strange hissing sounds, and when he heard the hissing sounds, the red leopard asked "Huh? What was that? Where are these weird sounds coming from?", but just then however, he suddenly heard Andy, Noah and Feliks all screaming and crying for help, and he also heard Feliks crying and yelling "Ahhh! Russell, please help!", and when the red leopard heard his voice crying and yelling for help, he (Russell himself) turned his head and suddenly yelled "Wait, what?!" as right before his eyes, there was a giant snake wrapping its coils around Andy, Noah and Feliks and is about to eat them all as a midnight snack.

When Russell saw his three younger friends in danger, he said "Oh no, my friends are in trouble!", and then he added and called for them "Don't worry, guys! I'll save you!", and then Andy cried "Russell, please Help!", and Noah soon repeated his words and also added "That giant snake suddenly came into our cave and he's trying to eat us all!", but then Russell said to them "It's okay, guys! Do not panic! I got this!", and then he used his right forepaw to whack and throw a small stone at the giant snake in order to get his attention, and once the small stone hit the giant snake, he turned his head to see Russell standing before him, but that wasn't before the red leopard angrily yelled at him "Hey you jerk! Leave my good little friends alone and take on someone your own size!", and when the giant snake heard the insulting words he just said to him, he hissed angrily, uncoiled, unwrapped himself and let go of Andy, Noah and Feliks, and then he charged angrily at Russell, who then yelled at him "Come and get me, you legless reptile!", before he then yelled and said to his three younger friends "Now it's your chance, guys! Run for it!" and then he quickly added "Go outside the cave while I'll take care of that giant snake!", and with these words being said, Russell started fighting the giant snake while Andy, Noah and Feliks all ran away and made their way out of the cave.

Once Andy, Noah and Feliks made their way out of the cave and got back outside (and also back to the badlands), Russell gave a hard big cat slap on the giant snake's face with his right forepaw and then he quickly turned around and started running out of the cave after his three younger friends, but once he too made it outside the cave, he suddenly saw Ron standing a few yards away and in front of him and his younger friends, before the horned then said "Beep beep, kids!" and added "I'll come back anytime!", and then he added "Sooner or later, you'll be all mine, do you understand me? You'll be all mine!", and then he laughed evilly and disappeared right before the four friends' eyes, and so did the giant snake inside the cave behind their backs, thus revealing that the giant snake was all another trick of Ron (his second in total), and once Ron and the giant snake both disappeared, Russell said to his three younger friends "Guys, we gotta get away from this place as soon as possible! It's not safe around here either!", and when they heard what he said, the three youngsters agreed with him, before Noah then said in agreement "You're right, Russell! We gotta go now! Let's get out of here!", and with these words being said, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks all continued together on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their friends, and the four of them also hoped that they won't be attacked, harassed or even tricked by Ron or by his dirty magical tricks anymore.

Meanwhile, back in the jungle, Violet lied down (still unconscious) on the very same small bushes behind the much taller once (on which Zoey and Austin also and already have lied down before), and for addition, her muzzle and her rope bindings are no longer tied onto her face, body and limbs anymore, and the reason to this was very obvious - Simon have already managed to get her out of the cave and rescue her from captivity while Oscar and all the rest of the Deertaurs herd were all gone for their hunt for today (and during the day), and that therefore it means that Violet is now free to go and leave the jungle and start searching for her friends (and eventually get reunited with them) once she wakes up and recovers from the mad and harassing attacks she received from Oscar and from his three main friends from the Deertaurs herd.

Just then, Violet suddenly started moving and she opened her eyes and woke up as she finally started recovering from the mad and harassing attacks she received from Oscar and from his three main friends, but once she climbed down from the small bushes and stood up and on her hooves again, Violet soon realized that she's not inside the bad Deertaurs' cave anymore and that she's now outside and free to leave the jungle since she's not tied up and/or restrained by the muzzle and/or by the rope bindings anymore, and when she realized and understood that now she can go and leave the jungle and search for her other friends (Russell, Andy, Zoey, Noah and Austin), Violet said to herself "Now that I'm no longer a prisoner in Oscar and his herd's cave, I'm can go and leave this jungle and search for my other friends.", and then she added and said with a determined look forming on her face and eyes "Don't worry about me, my friends. I'm going to find and reunite with all of you very soon. I promise.", and with these words being said, the toddler Zebratauress started trotting and running fast within the jungle range until she finally found her way out and left the jungle and started searching for all of her other friends.

Back with Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks, the four are still walking and traveling in the badlands (after having been forced to stay awake and then immediately got chased out of the cave in which they tried to sleep in for the night by Ron), and while they kept walking and traveling in the badlands while it's already past midnight but the time is still the middle of the night (likely anywhere from 1 to 3 A.M), Noah asked his three friends "How much further do we need to travel and how much time do we need to keep ourselves awake, guys?", and then Russell answered back "I don't know, but I hope that the next time we'll find a cave, we need to make sure that it's safe to sleep in it first, and then we'll be able to have our rest for tonight.".

When Noah heard what Russell said, the juvenile male Deertaur said to him and to their two other friends (Andy and Feliks) "I understand what you're saying, Russell. But there's one thing that is still bothering me for the most.", and when they heard what he said, Russell asked him "Really? What is it, Noah?", and then Noah asked back "That horned centaur, who do you think is he?", and then Andy asked and added in agreement "Yeah, and what's his name? That's also something that we need to know about before we get to know him." and then Feliks also added in agreement "Yeah, that's right.".

However, just then, the badlands' night skies suddenly changed their color from normal black with stars and the moon into dark purple skies without any stars or even a moon, and then something really scary happened that it caused the four friends to stop dead in their tracks - it was a shadow of an unknown animal or creature which suddenly appeared before them, although it also appeared a bit far away from them, and when Feliks saw the shadow in front of him, he called and said to his friends "Hey! Look over there! I something over there!", and when they heard what he said, Russell said back to him in agreement "You're right, Feliks, we can see it too!", but then Noah asked the young male leopard cub "What is it, Feliks? What do you see over there?", but just then, however, the mysterious shadow suddenly changed its colors and it's shape and appearance became clear for the four friends to see, and it turned out and appeared to be Azaad, but to make matters more horrifying (especially for Feliks), his fur is ruffled up and his whole body is covered with scars, bruises and wounds all over, his forelegs and his forepaws are chained up and are also trapped on each side away from the rest of his body, his head and face are facing down, and last but not least - Azaad is also suspended in the air and he appeared to be tortured, tormented and abused.

When Feliks recognized the tortured, tormented and abused leopard before him as his father, the young male leopard cub cried "That's my daddy!", but when they heard what he said, Russell said back and asked "Huh? No, it can't be! How is that even possible?", and then Andy added "Yeah, that's right, Russell! We saw Azaad being trampled in the stampede before!" and he continued and said "There's no way that this is really him! It could be another trick or something! I can tell that by just looking at him!", and when he heard what his friends said, Noah asked "Is he real or fake?", and then Russel said to him and to the two other children "I'm the only adult here, so let me see if he's real or fake. I can easily tell if I'm right or wrong by studying him from a closer look.", and then he added "You guys just stay behind and watch.", and then Russell started stepping closer and approaching the other adult leopard which appeared suspended in the air before him, and then he said as he started studying him from a closer look so to see if it's actually the real Azaad or not "Let's see what we're dealing with here.".

"Please...help me, son...! Please...!" 'Azaad' begged while in pain from being 'tortured', prompting and making Feliks to gasp in shock, but he still stayed in place and didn't moved a muscle in his legs, but when 'Azaad' added and begged in his pained voice tone "Feliks...my son...I love you...!" and then lifted his head and face up a little to show a pained look and expression on his face, Feliks was unable to resist as he then cried "I can't! I have to go help him!" and then he started running towards 'Azaad', but then Andy and Noah also trotted and ran after him and said "No, don't! Don't go to him, Feliks! That could be a trap!", before both young male centaurids managed to stop him just in time by pinning him down to the ground so that he won't be able to reach too close to 'Azaad'.

However, Feliks fought back and he cried and begged both from Russell and from his two male centaurid friends "But can't you all just see? He's suffering!" and then he added "My daddy's in trouble! I have to help! He needs me!", but just then, however, 'Azaad's eyes suddenly started glowing purple and a demonic smile formed on his face, thus revealing that it's not the real Azaad but (yet again) Ron in disguise, and when Russell noticed that it's yet another one of Ron's dirty magical tricks, the red leopard quickly turned his head and face and said back to his three younger friends "Watch out, guys! His eyes are glowing purple! He's not real, it's a monster!", and that's when 'Azaad' started laughing evilly as he then transformed himself into none other than Ron, and when Feliks saw and realized that it wasn't his own father but actually none other than Ron in disguise, the young male leopard cub let out a scream as he then realized the truth, before Russell said to him "Now you see, Feliks?! I told you so!", but Feliks cried back "I didn't want to believe that!".

Just then, Ron said evilly "Well, isn't it so funny to toy around with the young mind of a naive little leopard cub?", but then Feliks turned to him and yelled "How dare you trick me by using an image of my own father against me?!" and then he added and asked "Who do you even think you are?!", but then Ron said back "Well, I won't tell you four my name yet, but I will do that once you'll accept to be all mine, do you hear?" and then he added "I'll leave you four alone for now, but I promise you that tomorrow I will return to torment you all for my own pleasure until all of you give in and accept to be all mine!", and then he finished and said evilly "Sooner or later, you all will be all mine!", and with these words being said, Ron laughed evilly before he suddenly vanished and disappeared into thin air while at the same time, the badlands' night skies also changed back to normal before the four friends' eyes, thus leaving them alone for now.

However, because he was mentally hurt by Ron's dirty magical trick, which is due to the horned centaur using an image of his father (Azaad) to fool and scare him, Feliks couldn't help himself and it didn't took longer than 20 seconds before he started to cry from having himself fooled by Ron's dirty magical trick, but then Russell went up to him and used his forepaws to caress the young male leopard cub's head and back in a manner to comfort him before he said "There, there you go, Feliks." and then he added to show him that he's not angry at him for almost falling for Ron's dirty magical trick "It's okay. I'm not really angry at you and I do not blame you for almost falling for that trick. I was just trying to warn you and show you that it's all nothing but an ugly trick.", and then he continued and said "I mean, that horned centaur surely has magical abilities which allows him to trick other creatures into believing that what they see before their eyes is real, but try to cheer yourself up, Feliks, because when we're going to face him again tomorrow, we'll try to outsmart him, capture him and make him tell us who he is and what are his intentions to do with us.", and then the red leopard asked Feliks as he looked down at him "Is that okay with you, Feliks?".

When he heard what Russell said to him, Feliks sniffled and then he said back "Yeah, I'm okay with that. Thank you so much for carrying and worrying about me, Russell." as he slowly calmed down from what just happened with Ron's dirty magical trick which fooled and scared him (Feliks himself) just a moment ago, but that wasn't before Noah suddenly said and pointed out as he clearly understood Russell's good motives in caring for their group and keeping them all out of trouble "Yeah, Feliks is right - you are a good friend who really cares for others, and we're happy to meet you and have you both as a friend and as a guide.", and then Andy added in agreement "That's right, Russell. Noah has a point in what he's trying to say - you're able to figure out that everything we see on our way which attacks and torments us throughout the last part of our journey is nothing more or less than that horned centaur's tricks and magical abilities which he uses to fool us all.", and then the toddler male centaur explained and said to Russell "So what we are trying to say here is that you're really a smart and loyal leopard, Russell, and we're so happy to be your friends for who you are.".

When Russell heard what his younger friends said to him about him being a smart and loyal friend and guide throughout their journey together, he couldn't help but shed a single tear before he said back "Thank you guys so much. I'm so glad that I've met you all, because if I haven't ran away from Black Heart, my life would still be miserable because of that monster for a human toddler who is none other than Dan Ashmor who likes to pee on my fur on purpose and make me smell so bad and feel very uncomfortable within my old home.", and then he added and said to his friends "And now, we gotta get going and we need to find some place to sleep in for the rest of the night before we'll go and face that horned centaur tomorrow.", and with these words being said, the two leopards, the centaur and the Deertaur continued together on their way and started searching for another place (or shelter) where they can all sleep in for the rest of the night.


	143. Chapter 142:escaping the dungeon

The next morning, Russell, Andy, Noah and Feliks continued on their way to rescue their friends, after the four of them had a peaceful rest inside a small cavern which was still big enough for all of them to fit inside it during the rest of the last night, and at the same time while they kept traveling forward to save their friends, they also tried to think of a variety of plans which might help them outsmart, capture and then force Ron into telling them who he is and what are his real intentions to do with the four of them.

Then, while the four friends are still traveling together and along their way back to the jungle, Noah asked "So, what do you guys think we should do in order to get and capture that horned centaur and try to make him tell us who he is and what does he wants from us?", and then Russell suggested "I thought it would be my pleasure to pounce on him and pin him down because I'm a leopard, and leopards like me use stalking, chasing and pouncing in order to trap their prey before they kill it.", but when he heard what the older red leopard just said, Feliks suddenly asked and added "Wait, what about me? I'm a leopard too!", but then Russell said to him back and pointed out "Yeah, but you're just a little cub, Feliks, and you're still not old enough to hunt prey on your own.", but then Feliks said back to him "Oh, come on, Russell! A single adult leopard like you can't even hunt prey as big as that horned centaur!", but when he heard what the young male leopard cub just said to him, Russell said back with a smile on his face "Well, I bet that I can easily take him down by surprise if I want to." and then he added "You just wait and see when we'll come face-to-face with him again.", and when they heard what he said, Andy said to his red leopard friend "I hope that you'll be able to get him and make him tell us who he is and what are his intentions to do with us, Russell.", and then Russell said back as he then showed his sharp and retractable claws he have on his forepaws (like many other Big cats) to the others "I'm feeling ready to have him for lunch for toying with us and for the tricks he's been pulling on us this lately.", and then he suddenly ran forward and called and yelled to the horizon "Horned centaur! Do you hear me? We're all ready to face you again, and this time, we will catch you and we will make you pay for the tricks you've been pulling on us lately! Come out and show your face so that we can we fight you! Go ahead! Bring it on!".

However, just then, shortly after Russell called and yelled to the horizon, he suddenly felt himself being surrounded by some kind of magic and it didn't took him long before he suddenly found himself being surrounded by a mysterious purple magic aura, but he's not the only one who is surrounded by it - Andy, Noah and Feliks are also being surrounded by the same mysterious purple magic aura, and with all four friends being surrounded by it, Feliks cried, yelled and asked in fright "What's happening?!", but then Russell said and yelled back "I don't know!", and just then, the four friends suddenly disappeared into thin air and vanished off the face of the badlands like if they were never there.

At the same time, back in the bad Deertaurs' cave in the jungle, Simon was about to set Sitka free next and take him outside and away to safety (since the rest of the herd is out for a hunt), but before he can set Sitka free by cutting and removing his rope bindings from his limbs as well as remove the muzzle which is tied onto his face, the same mysterious purple magic aura who made Russell and the kids disappear suddenly appeared and surrounded the unconscious 20 year-old young adult male Beartaur, and then, just a short moment later, Sitka suddenly disappeared into thin air right before Simon's eyes, thus shocking the good teenage male Deertaur who then suddenly asked himself "Huh? What just happened? Where did the Beartaur just go?", but then, shortly after he said that, Simon shook his head and decided that since Sitka is now gone from sight and is nowhere to be found, he should instead go and move forward and change his secret rescuing plan by setting Jenna (Austin's wife and Noah's mother) free instead (since Sitka disappeared from sight and into thin air like if he was never there, much like Russell and the kids), and so that's when Simon started setting Jenna free from her rope bindings and then he carefully removed the muzzle which was tied onto her face, before he then slowly and carefully carried her out of the cave and took her with him outside to somewhere safe where Oscar and the rest of the herd won't be able to find her so easily - which is to the small bushes which stood behind the much taller ones so that Jenna (who is still unconscious) will be able to recover and then escape from the jungle in time.

Meanwhile, in an unknown place deep underground, Russell recovered to find himself in the unfamiliar place to which he was taken, and when he looked around and then he saw the walls standing on both sides (left and right) and next to him, Russell asked "Huh? Where am I? What is this place?", but then he also suddenly felt that something is wrong and so he said and asked as he quickly turned around to see that he's all alone "Wait a minute, where are the others? Where did they go?", and so that's when the red leopard immediately started walking and wandering around and inside the mysterious underground place which was like a maze or a dungeon (or even both) and he called and asked "Hello? Andy? Noah? Feliks? Where are you, guys?".

As for Andy, Noah and Feliks, they too ended up in the same underground place but they're also separated from Russell, and when they looked around and saw the walls on both sides and next to them, Feliks asked "Where are we? Andy? Noah?", and when they heard what he said, Noah asked "Yes, Feliks?", and then Feliks asked him "Where do you think we are now?", but then the juvenile male Deertaur said back "I don't know!", and then Andy also added "Me neither!", but just then, however, the three suddenly felt and then looked around and soon noticed and realized that Russell is missing, and so Andy asked his two friends "Wait a second, where's Russell?", and when they heard what the toddler male centaur just said, Noah called "Russell! Where are you? Where did you go?" and then he asked "Where do you guys think Russell could be?", and then Feliks said to him "I don't know, but I don't like it when he's not here with us!", and then Andy added "We must find him and then search for a way out of this scary place!", and so with these words being said, that's when the three young friends started walking and wandering around and inside the mysterious underground place while staying close together so not to end up being separated from each other and they also started searching and looking everywhere for Russell, and while they kept searching for him, Andy, Noah and Feliks called together "Russell! Where are you? Russell? Russell?", hoping that they'll be able to find him soon if he hears and answers their calls.

And, for addition to Russell and the kids being separated from each other, there was also Sitka, who is still lying down unconscious after he was transported by the mysterious purple magic aura to the same scary maze-like dungeon in which the four friends are as well, but soon afterwards, he opened his eyes and slowly moved his body, only to then discover and find out that both his rope bindings and his muffling muzzle are gone from both his limbs and from his face, which means that now he can talk properly and stand upright and on his legs again, but once the young adult male Beartaur fully recovered and then stood up on his feet again, he looked around him and soon realized that he's not in the bad Deertaurs' cave anymore, and indeed the scary maze-like dungeon seemed very unfamiliar to the 20 year-old male Beartaur, who is now both confused and surprised to find himself in such an unfamiliar place in which he was never been before.

"Huh? Where am I? Why am I not tied up anymore? Why I don't have the muzzle tied up onto my face anymore? What is this place?" Sitka asked himself before he added "This is not Oscar's cave, this place looks much different than his cave.", and then he continued and said "It looks like some kind of a dungeon or something.", and since he felt very uncomfortable within the dark and scary maze-like dungeon, Sitka said to himself "I don't feel good to stay in this place. I need to get out of here. There's got to be a way out of here.", and then he started walking and wandering around and inside the maze-like dungeon and then he called and asked "Hello? Is there's someone else here in this place besides just me?", and then he also added "Hello? Can somebody tell me where am I and what is this place? Hello?".

However, shortly afterwards, Sitka ended up reaching to a point in the maze-like dungeon's hallway where it splits away into two different pathways, and when the young adult male Beartaur looked back and forth between left and right a few times and didn't know to which way he should go, Sitka asked himself "Hmmm, which way I should go to? Left or right?", and so he struggled to choose between the two pathways standing before him and right before his eyes, but after a few minutes of battling with the inner struggle inside him, Sitka finally made it up in his mind and said to himself as he looked at the right pathway "I should go to the right, maybe that way will lead me out of this scary place.", and so that's when he started walking on the right pathway, believing that it might lead him out of the maze-like dungeon.

However, much to his disappointment, instead of finding his way out of the maze-like dungeon by going on the right pathway, Sitka ended up entering a dark and mysterious room, but the true terror within that room is lying inside a weird and scary lion-sized statue which appeared and looked like a menacing carnivore, and so when Sitka looked and noticed and saw the statue standing in the end of the room, the Beartaur slowly approached and went up to inspect the statue, for he have never seen one with such a weird and also intimidating appearance. "What is this weird statue doing here?" Sitka asked as he then stopped right before the statue and then he lowered his upper human body down to take a closer look and inspect the statue by both its shape and its size.

"This one lion-sized statue has the head of a dog, the body of a wolf, the legs and the tail of a cougar and..." when Sitka saw and inspected the head and face of the statue from an even closer look, he was soon taken aback in both shock and fear when he saw two long and large saber teeth coming out and protruding from the dog-faced statue's upper jaw and from both sides of its mouth like a saber tooth cat. Then, soon after Sitka saw the statue's saber teeth, he said in shock "Oh my gosh! It has large saber teeth protruding from its upper jaw! Just like a saber tooth tiger (A.K.A - Smilodon)!", and then he added as the statue started to scare him with its intimidating appearance, despite Sitka being much larger than the statue "This statue is pretty scary and I don't like the way it's staring and bearing its teeth at me like this! I should go back on my tracks and then go to the left instead!", and with these words being said, Sitka immediately went back on his tracks and once he reached back to the point where the pathways split away, he immediately started walking on the left pathway instead, hoping that he'll be able to find his way out and escape from the scary maze-like dungeon as soon as possible.

However, just then, Sitka suddenly started hearing some wild animal growls, and judging by how they sounded like, he knew that these are definitely not the ones of a leopard (like Russell or even Feliks). When Sitka heard the unfamiliar wild animal growls coming from right behind him, he asked "Huh? What was that? Where are these growling sounds come from?", and when he turned around and looked in the direction of the wild animal growling sounds, he saw the very same scary statue from before literally moving towards him in the darkness and then stepping out into the lights of the torches inside the maze-like dungeon close to where Sitka is standing and into view and letting out scary growling sounds and also looking up and bearing its teeth angrily at the Beartaur, and when he realized that the monstrous creature statue is actually alive, Sitka screamed with fright and then he yelled "Ahhh! The scary statue is actually alive! I must run away for my life!", and then he started running away for his life with the monster soon chasing after him.

Meanwhile, back with Russell, he continued searching for his three younger friends and for a way out of the maze-like dungeon, but that wasn't before he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a lion-sized statue standing right in front of him, and that one also appeared to have a dog's head, a wolf's body, a cougar's legs and tail, and also a pair of long and sharp saber teeth, pretty much like the very same creature who is currently chasing after Sitka. When Russell saw the weird 'statue' standing in front of him, he asked "Hmmm? What's that weird statue doing here?" and then he went up close to inspect it, for he have never seen such a big statue which looks like this before. "This one looks strange, and its teeth looks so big and sharp, even more bigger and sharper than mine. I should probably just ignore it and keep going and continue on my way and search for my friends and for a way out of this place." Russell said as he then stopped looking at the 'statue' and then he went past it and continued on his way and kept searching everywhere for his three younger friends and also for a way out of the scary maze-like dungeon.

However, soon afterwards, Russell suddenly started hearing some scary and unfamiliar growls which sounded different than those of a normal leopard or a lion, and he also felt that these growls are coming from right behind him, and when he heard the scary growls coming from right behind his back, Russell asked "Huh? Where are these scary growls coming from?", but the moment he turned around to see where the scary growls are coming from, the red leopard suddenly came face-to-face with the head, jaws and sharp teeth of the dog-faced 'statue' which, like the first one from before, also turned out to be alive and real, and when Russell realized that the scary 'statue' before him is actually alive and real, he screamed with both shock and with fright and then he said "Oh goodness! That thing was actually real and alive! I must find my friends and then go find a way and get out of here now!", and once he finished saying what he just said, the red leopard soon turned tail and started running away for his life with the dog-faced monster soon chasing after him.

Meanwhile, back with Andy, Noah and Feliks, the three are still searching both for Russell and for a way out of the maze-like dungeon, and while they kept searching and looking everywhere for him, the three young creatures kept calling for Russell in hopes that he might hear them and answer back immediately after that, and so the three friends called "Russell? Hello? Where are you? Where did you go?", but just then, however, Feliks stopped dead in his tracks and called and said to Andy and Noah and asked as he then pointed his left forepaw at something that appeared to be moving in the darker parts of the maze-like dungeon "Look! who do you think is that over there?", and when Andy and Noah heard what he said and stopped dead in their tracks as well as they both also saw someone or something big moving quickly towards them in the darker parts of the maze-like dungeon, Noah said back "I don't know, but it looks like he's coming towards us!", and when they saw the shape of the creature appearing before their eyes, it soon turned out to be a Beartaur, and when they saw the Beartaur coming quickly towards them, Andy said and asked "Could that be?".

Then, when the Beartaur came close enough and his appearance became clear for the three young friends to see him properly, Andy and Noah soon recognized him and then Noah said "That's Sitka!", and then he and Andy both called for him as he ran quickly towards them "Hey, Sitka! Come to us! We're here!", but when he saw the three young friends standing in front of him with Andy and Noah calling to him, Sitka asked in shock "Kids?! What in Equestria are you doing down here?!", and once he got close enough and soon got reunited with the three young friends, Andy said to him "Hi, Sitka! We're been looking for Russell and for a way out of here!" and then he added and asked his young adult Beartaur friend "Have you seen him?", but then Sitka said back "I'm afraid not!", and then Noah asked him "Anyway, what are you doing here in this scary place, Sitka?", and then he added "We thought that you're still a prisoner in Oscar's cave!", and when Sitka heard what he said, he explained "I was, but for some unknown reason, I was suddenly set free from both my muzzle and from my rope bindings and I was transported by some kind of magic or something like that and I ended up here in this place just like you!".

When the three young friends heard what Sitka said about himself being transported to the same scary maze-like dungeon to which they and Russell were also transported the same way, Andy said "Even so, it's good to see you again, Sitka, and also know that you're okay!", and then Sitka said but also quickly added "Yeah, I'm so happy to see you again too, kids, but we must get out of here as soon as possible!", and then he added and explained "There's a living statue in the shape of a scary carnivorous monster in this scary place and it's chasing after me!", and when they heard what he said about the monster that is chasing after him, the three young friends gasped with both shock and with fright before they all asked him in unison "Really?!", and then Sitka nodded to them in agreement in a way to show them that he's telling them the truth.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly called "Hey, guys! There you are!", and when the four friends heard what the voice said and then turned in the direction where the voice came from, and out of nowhere, Russell came out from the dark and shadowed area within the hallway of the maze-like dungeon and quickly went up towards them, and when the four saw Russell coming towards them, Feliks called "Look! That's Russell! He's coming towards us!", but the moment Russell came up close enough and reunited with the four friends, he immediately said to them "We gotta get out of here, guys! A monster is chasing after me!", and when they heard what he said, Sitka said to him "Oh no! Don't tell there are TWO of these scary monsters in this scary place!", and then Noah said "If that's the case, then we must go and find a way out of here quickly as soon as possible before they get us!", and when he heard what the juvenile male Deertaur said, Russell said to him and to the others "Follow me, guys! I'll lead the way!" and then all five friends immediately started running together with Russell leading the way through the maze-like dungeon, while Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all followed very close behind him.

During their escape from the maze-like dungeon, the five friends ended up reaching a certain point where the specific pathway on which they are separates and splits into two different pathways, but that was only for a short moment as Russell looked back and forth between the two pathways very quickly before he then said to his friends "Let's go right!", and then they all followed close behind him as the five quickly ran into the right pathway in order to find their way out and escape in time, but they soon ended up reaching another point where the pathway separates and splits into two different pathways, and then Andy asked Russell "Now which we should go to?", and that's when the red leopard quickly looked back and forth between the two pathways before he then said "To the left!", and when they heard what he said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka soon followed quickly behind Russell as he resumed leading the way, only to end up reaching yet another point where the pathway separates and splits into two different pathways, and then Noah asked "And now?", and when Russell heard what he said, he quickly looked back and forth between the two pathways before he then said "To the right!", and then he resumed leading the way, but that is until the five ended up reaching yet another, fourth point in which the pathway separates and splits into two different pathways, and with time running out, Sitka asked "And now?", and when Russell heard what he said, he quickly looked back and forth between the two pathways before he then said "Again to the right!", and when they heard what the red leopard said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all soon followed close behind him as he resumed leading the way.

Then, after the four turns they've made within the pathways of the maze-like dungeon, Russell, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all suddenly saw something big before their eyes, and when they all decided to go towards it, they soon found out what that they're going towards a counterclockwise stairway which may actually lead them all out of the maze-like dungeon, and that's when Noah said to his four friends "Look! That's a stairway! That must be it! It's gotta be our way out of here!", and then Russell added and said to him and to the others "Follow me, guys! We'll all be out of here in no time!", and once the five friends reached the bottom and the base of the counterclockwise stairway, that's when they all started climbing up the stairs, knowing that this must be their way out of the maze-like dungeon.

However, just then, as the five friends continued to climb up the stairs, they all suddenly heard some loud and angry growls, and when they (except for Russell) turned around and looked back for a brief moment, they saw the two dog-faced saber-toothed carnivorous monsters climbing up the stairs very quickly after them, and so that's when Andy cried "Oh no! They're chasing us up the stairs!", but then Russell turned around and called and said to his friends "Don't look back and keep running up the stairs!", and when they all heard what he said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all turned away from the monsters and resumed climbing up the stairs as fast as they all could to escape them and leave the maze-like dungeon alive.

However, while trying to reach the top of the stairs and escape from the maze-like dungeon, Feliks suddenly tripped and fell on some of the stairs in midway and got hurt, thus causing him to cry in pain and call "Ow! Russell! please, help!", but Russell didn't heard his cries and kept running up the stairs, but luckily, Sitka heard his cries, and so he turned around and said back "Don't worry, little one! I'm coming to save you!", and then he quickly ran back down the stairs to save Feliks, and just when the two dog-faced predatory monsters were about to catch and end the young leopard cub's life, Sitka jumped bravely and then he landed in between Feliks and the two monsters, and then he roared angrily and yelled at the monsters "You leave that little leopard cub alone, you monsters!" and then he raised up onto his hinder bear legs and swiped both his human arms and hands and his lower bear forelegs and paws at the both of them and that was enough to hit them hard and throw them all the way back down the stairs, thus saving Feliks' life.

Then, Sitka lowered back down on all four bear legs before he then reached down his human arms and hands to grab Feliks, pick him and hold him up and then move him close to his upper human chest to keep the young leopard cub safe, and once Feliks is being held close to the Beartaur's upper chest, Sitka said "Now let's get out of here quickly!" and then he turned tail and started running up the stairs again while holding Feliks close to his upper human chest to make sure that he too will make it out of the maze-like dungeon alive, and when the two managed to catch up with their friends, Russell called as now they could see the light of day shining outside "Look! There's the exit!", and then he added "Let's keep running fast! Just a little further!", but then the two dog-faced saber-toothed monsters started running fast all the way up the stairs and started catching up with the group of five once again, but just as they are about to strike them all, Russell quickly went through the exit and made it outside, and Andy, Noah, Sitka and Feliks soon followed behind him and managed to escape too, but just as the monsters were about to follow them outside, an iron bar gate closed right in front of them and trapped the two monsters inside, preventing them from continuing their chase after the five friends who already made it outside all together.

Then, with all five friends are outside and are also back in the badlands, Noah said "Thank goodness, guys! We made it!", and then Andy added as he looked back at the monsters who are trapped inside the opening which leads out due to the iron bar gate locking them and leaving them behind the group "Yeah! They can't follow us anymore! The gate is now closed!", but just then, however, an awfully familiar male voice suddenly said "So, I see that you five have managed to escape from this scary dungeon which I brought you to together!", and when the five friends all heard what the voice said, they all turned to see Ron standing a few yards away from them with an evil smile creeping on his face, before he then added "What you all did down there was truly impressive, I have to say, but I'm still not done with you all yet, because I still have some more things in mind for all five of you! No matter what you'll be able to do to escape from both my tricks and from my traps, I will keep haunting you all down until you'll accept to be all mine, do you hear me? You five are going to be all mine!", and with these words being said, the evil Unicorn centaur laughed evilly at the five friends before he disappeared into thin air before their eyes like if he was never there, but not only he disappeared from sight - the now locked opening which leads back down to the maze-like dungeon and the two monsters also disappeared into thin air like if they were never there, revealing that all these are in fact parts of Ron's evil trick.

With the trick is now over and with Ron is gone (for now), Sitka lowered himself down and then he placed Feliks down on his feet and on the solid ground below, and then Russell went up to him and asked "Are you okay, Feliks?", and Feliks said back "Yeah, I'm fine.", and then he turned around and looked up at Sitka and said to him while showing no signs of fear of him "Thank you so much for saving me from these monsters back there, Mr. Beartaur.", but when Sitka heard what the young leopard cub just said to him, the young adult male Beartaur chuckled kindly for a little bit before he said back "You don't have to call me 'Mr. Beartaur', little one. My name's Sitka, and it's my pleasure to save your life. If it weren't for me, you would've been lost to these horrible living statues." he explained as he introduced himself to Feliks.

When Feliks heard what Sitka said as he also introduced himself to him, the young leopard cub said back to him as he introduced himself as well "Well, It's nice to meet you, Sitka. I'm Feliks, the son of Azaad, grandson of the late Askari and the supposed-to-be prince of my homeland.", but then he also quickly added "Well, I was supposed to be the prince of my homelands who will rule it all in the future, until my auntie, Chuluun took my place and became the queen instead.", and then he continued and explained "With my father gone and with me being exiled from my home where I belong, I decided to go and travel along with Russell, Andy and Noah so that they can keep me company throughout our journey to rescue their other friends and then search for a new home.", before he then suddenly lowered down his head, showing a sign of traumatic pain from losing his father in the Indian rhinos stampede back in his and his family's homelands.

However, just as he's about to shed tears from that awful memory which is still paining him inside his young and fragile mind and brain, Feliks suddenly felt a big clawed hand touching him very gently on the top of his head and then stroking and going down his back, and so when he looked up, he saw Sitka lying down on all four bear legs and also on his lower bear underbelly and gently placing and stroking with his left clawed humanoid hand down on his head and back in a manner to comfort him and calm him down without hurting him at all (since Sitka used only the palms of his humanoid hands to touch Feliks, not his bear-like claws), and then the Beartaur said as he looked down at him in the eyes "It's okay, Feliks. I know what it's like losing a father.", and then he added and explained "My own father, Matthew, who was a good and smart Beartaur like me who also cared for many other creatures before he died, he's already dead the last 10 years. In other words - he died when I was a young juvenile, when I was only 10 years old.", but then he also added "However, despite he's dead in body, I know he's still with me in two different ways - one is he's alive in spirit, and the other is that he's here living with me in my heart, and I know that since he's the only good father I ever had in my life, I know that I will never forget him for all the good knowledge and great wisdom he gave me before his time to go eventually came.".

Then, Sitka said to Feliks as he's helping him feel the comfort he needs and calm down "But my life changed again when I recently left my cruel and heartless mother behind me to start anew without her, and I accepted joining Russell, Andy and their friends so I won't have to feel and/or be lonely for the rest of my life, and even though it meant that I will be the only Beartaur in their friendly and social group, I was willing to join them all because I'd rather accept having myself surrounded and loved by non-Beartaur friends than accept living a poor and solitary life and feel even more miserable to live alone and die alone.", and then he added "And since I'm a good, kind and friendly Beartaur who can get along with many other creatures from different species, I accept you to our traveling party too, because every creature who is friends with Russell is also a friend of mine.", and then he said to Feliks, who is now almost fully calmed down "You're welcome to the traveling party, Feliks, and now that I'm also here too, we can once again be called 'The Traveling Five'.", and then he added "And now that we're five once again, we can continue on our journey to rescue our friends and then we can all go back to our main mission - which is to search for a new home.", and when Feliks heard what he said, he finally fully calmed down and said "Thank you so much for accepting me as your new friend, Sitka. I truly see on your face that you're different than many other Beartaurs who live in this world.", but just then, Russell suddenly interrupted and said to everyone to remind them all that now it's time to go and continue on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their imprisoned friends "And now that we're five once again, let's go save our friends! Let's go!", and when they all heard these words being said, Andy, Noah, Sitka and Feliks all turned and nodded to him in agreement before the five friends continued together on their journey back to the jungle to rescue their imprisoned friends.


	144. Chapter 143:back to the jungle

Later, when evening came, Russell, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all have already left the badlands and they're getting closer to the jungle (and to rescue their friends who are still prisoners and hostages (although they might be able to find and rescue only Igor, since Zoey, Violet, Jenna and Austin were already being rescued from captivity and were all set free by Simon)) and it seems like that their mission to rescue their friends may succeed now that they're only 3 miles away from the jungle, which means that by the next day, they will be able to reach the jungle and rescue at least just Igor from Oscar and from his bad Deertaurs herd.

However, Ron is still following the traveling party back towards the jungle and he still have intentions to get them all to himself, but the one whom he really wants to be all his and for the most is Andy, since Ron knows that Andy is Howard's little son, and so the wicked Unicorn centaur is willing to capture him and make him his own son so that he'll also be able to make him (Andy) serve both as a loyal and personal servant to the side of evil centaurs, to which both Ron and the now defeated Howard belongs, and Ron got more evil plans in mind and he also got some tricks and traps to use in order to attack, scare and harass Andy and his friends to the point the toddler centaur, the juvenile Deertaur, the young adult Beartaur and the two leopards will eventually gives in and will accepts to be Ron's son.

While they kept traveling on their way back towards the jungle, Sitka asked "How much further is the jungle?", and then Russell answered and added "3 miles. We'll find a shelter to stay in for the night and we'll continue the next morning.", and then, just a few minutes later, the five friends spotted a medium-large-sized cave not too far away from them and then Noah called as he then pointed at the cave "Look, I see a cave over there!", and then he added "Let's go sleep inside it for the night!", and so the group of five immediately went towards the cave, and once they finally reached and entered and went inside the cave, Russell said "This cave is big enough for all of us to sleep in for the night.", and then Sitka added in agreement "That's right, I kinda like it in here. There's enough space for a Beartaur like me to move inside this cave.", and then Noah also added and said in agreement with Sitka "And this cave also seems cozy enough to stay in for the night.", and with the medium-large-sized cave serving the five friends as a shelter for the night, Russell said to everyone else "Now let's go to sleep, everyone. Tomorrow, we'll be going to the jungle and rescuing our friends from Oscar and from his herd.", and then he yawned before he added and said "Goodnight, everyone.", and Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all said back to him in return "Goodnight, Russell.", and with these words being said, the five friends closed their eyes and they all fell asleep inside the cave for the night.

However, later, in the middle of the night, Andy suddenly woke up and said to himself "I feel thirsty. I need to go outside and find some water. I need to drink.", and then he went outside the cave and started searching for a source of water from which he can drink because he felt so thirsty, and it didn't took him long before he suddenly spotted a lake with clean and fresh water which appeared good enough to drink not too far away, and so the toddler male centaur said "There's a lake over there.", before he then went up towards it, and once he reached and got close enough to the lake, Andy stopped at the water's edge and said "Now I can finally drink some water.", and then he lowered himself down onto his horse haunches before he then also lowered down his head, face and human hands towards the water and started drinking from them and also collect some more water up in his hands and then pour them into his own mouth as another way to drink from the lake's good, clean and fresh water.

However, just then, when Andy was done drinking water from the lake and was about to turn to go back to the cave so that he can continue sleeping with his friends for the rest of the night, he suddenly heard someone or something splashing in the water and moving towards him, and when the splashing sounds in the water became more louder with each passing second, Andy asked "Huh? Who's there? Who are you?", but just then, he suddenly saw two tall and shadowed figures coming towards him, and judging by their shapes, he knew and understood that these are the ones of centaurs just like him, but once the two shadowed centaur figures approached came close enough to Andy and their appearances cleared before his eyes, he gasped in shock as he couldn't believe who they are - those two tall centaurs who appeared before Andy are none other than Bluebell and Stephan (or so it seems), and when he saw the two coming towards him, Andy asked in shock "Huh?! Stephan?! Bluebell?! Is that you two?!", and when they both heard what he said, the two teenage centaurs took a few more steps forward before they finally stopped right in front of Andy and looked down at him with the bottoms of their horse legs and hooves are still in the water.

When Andy saw Bluebell and Stephan standing close and right in front of him (or so he thought they are), the toddler male centaur couldn't help but shed tears of joy and then he hugged at each of the two older centaurs' lower horse forelegs and cried with joy, believing that these Bluebell and Stephan who are standing before him are real "Oh goodness, Stephan and Bluebell! It is you two! I'm so happy to see you both again!", but instead of picking up Andy and giving him a hug, the two teenage centaurs just stared and looked down at him, but they weren't happy to see him, and instead they both appeared to be looking sternly and angrily at him. When Andy noticed the sudden change in both his older brother and his girlfriend (and future sister-in-law), he looked up at them again and saw their faces and asked them "What's wrong? Why are you both looking at me like this? Why are you looking so angry at me? Did I did something wrong?".

Just then, 'Stephan' suddenly raised up his left hand and then he quickly brought it down and slapped Andy hard across the face before he yelled in anger "Shut up you ugly excuse for a little brother!", and then he added "I regret having such weak, pathetic little centaurs for a little sister and a little brother like Zoey and you!", and then 'Bluebell' also said in agreement "Yeah, that right! You and Zoey are nothing but a couple of sniveling little brats!", and when Andy heard what they both said, he gasped in both shock and bewilderment and cried and asked "What?!", but just then, 'Bluebell' also raised up her own right hand and then she quickly brought it down and slapped Andy across the face as well before she angrily yelled "It's all you and Zoey's fault that we got hit on the heads and knocked out cold like that! My big sister, Anastasia had the rights to banish you two away from home!", and then she and 'Stephan' both said together to the now shocked and bewildered toddler centaur "We're sick and tired of having you two around! We hate you! Both of you! It's all your fault! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" they raised up their voices which suddenly started growing and sounding more demonic, thus scaring Andy and making him shake with sobs and cry some more before who he thought are his big brother and girlfriend (and future sister-in-law), not even knowing that these two teenage centaurs who are standing before him are actually fake and aren't even real at all.

However, despite he didn't yet know that these Bluebell and Stephan who are standing before him and slapping him across the face aren't real, their bad, insulting and harmful words were still strong enough to hurt Andy's feelings, and so that's when he cried and said back to them "No! Please, don't say that! It was all an accident! It's not our fault!", but then the real nightmare began when the two teenage centaurs yelled down at him in the face and in their now demonic tones "YOU'RE EVIL! YOU'RE EVIL! YOU'RE EVIL! YOU'RE...!" but then they both suddenly started melting into goo right before his eyes, thus frightening the poor little centaur, who then cried and asked "What's happening?!", and once 'Bluebell' and 'Stephan' both completely melted into goo, the goo soon disappeared into nothing and then Ron suddenly came out of nowhere and soon appeared floating above the water and right in front of him.

Then, Ron laughed evilly and said "Beep beep, Andy!" and then he added "I scared you to death, didn't I? Come to me and be all mine anytime!", but when Andy saw him and heard what he said, the toddler centaur started shedding more tears of both sadness and pain from the fact that Ron managed to trick him and mean him harm once again by using the images of Bluebell and Stephan to harass him to the point of crying, but when Ron saw his tears, the young adult male Unicorn centaur said to him "It's no use to shed tears, Andy! Because sooner or later, you're going to be all mine, do you hear me? You're going to be all mine!", and then he laughed evilly once again before he vanished and disappeared into thin air like if he was never even there, thus leaving Andy to continue to cry both in sadness and in pain from falling for Ron's cruel and heartless trick (which the older centaur had just pulled on him).

However, just then, shortly after Ron disappeared, Andy suddenly started hearing Russell's voice calling for him "Andy! Andy, where are you?" and then the red leopard's voice also added "Andy, please, answer me!", and when Andy recognized his feline friend's voice, he turned his head and looked around everywhere and asked "Huh? Russell? Is that you? Where are you?", and when he turned around and looked in the direction from where he came, he saw Russell approaching him from the distance not too far away from him, and when he saw Andy too, the red leopard called for him and said "There you are, Andy!", and then the two started running fast towards each other, and once they got reunited with each other again, Andy wrapped his human arms and hands around Russell's neck and cried "Russell! I'm so glad that you came here for me! That horned centaur scared and harassed me again by using the images of my big brother and Bluebell against me!", but then Russell also wrapped and placed his own forelegs and forepaws around Andy's upper human body and upper human back and hugged him and said back in a reassuring tone "Shhh. It's okay, Andy. Calm down and dry those tears. You're safe now. I will make sure that that horned centaur will pay for doing this and all the other things he already did to you and to the rest of us.".

The two stayed in place hugging each other for around ten minutes, before they finally pulled away from each other and then Russell said to Andy "Now, let's go back to the cave, Andy. Tomorrow, we'll be going to the jungle to rescue our friends, and then we'll all go to face that horned centaur again and make sure to capture him and force him to tell us who he is and what does he wants from us.", and when Andy heard what his red leopard friend said to him, for he knew that Ron is running out of tricks, the toddler centaur sniffled and said back as he then wiped away the last tears forming in his eyes "You're right. That horned centaur won't be able to use his mean and dirty magic tricks on us much longer. Thank you for reassuring me, Russell.", and when Russell saw and noticed that Andy has fully calmed down from the pain that Ron have just caused him with his fifth heartless trick he did so far, the red leopard gently placed his right forepaw on Andy's left shoulder for a brief moment and then he said "Now let's go back to the cave, Andy.", and the toddler centaur nodded in agreement and said back "Yes, Russell.", and so with these words being said, Andy and Russell walked together back to the cave where their friends are still sleeping soundly, and once they're back inside the cave, the two fell asleep near their still sleeping friends and continued and resumed their sleep for the rest of the night.

The next morning, the five friends woke up and left the cave in which they slept for the night and continued traveling towards the jungle, and after a while of traveling on their way, they all could finally see the jungle standing far ahead of them (but then they also knew that they're getting close to save their friends from Oscar and from his bad Deertaurs herd), and so Russell called and said to his four friends "Look guys! The jungle is right over there!", and then Sitka added "We're almost there to rescue our friends from that Oscar and from his herd!", and then Noah also added in agreement "That's right! We're going to rescue my mom, dad and Igor!", and Andy also said in agreement with the juvenile Deertaur "And my twin sister, Zoey, and our friend, Violet!", and so that's when the five friends started running together towards the jungle as fast as they could, hoping to get there in time to rescue their friends from Oscar and from his bad Deertaurs herd.

However, just then, a loud rumbling sound was suddenly heard from underground, thus prompting the five friends to stop running towards the jungle and stay in place for a moment, before Sitka then asked "Huh? What was that sound?", and just as he and his friends were about to continue on their way, a geyser suddenly burst out from underground before them, thus causing and making Andy, Noah and Feliks to scream with fright before they asked together "Where did that thing came from?", and then more geysers burst from underground before them, forming a geysers field which quickly became an obstacle to the five friends, and so therefore it also makes their journey back to the jungle harder than expected.

"Geysers?! Where all of these came from?!" Andy and Noah asked together in shock, but then Russell answered and said back "I don't know, guys! But I don't like this!", and when they all heard what their red leopard friend just said to them, Sitka asked "How are we supposed to reach the jungle with all the geysers around and in front of us?", and for two minutes, Russell looked back and forth between left and right (like he already did before in the maze-like dungeon) and he tried to think of a way to pass through the geysers field with his friends and reach the jungle without having anyone getting hurt, but after realizing that he and the others will all need and will have to run as fast as they all could to pass through the geysers field without getting hurt, Russell said to the others "We must go through the geysers field as fast as we could to reach the jungle!" and then he added "Follow me, guys! I shall help and lead the way!", and with these words being said, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Sitka all knew that they have no choice but to obey and follow Russell's words, since it was in fact their only way to reach the jungle unharmed, and so that's when the four reluctantly decided following close behind Russell throughout the geysers field to make sure that they all will be able to reach the jungle unharmed.

While they went on their way and passed through the geysers field, Russell looked back and forth between left and right while he's running and not standing still so to see which way is safe for him and for his friends to go to in order to pass through the geysers field and reach the jungle unharmed, and after a short moment, Russell said to his friends who all followed close behind him "Let's go this way! To the left!", and so they all quickly ran to the left while also avoiding getting hit or blown by the geysers, but after a minute of running to the left, Noah asked "Now which way we should go to?", and then Russell looked back and forth between left and right again before he then said "Let's go to the right!", and so that's when the five friends changed direction and quickly went to the right while still avoiding getting hit or blown by the geysers, but after a minute of running to the right, Feliks asked "And now?", and so Russell looked back and forth between left and right again before he then said back "To the left!", and so that's when the five friends changed their direction again and started running to the left again while still avoiding getting hit or blown by the geysers, but after a minute of running to the left again, Andy asked "And now?", and so Russell looked back and forth between left and right again before he then said back "Again to the left!", and so the five friends quickly went to the left for the third time and kept running as fast as they could while keeping avoiding getting hit or blown by the geysers, but after a minute of running to the left for the third time, Sitka asked "And now?", and so Russell looked back and forth between left and right again before he said back "To the right!", and so that's when the five friends changed their direction and started running to the right while still keeping avoiding getting hit or blown by the geysers, and it seemed and appeared like they're all nearly reaching the other side of the geysers field, as well as almost reaching the jungle.

However, just then, before the five friends were about to escape from the geysers field and reach the jungle, out of nowhere, a geyser suddenly burst from underground and it hit Sitka right on the underside of his lower bear body, thus causing him to scream in pain as he was then sent flying up almost 20 feet in the air for a brief moment, before he ended up falling back down and hitting the ground hard on his left side, prompting him to let out a scream and cry in pain from being hit and blown by the geyser as he then lied down helplessly, unable to get up, and also unable to continue and/or escape for his life.

When Russell and the kids saw Sitka getting hit and blown by the geyser and also getting hurt as a result, the four of them cried and yelled all together "SITKA!", and then they all quickly turned around and ran back to him, and once they reached their young adult male Beartaur friend, Feliks asked him "Sitka, are you okay?!", but then Sitka said back to him and to the others "Go. Please, go towards the jungle, guys.", and when they heard what he just said, Feliks asked him "But what about you Sitka?", but then the Beartaur said back "Leave me here, guys. I'll only slow you down if you try to help me.".

However, when the four friends heard what he said, they all gasped in shock before Feliks cried and said to him "What?! No! We can't leave you here!", but then Sitka argued and said back "You must! Go! Go to the jungle and rescue our friends from Oscar and from his herd!", but when they all heard what Sitka just said, Feliks whined and said "But Sitka-", but then the Beartaur cut him in mid-sentence and yelled "I SAID GO! NOW!", and when Russell realized and understood that Sitka is saying that because he knows that if they stay behind and try to help him they'll all die too, the red leopard said to the his three younger friends "Let's go guys! We must go to the jungle and rescue our other friends from Oscar and from his herd!", but when Feliks heard what the older leopard said, the young male leopard cub cried and asked "But what about Sitka?!", but then Russell yelled and said to him and to the two centaurid children "We must continue and go without him! If we stay here to save him, we all will be blown to death by the geysers!", but then, when he heard what the red leopard who adopted him and took him in as his nephew just said, Feliks whined and begged "But-", but then Russell cut him in mid-sentence and yelled and said back "We must go! NOW!", and with these words being said, Feliks knew that he and the others don't have a choice, and so the young male leopard cub shed tears as he looked at Sitka one last time before finally turning tail and (reluctantly) running away with the others, thus leaving Sitka behind as the four managed to reach the other side of the geysers field and escape from the danger zone through which they had to go.

Then, after the four remaining friends managed to escape from the geysers field, they all finally reached the jungle, and so that's when Russell said to the kids "Finally, we reached the jungle.", but just then, they all suddenly heard a familiar voice which they (except for Feliks, of course) haven't heard in a while calling for them and saying "Hey! There you are, guys!", and then, just a moment later, a large adult male Rhinotaur came out from behind the trees and soon came out of the jungle to meet them, and it was none other than Igor, who was already being set free by Simon while Oscar and the rest of the Deertaurs herd were all gone on their hunt, and when the four friends saw Igor coming towards them, Noah cried and said "Igor! It's you!", and once they all reunited with each other, the juvenile Deertaur went up to and soon hugged his Rhinotaur friend and said to him "It's good to see you again and know that you're okay, Igor!", but then he also asked "What are you doing here all alone by yourself? Where's mom and dad?", but when he heard what Noah said, Igor said back to him and to the others "I don't know.".

However, just then, a male voice suddenly called and said to the five "I've already set them and your little friend (Violet) free!", and when they heard what the voice just said, they turned around and looked and saw a handsome adolescent male Deertaur who appeared slightly a bit older than Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Zach and all the other teenagers coming out from behind the trees and running out of the jungle towards the five of them (Russell, Andy, Noah, Feliks and Igor), and that was none other than Simon, and when they all saw him coming towards them, Noah asked him "Huh? Who are you?", and then Simon stopped right in front of them and introduced himself while also explaining his own good motives to help other good creatures at the same time "I'm Simon. One of the most handsome males who was once a member of Oscar's herd, but because I hated the ways in which he and his best friends treats other creatures, I decided to betray them and their whole herd and set your friends free behind Oscar and his friends' backs, and for addition to what I did, I also decided to go and leave Oscar and all of his herd and put them all behind me so that I won't have to stay with all these cruel and heartless Deertaurs in the jungle for the rest of my life.".

When the five of them heard what Simon said as he also explained and revealed his will and intentions to reform himself against Oscar and all the rest of the Deertaurs herd and join the good side instead to start anew, Noah said to him "You did a good thing, and it's also nice to meet you too, Simon.", and then Russell added in agreement "Yeah, that's right. Also, judging by your handsome appearance, you do look too good for that monster and for his evil friends anyway.", and when he heard what the red leopard just said to him, Simon looked down and smiled at him and said back "I know, and that's exactly why I set your friends free one-by-one and then decided to run away as well.", but then he quickly added and explained "However, I also must say that I remember that I haven't managed to set _all_ of your friends free, because before I was able to set your Beartaur friend free, some unknown magic took him away before I was able to set him free and take him away to somewhere safe so that Oscar and the rest of the herd won't be able to find him.".

Then, Simon asked Russell and the others "Speaking of him, what happened to your Beartaur friend?", but then Feliks cried "He's gone! He got hit and blown by a geyser! We lost him!", but just then, however, an awfully familiar male voice suddenly said and asked "Is that what you all really think?", and when they all heard what the voice just said, Russell, Andy, Noah, Feliks, Igor and Simon all turned around, only to see Ron standing in front of them with an evil smile creeping on his face. When the six saw Ron looking and smiling at them evilly, the kids gasped in shock, while Igor and Simon both looked at him with confused expressions, but as for Russell, he growled angrily before he then asked "You again?!" and then Feliks also yelled and asked "Where's Sitka?! What did you do to him?!", and when he heard what the two leopards said to him, Ron laughed evilly and said back "You mean this Beartaur?", and then he used his magic to show Sitka to everyone, but even though it turned out that he's actually alive and okay after being hit and blown in the geysers field, Sitka is now being held up and suspended in the air next to Ron, as the wicked Unicorn centaur kept smiling evilly at the six, but the worst part imaginable is that there was also a knife being held up in the air right in front of Sitka's neck, with the sharp tip (and the very end) of the knife is aiming to stab him right in the throat.

When everyone saw that Sitka is okay but that he's also being held up in the air, Simon said as he then pointed his finger at the Beartaur whose being held up in the air and right next to Ron (by Ron's magic) "Look! There he is!", and then Andy, Noah and Feliks all cried "Sitka! You're alive!", and when Sitka saw all the others, he called back for them all "Guys!", but then the knife moved an inch closer to his neck, aiming to stab him directly in the throat right in front of everyone's eyes. When they all saw Ron is aiming to use his magic to stab Sitka with the knife, Feliks cried "Let him go!", but then Ron laughed evilly at him and at all the others and said back "Not a chance. I think that that Beartaur who is a so-called friend of yours would look marvelous as a beautiful skin rug." and then he added "It's better to have him as a skin rug than just leaving him to die in the geysers field.".

However, when they all heard what he said, Russell asked angrily while aiming himself to strike Ron if he dares to kill Sitka "What did you just said?!", but then Ron said back "Or I can just take all of you with me right now!", but then Russell asked him with both shock and anger in his eyes "Wait a minute, you're the one who made these geysers appear before our eyes and before we reached the jungle?!", and when Ron heard what the red leopard said to him, he said back evilly "Yes! I was responsible for everything you've been through! From that so-called Mr. Hammond to the geysers field! And now that you're all here just in where I wanted you all to be, I can finally have all of you to myself! Now you're all going to be all mine!", and then he burst into an evil laughter as he then lit up his Unicorn horn in a purple aura which surrounds Russell, Andy, Noah, Feliks, Igor, Simon and even Sitka, and then, just a moment later, all seven disappeared together into thin air like if they were never there.

However, they're not togoing only ones who are taken away by Ron's magic - Zoey, Violet, Jenna and Austin were also taken by Ron's magic, and somewhere else, while Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and everyone else were still traveling and keeping searching everywhere for Anastasia, as well as for Andy and Zoey, they all suddenly found themselves being surrounded all together by Ron's purple aura, and when they all felt the magic within the aura, Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash "Rainbow Dash, what's going on?! What's happening?!", but then Rainbow Dash said back "I don't know!", and then everyone screamed all together as they all suddenly disappeared into thin air as well.

As for Anastasia, she continued searching everywhere for Andy and Zoey, despite she's suffering from pain which is caused by her pregnant lower horse belly, but despite the pain from her pregnancy, Anastasia still didn't let her own body to give out as she was willing to keep the baby she's going to have in her lower horse stomach until she finds Andy and Zoey and tells them the truth, not knowing that Ron have already captured them and took them away along with everyone else, and then it happened - Ron's purple magic aura suddenly appeared and surrounded Anastasia, and when she felt the aura around her whole body, she asked herself with fright in her tone "What's going on?! What's happening?!", and just then, she screamed as she then vanished into thin air like if she was never there, meaning that now Ron have managed to capture her and take her away too.

However, that's not all - back in the royal castle, as well as in the Crystal Empire and the changeling kingdom, the Alicorn princesses (Celestia, Luna and Cadance), Prince Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, the changeling kings (Thorax and Pharynx), and even the still unconscious bodies of Bluebell and Stephan, which were still lying down on two beds in one of the rooms of the royal castle are all suddenly being surrounded by Ron's purple magic aura, and then, just a few moments later, they all disappeared all together into thin air and at around the same time, and with Ron capturing and taking everyone away successfully, the wicked Unicorn centaur burst out into an evil laughter and then he said "My plan came out a complete success! And now that everyone are all mine, nothing...NOTHING CAN STOP ME!" he yelled out loud in a demonic tone and laughed evilly again before he then used his magic to make himself disappear into thin air too, thus showing that his intentions to kidnap, abduct and imprison everyone as his slaves finally came true.

Will everyone be able to escape from Ron and get back to their homes? Or will Ron have them all to himself as his prisoners and slaves for once and for all?

To be continued.


	145. Chapter 144:Simon joins the good side

With everyone now being captured by Ron, we're going to see where did he took them all. Down underground, in a dark place that appeared to be a dark void, everyone found themselves all together, but those who weren't with and/or among them were Andy, Zoey, Anastasia, Sitka, Violet, Noah, Russell, Feliks and the still unconscious bodies of Bluebell and Stephan.

When everyone looked around the dark void-like place around them and didn't yet know what's going on, King Edward asked "Where are we?", and then Queen Camilla added "What is this place?", and then Shujaa asked them and everyone else around "Who do you think have brought us all here?", but then Kenai said to him "I don't know, Shujaa." and Agatha also added and said in agreement "Yeah, me neither.".

However, just then, they all heard a male voice saying to them and asking "Who are all of you?", and then another male voice asked "What are you all doing here?", and so that's when Chloe, Aylene, Shujaa and everyone else turned around and they all soon noticed the new creatures (Austin, Jenna, Igor and Simon). When everyone noticed and saw the four new creatures before their eyes, King Edward and Queen Camilla both stepped forward and then they both asked together "Who are you four?", and then Austin introduced himself, his wife and their best man (Igor) to everyone and said "I'm Austin, and these are my wife and best man - Jenna and Igor.", but then the royal centaurs' youngest daughter, Vanessa also stepped forward and asked as she then pointed a finger at Simon "And who's he?", and that's when everyone, including the Deertaur couple and bull Rhinotaur turned to notice him.

When he noticed that everyone are looking at him, Simon didn't panicked or cowered in fear, instead - he introduced himself out of free will as well and while also explaining his intentions to join the good side at the same time "I'm Simon, and it's my pleasure to meet all of you, everyone. Also, I would like to explain to all of you about myself and about my intentions to join all of you.", and then he added and explained "I was once a member of a herd of extremely bad, horrible and abusive Deertaurs who always obey and follow a ferocious leader whose name is Oscar, and his three loyal friends, his second-in-command, Roger, his third-in-command, Raymond, and his cruel and heartless future mate, Charlotte, who is the only Deertauress and only female member in the herd.", and then he continued and said "I used to be on their side despite they were all cruel and heartless to other creatures, even to other Deertaurs who aren't part of the herd, but recently, I decided to change and prove myself worthy to the good side by setting the prisoners free and help them escape from Oscar and from the rest of the herd, and that's not the only good thing I did to prove myself as a good Deertaur - the next thing I did is that I ditched Oscar and the herd and chose to leave them and never return so that I can live the rest of my life as a good creature who will have true friends who will truly love and accept me with all their hearts as one of their own.", and then he finished and said "It would be my honor to join your side and become one of you.", and with these words being said, Simon gratefully bowed down his head in respect to show everyone that he's telling the truth about himself wanting and willing to have a new life as a good Deertaur among everypony and every creature in the good side.

When everyone heard what he said, Zach stepped forward with Layla and Timmy following him in tow, and then he said to Simon "Well, I must say, welcome to good side, Simon. It's a pleasure to have another teenage boy in the team, and coincidentally, you're not the only one here who previously lived with such extremely bad, horrible and abusive herd members, because I've been through such terrible things as well.", and then he added and explained "Allow me to explain my story to you - I too used to be a member of a herd of extremely bad, horrible and abusive Zebrataurs, from my own species of course, and they too always obeyed and followed a cruel and heartless leader who is in many ways like that Oscar whom you just spoke of.", and then he continued and explained "So, what am I saying is that who I'm trying to talk to you about is my former leader, Brandon, and he's indeed in many ways just like that Oscar. Brandon always used to torment and abuse me in order to make me do lots of things for him that are far beyond my own strength and limits. Things that I was unable to do on my own because they were too hard for just one Zebrataur to do alone. And, later on, he insulted and banished my girlfriend, Layla, and her little brother, Timmy, away from the herd and even tried to twist Stephan against his own self and successfully managed to make him yell at Bluebell and even call her a loser and a jerk and make him break his bonds with her and make her cry, and as a matter of fact, I actually spied on all of you from nearby back then and saw the whole thing myself, and that's before I too was banished later on, and the sight of seeing Stephan breaking his bonds with Bluebell made me feel really sad for her, but then I also felt really angry and mad at Brandon that I wanted to just run into him and then buck him really hard a 120 times in the crotch so that he'll feel the pain he caused not only to Bluebell, but also to my own girlfriend, Layla and to her little brother, Timmy, back then.".

However, when everyone heard what Zach said about where he was when Stephan hurt Bluebell while he was under Brandon's influence, they all gasped in shock, and even Timmy and Layla looked at him with both shocked and surprised expressions, and just then, Layla said to him "I can't believe it! So you did cared about Bluebell's feelings too, right, Zach?", and then Zach turned his head and nodded to her in agreement before he then turned his head to look back at Simon and continued and said to him in front of everyone else "However, despite I really wanted to hurt Brandon for turning Stephan against Bluebell, I knew I couldn't take on him all alone and/or all by myself because just like that Oscar, Brandon too had a second-in-command who is in many ways just like that Roger.", and then he added and explained "Who am I going to talk to you about right now is Biff, who is the largest, most muscular and strongest Zebrataur in Brandon's herd, and he always looked up to him and he would always dare fight alongside him when they face their enemies, and when Stephan and I we fought together and alongside each other against the two back then in the Crystal Empire, Biff has proven to be too strong even for two centaurs at once, and that means that he almost killed us himself using his massive muscles in both his upper human body parts and lower zebra body parts together, and that if it weren't for Bluebell to interfere and stop him in time by using her own magic to throw him out of the Crystal Palace through the window and make him hit the crystal road and crash land outside the Crystal Palace, Stephan and I we both would surely be dead together and at the same time because of Biff being too strong and powerful even without magic.".

When King Edward and Queen Camilla both heard what Zach said about that he and Stephan both were almost being killed at once by Biff and that Bluebell was in fact the one who managed to save them both in time, the centaur king and queen gasped in shock to realize that their second-born daughter is actually strong and powerful enough to use her own magic against much larger and ferocious enemies as big as Biff or even as Roger (who is most likely around the same size as Biff, when not including Roger's deer antlers which he have on top of his head), but just then, a short moment later, the two soon shook their heads and snapped out of their shocked states before King Edward said proudly "Well, that's my second-born daughter!", and then Queen Camilla added "I'm so glad she managed to use her own magic to take out that beast all by herself!".

Then, Zach continued and said "Anyway, before Stephan and my battle against Brandon, Biff and the rest of the Zebrataurs herd at the Crystal Empire, Brandon ditched Stephan behind in midway and even kicked dirt in his face because he was tired and he was unable to keep up with the rest of the herd, and as for me, he banished me too later on as well, but my banishment from Brandon's herd was much less insulting and much more brutal compared to Stephan's, because when I was unable to keep up with the others because I was tired too, Brandon and Biff called me useless and then they started beating me for being unable to keep up with the rest of the herd, before they dumped me and left me behind with serious injuries covering my whole body, and that was also before Stephan found me, but once he did, I told him that I got kicked out of Brandon's herd for being unable to keep up with them too, and so that's when he started caring for me and we soon became friends, and once we got reunited with Bluebell, Layla, Timmy and with all the others, we all went together to the Crystal Empire to stop Brandon, Biff and all the rest of the herd, and the rest of this you all already know because some of you already saw it yourselves as well as I already have told this to all of those who haven't seen the fight against the Zebrataurs herd in the Crystal Empire.", and then he concluded and said "So, what am I actually trying to say not just to you, Simon, but also to everyone else around here as well is that Oscar and Brandon are many ways just like each other. They're both cruel and heartless towards others, they both torment and abuse others to make them do things which were too hard for those whom they chose or sent to do, and for addition to these, they both abuse adults and children of all ages, thus showing their mad and sadistic natures to all others. In other words - they're the same!".

When everyone heard what Zach just said about Brandon and Oscar being the same as evil as each other, they all gasped with shock while only Simon looked at him with a surprised expression, before he then said "Oh gosh, I didn't know that. I had no idea.", but then Zach said to him "Hey, it's okay though, because all that matters is that neither of us have to do whatever they tell us to do, we're both free to do whatever we want, and these two cruel and heartless, yet also should be said poor excuses for leaders should both be ashamed of themselves for the many ways in which they both treated us and many others, from demanding others to do impossible tasks to abusing both adults and children just for fun.", but then, soon after they all heard Zach saying that, Austin said and asked "Speaking of children, where did Zoey go?", and when they all heard what he said, everyone turned to him, and that's when he added and explained "Well, I mean, she was supposed to be with me after Simon rescued us, but when that unknown purple magic teleported us here, I ended up here with all of you, but I don't see Zoey anywhere around.".

When everyone heard what he said, they all gasped in shock before Vanessa said "Oh no, so she must be somewhere probably all alone right now, and if Anastasia was also brought here to this place too...", and then, that's when Jenna added and said "Then she must be going after Zoey, and probably she's also after Andy too!", and when everyone heard what both Vanessa and Jenna both said about the possibility that Anastasia is around here somewhere at the same place and that she must be still going after both Andy and Zoey, King Edward said "Everyone, follow me! We must find Andy and Zoey before Anastasia does! We need to make sure that my firstborn daughter means no harm to them ever again!", and then Austin said to him in agreement "Yes, of course! I don't even want to imagine what she still have in mind for these good little toddlers, and not to mention - for our own son, Noah! We better go look for them and do whatever we can so that we can all find them before Anastasia does!", and so that's when King Edward said back to him and to everyone else "Everyone, let's go! If Anastasia is indeed here in this place just like all of us, then she must be still going after Andy and Zoey! We must hurry up, look everywhere around in this place and try to find them before she does!", and so with these words being said, everyone started trotting, galloping and running as fast they all could in order to look around everywhere and search for Andy, Zoey and for the other children (Noah and Violet), and they all hoped that they will be able to find them first and also before Anastasia does.


	146. Chapter 145:Anastasia's confession

Meanwhile, as for Anastasia, she found herself in the same dark void-like place to which Ron have already took and kidnapped everyone else, only that she's somewhere else all alone, but even so, she still searched everywhere for Andy and Zoey and she hoped that she'll be able to find them soon so that she can apologize and even tell them the truth that was standing behind her aggressive behavior - that the fact that she's pregnant, but since she also struggled due to the great pain from her lower pregnant horse belly, she started growing more and more weaker with each passing minute, but she still didn't wanted to give out, not yet, and not before she finds Andy and Zoey and tells them the truth.

While she still searched everywhere for Andy and Zoey, Anastasia said "Andy, Zoey, please be around here somewhere where I can find you.", and then she added "I promise that this time I'll mean you two no harm, just please show up yourselves so that I can at least talk to you.", and then she said to herself "It's all my fault that they both ran away from home, and if anything bad happens to these poor, little, innocent toddler twins, I'll never forgive myself.", and then she also added "As a princess and future queen of my own kind's kingdom, I must keep searching everywhere and I must find these toddler twins at all costs and make sure that they're both okay and that they're safe and sound and away from harm. I don't care about what happens to me, and because these toddler twins are 2 years old each, they both deserve to be found and to live their own lives to the fullest. I must find them. I must!", and so with these words being said, Anastasia kept searching everywhere for Andy and Zoey, hoping to find them soon.

As for Andy and Zoey themselves, they got reunited with each other again in the same dark void-like place to which they were brought like everyone else, only that they're too separated from everyone else, and the only ones who are with them are Russell, Violet, Noah and Feliks, and while they all looked around and everywhere and saw nothing but darkness all around them, Feliks asked Russell "Russell, what is this place? Where are we?", and when he heard what the young male cub said to him, the adult male red leopard said back to him "I don't know, but I really don't like this.", and then Noah added and said in agreement with Russell "That's right, there's darkness everywhere.", and then Andy also said to the others "Well, at least Zoey and I we're both together again, and also together with Violet and with you guys, and that's what's important.", and when she heard what her twin brother just said, Zoey said in agreement with him "Andy's right, at least we're together again, and even though this place looks so dark and scary, I'm sure we'll be able to escape somehow and get back to Equestria.".

However, just then, Violet turned to notice Feliks standing right next to Russell, and so when she saw the new young male leopard cub, she called and said to Zoey to come and see him, but once both toddler female centaurids came close to see the new leopard, Feliks started shaking a bit as he started feeling uncomfortable, but just then, Russell noticed that Feliks is feeling uncomfortable due to both Zoey and Violet staring and looking at him like that, and so the red leopard slowly raised up his left foreleg and then he lowered it down a little bit and started to stroke him (Feliks) gently on the back with his left forepaw to make sure that he feels okay and safe with the two new female centaurids around.

Once Feliks stopped his shaking and calmed down, he stepped forward and asked both Zoey and Violet "Who...who are you two?", and when they heard what he said, Zoey was the first out of the two to introduce herself, and so she said back to the new leopard "Hi, I'm Zoey, Andy's twin sister. It's a pleasure to meet you.", and when Feliks saw and noticed that she looks a lot like Andy, with the only two things which are the differences between them are their gender (Zoey is female, while Andy is male) and their eye color (Zoey's eyes are baby blue (light blue), while Andy's eyes are brown), the young male leopard cub said to her "Well, you two do look alike, I have to say, with the only differences between you two are your genders and your eye colors.", and then Andy stepped forward and said to him "And, for addition to these, Feliks, Zoey was born just a few minutes after I was born.", and then Zoey nodded in agreement and said "That's right.".

Then, Violet also stepped forward and then said as she introduced herself as well "And I'm Violet, a good friend of Andy and Zoey. Pleasure to meet you.", and then she added and said to Feliks "It's okay, there's no need to fear me. I'm just a toddler who is just around Andy and Zoey's age. I'm only 2 years old, but despite my age, I can still make friends with anyone I meet, and I will be friendly if someone treats me right, and I first started making friends with Andy and Zoey because we were so close to each other, and also because Zebrataurs like me are actually known to be the African cousins and closest relatives to the regular white centaurs, but even though we look different than the regular white centaurs, we're still friendly creatures and we like making friends with those who come and greet us when they visit our environment.".

When Feliks heard what she said, he looked closely at her and then at Andy and Zoey before he said "Well, I can clearly see that. You three do look like you share the same common ancestor despite your appearances and differences between each other.", but when they all heard what he said, Violet just raised an eyebrow and looked at him in confusion, and so did Andy and Zoey, and so when he noticed that they're all looking at him in confusion, Feliks explained himself and said to them "Well, I just don't want to sound too racism or anything like that, but you see, my Auntie, Chuluun, she always told me to judge all kinds of living creatures by their shapes, sizes, appearances, skin, fur, scales and/or feathers' colors, and sometimes even by their genders, whether if they were males or females, and she used to tell me such disgusting and horrible things ever since my mother died, and also behind my father's back in order to turn me against him.".

When everyone heard what Feliks just said about his aunt (Chuluun) telling him such cruel, sickening and racism things about all other creatures in order to twist him against both himself and his father (Azaad), probably because she was always jealous of Feliks and was trying to make sure that he will end up becoming a horrible leopard and will never succeed his father, nor will become the next king in the future after him, they all gasped in shock before Russell said "I can't believe it! So that must be the true reason why she hated and despised both Andy and me this whole time! From when we first arrived in Azaad's homelands and until our exile and banishment following his death! Chuluun must've hated me because I'm a red leopard and also due to my fur mutation! She's such a terrible leopardess!".

Then, Noah asked him "And didn't your father even know about that?", but then Feliks said back "Well, eventually he found that Chuluun was teaching me those racism stuff, and believe me or not, he was so angry to hear that she was trying to turn me against both myself and him in order to make herself the new queen and overthrow and destroy his bloodline, and one day, when Chuluun even dared to challenge my daddy to a duel, he eagerly accepted fighting and battling her and I was so happy when he came out the winner.", and when they all heard what he said, everyone sighed in relief to know that Azaad managed to win against Chuluun when she challenged him for a duel, and just then, Andy asked "And what happened next?", and when Feliks heard what his centaur friend just said to him, the young male leopard cub said back and explained as he continued telling what happened after the fight between Azaad and Chuluun "Well, after the fight between my daddy and Chuluun, my grandfather, Askari was informed of what Chuluun was been teaching me, and he too was so mad to hear that she's been teaching me such racism stuff in order to overthrow my father and destroy his bloodline by trying to corrupt me and turn me against both him and myself, and so he decided to punish Chuluun by lowering her rank from the highest ranking female in the leopard pack, in which she was until the day my daddy took on her and won in the fight, to the very lowest ranking one to make sure that she learns her lessons and doesn't comes near me ever again.".

When everyone heard what Feliks said about how his aunt Chuluun was been rightfully punished by his grandfather Askari for the racism stuff she said to him (Feliks himself) behind Azaad's back in an attempt to corrupt his bloodline, everyone were relieved to hear that Chuluun got what she deserved, but unfortunately, Russell and Andy both still knew that despite the fact that she was punished for her crimes, Chuluun would still continue to be cruel and heartless towards Feliks and would want both him and his father to die so that she can be the queen instead, and they both knew that because they've already been in Azaad's homelands at the time where Chuluun cruelly and heartlessly told Feliks to run away and never return shortly after Azaad 'died' in the Indian rhinos stampede (and also shortly after Noah arrived and got reunited with them).

However, the one who really took it so hard to his heart and felt the same pain for the most was Andy, for he too was being attacked, harassed and even mentally abused by a much older individual from his own species (in Andy's case - it was Anastasia), and just like Feliks, he (Andy) too was being told to run away from home and never return shortly after an accident have occurred (in his case - it was when Stephan and Bluebell got knocked unconscious and fell into a coma), and that caused the toddler male centaur to immediately put his hands on both sides of his own head as he then started hearing Anastasia's voice and cruel words yelling at him again, which reflects back to the day she grabbed him, slapped him across the face, yelled at him and shunned him and Zoey for what happened to both Stephan and Bluebell, and he felt the pain even more than Zoey did, but the most painful part of all which he was unable to block away from his mind or forget is what she said to him which he also heard Chuluun saying to Feliks - 'Run away and never return!'.

When everyone noticed that Andy is in pain from being unable to forget his horrible experience with Anastasia, Feliks asked him "Andy, what's wrong?", but then Andy cried "That's nothing, Feliks. Nothing at all, I'm fine.", but then Russell said before he asked "Don't lie to us, Andy. You're in pain. I can easily see that on your mind. Tell us what's wrong, is there's something troubling you?", and when Andy heard what he said, the toddler male centaur gave in and answered and explained "Well, I couldn't forget what Anastasia said to me and to Zoey before we ran away from home and met all of you guys.", and when they all heard what he said, Feliks came up to him and asked "And what that might be?", and then Andy said back "Feliks, what Anastasia said to me and to Zoey is almost the exact same thing your aunt, Chuluun, said to you after we got reunited with Noah and before we left your father's homeland - she (Anastasia) told us to run away and never come back after both Bluebell and Stephan got knocked unconscious.", and when Feliks heard what his centaur friend just said to him, he gasped in shock before he said "Wow, I can't believe she (Anastasia) told you this! This is just like what my Auntie Chuluun said to me! Talk about deja vu!", and then Andy said to him "I know, and it hurts me so much to think about what she said to me and to Zoey before we both ran away in tears after what happened to Bluebell and Stephan in that horrible accident.".

However, just then, both Andy and Feliks suddenly started feeling a hand and a paw touching and then gently stroking at their backs and it was none other than Noah and Russell, and when the toddler male centaur and the young male leopard cub both looked up to see their larger and older friends and companions, this is when both Deertaur and red leopard gave them reassuring smiles to let them both know that everything is going to be okay, and then Russell said to both male youngsters "There's no need for neither of you guys to feel the pain you're going through and suffering from, for it's now in the past.", and then Noah added in agreement "Yeah, that's true. The pain you're going through and suffering from is already over, for it's now in the past. In other words, what are we both trying to say to you youngsters is that you cannot change your past, but you both can still change your future and do your best and make sure that you both live your happy lives to the fullest, and besides, at least these Chuluun and Anastasia whom you're afraid of aren't even here to make your lives feel miserable again, so that means that you're totally safe from the both of them and that now there's nothing for neither of you to be afraid of.".

When they both heard what Russell and Noah said to them about that there's no need for neither of them (Andy and/or Feliks) to feel that they're in pain and that at least they won't see Chuluun and/or Anastasia ever again, Andy and Feliks slowly started feeling much more comfortable with their Deertaur and red leopard friends around, before Andy said back "Thank you so much, Noah.", and Feliks added "Thank you too, Russell. You're both such good friends and we're glad that at least you're around here to protect us from harm.", and then Andy said "We may be stuck here in this dark and unknown place, but I'm still so happy that at least you're both around here to protect us from harm, and I'm also happy that at least we won't have to see Anastasia or Chuluun ever again.".

However, soon after he said that, the moment was ruined when an awfully familiar female voice suddenly called for both Andy and Zoey and said "There you are!", and when the two recognized her voice, they and their friends all turned around to see Anastasia trotting lightly towards them, and when Andy and Zoey saw her coming towards them, Andy screamed "Run!", and when they all heard what he said, everyone turned tails and started running away together, but when she saw them all running away, Anastasia cried "No, wait! Andy, Zoey, please come back!" as she then started trotting after them, and it soon turned into a chase.

During the chase, Anastasia called for both Andy and Zoey to come back and that she just wants to talk to them, but the two toddlers thought that if she's willing to talk to them after what she did to them before, then she wants to hurt them again like she already did after Bluebell and Stephan were both knocked unconscious, and so the two toddler centaurs and their friends kept running away for their lives, but that is until Russell called and said to his younger friends "Everyone, look! There's a large rock ahead of us! We gotta reach it and then climb up onto it! That way we'll be to escape from Anastasia!", and when they all heard what he said, everyone followed Russell towards the large rock which indeed stood ahead of them, and once they reached it, they all started climbing up onto the rock in order to escape from Anastasia, and so it didn't took them more than just three minutes to reach up to the top of the large rock where it's safe.

Once the six friends reached the top of the large rock, they stopped to catch their breaths and became relieved because now they're safe, but their moments of relief were short-lived when they all suddenly heard Anastasia's voice calling for them again from out of nowhere, and so they all turned and looked down to see Anastasia, who is now standing right near and in front of the large rock and is looking up at all of them from the ground below, before the young adult centauress called for them again and said (especially to Andy and Zoey out of all of them) "Andy, Zoey, please come down here to me! I promise I won't hurt you anymore! I just want to talk to you, that's all!", but when they all heard what she said, Andy cried and said back to her "I won't come down here to you, you big bad meanie! Go away!", and then Zoey added "You told us to run away and never return, you big, old, female heartless beast!", and then Noah angrily said to her "Say one good reason why I shouldn't run down this rock and punch you hard in the face for what you did to these poor little guys!".

When she heard what they all said to her, Anastasia said back as she lowered and bowed her own head down in shame "Please, I ask for forgiveness! I didn't even meant for all these horrible things to happen to you! I'm so sorry!", but then Russell yelled down at her "No one believes you, you jerk! You can say these words over and over again a thousand times, but that still won't change the fact that you abused my two little friends! And you even want to say that after all the bad things you've done to Andy and Zoey, you're still saying that you're sorry and that you're asking for forgiveness?! You should be ashamed of yourself!", and then he let out a few loud and angry roars down at the young adult centaur princess, but soon after he did that, part of the rock on which Andy stood suddenly broke down below his horse hooves and that sent him falling down the large rock and screaming as he was almost about to hit with the ground.

However, just as that was about to happen, Anastasia suddenly jumped up into the air as high as she could and successfully managed to catch Andy just before he was about to hit with the ground, thus apparently saving his life, much to everyone's shock to see the sudden change in Anastasia's behavior, and just then, she landed back on solid ground and then she lowered her arms and hands down to put Andy down on the ground and let go of him, but soon after she did that, the toddler male centaur turned to look up at her for a brief moment, before he quickly turned and looked away from her and asked without looking at her in the face "Why? Why did you did that? Why did you saved me?" and then he added "I thought you hate toddlers like me!", before he then started tearing up and covering his own face in his small human hands trying to make sure that Anastasia doesn't sees his face.

However, Anastasia could see that he's crying and that he's also in pain, and so she went around Andy until she stopped right in front of him and then she gently placed her right hand on top of his head and started stroking him in order to calm him down, comfort him and also to get his attention, but when he uncovered his face and looked up to see Anastasia is stroking him on the head, Andy immediately smacked her hand away and then he yelled at her while in tears "Keep your hands off me! I don't want you to take pity on me! You ruined my life! I wish I never met you! I also wish that I was never even born!", and then he turned around and looked away with tears forming and rolling down his eyes, unwilling to believe or accept the fact that Anastasia now has a change of heart.

When Anastasia realized that Andy won't listen to her, nor will accept her begs for forgiveness, she knew that there's just one thing left for her to do in order to make him and everyone else understand her aggressive behavior - tell the truth. Then, she went around Andy and stopped right in front of him once again, and then she said to him "Look, Andy, for the past few days, I've been thinking about the way I should've really treated you and your twin sister, Zoey, back then, and I just want to say that I'm so sorry for the way I treated you two, to the point I yelled at you to run away and never come back home after what happened to my sister, Bluebell, and to your big brother, Stephan.", and then she added "Now I know that what I did to you two before was wrong, and besides, you're only toddlers, and I should be ashamed of myself for the way I stepped on your back and slapped you and your twin sister across the face like I already did.", and then she continued and explained "And to make it up to you, I want to tell you something that I never told anyone, not even to my own family, and that was something that I kept a secret from everyone for almost a full year.", but when Andy heard what she said and then looked up at her and saw her face, he saw tears slowly forming in her own eyes as well.

Then, Anastasia took a deep breath and tried to say "The truth is that I'm...I'm...I'm..." but she was still unable to control herself and let the final words come out as the tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her face, and when Andy noticed that she's crying, he asked her "You're what?", and when she heard what he said, she couldn't keep her secret to herself anymore and so she yelled out loud and in tears "I'M PREGNANT!", before she finally burst into tears, thus shocking not only Andy, but also his twin sister Zoey and their four new friends, who all heard what she said and gasped in shock to realize that Anastasia was been hostile toward Andy and Zoey because she was pregnant with a baby of her own that is growing and developing inside her lower horse belly and is almost ready to be born, meaning that Anastasia might actually have a mate too.

Then, Russell descended down from the large rock with the others following behind him, and once they all got back down to the ground, they all ran towards Andy and Anastasia, and when they all stopped right next to the two, Russell said "I knew you were hiding a secret from my little friends all along! Now that you told us the truth, it is time for you to confess to everyone else that you're-wait, what?!" Russell asked as he cut himself in mid-sentence when he realized that Anastasia is pregnant with a baby in her lower horse belly, before he then yelled out loud at her in shock "YOU SAID YOU'RE HAVING A BABY?!", and when Anastasia heard he said, she simply nodded her head in shame while still in tears.

Then, Feliks stepped forward and asked her "Why didn't you told anyone that you're pregnant until now?", and when she heard what he said, Anastasia said back "Because I was forced to never tell that to anyone until the baby's birth.", and when they heard what she said, Noah asked "And who is the one who forbade you from telling that you're pregnant to anyone, including your own family?", and then Anastasia sniffled and said as she wiped away some of the tears forming in her eyes "Ron. Ron is the one who forbade me from telling that I'm pregnant to all of you, including my father, my mother and my sisters.".

When they all heard what she said, Russell slowly reared up onto his hinder legs and hind paws and then he placed a forepaw on Anastasia's upper human chest and said to her "Anastasia, please look at me. There's something I must tell you that you should know you should've done in the first place.", and when she heard what he said, she opened her eyes and looked to see Russell standing upright in order to look at her in the eyes and placing one of his forepaws on her upper chest to keep his balance while standing upright in front of her, and then the red leopard said to her "Listen to me, Anastasia. Whoever that Ron is, I bet he's not so smart for telling you and forbidding you to keep your secret to yourself, and besides, you don't even have to listen to him or obey him. You're a princess yourself after all, and so you can just tell your father or your mother about all of it and they will understand you and your feelings and will try to make sure that that excuse for a centaur will not come anywhere near you, nor will be threatening or harassing you anymore.".

However, when Anastasia heard what Russell said to her, she said back as she looked at him in the eyes "But, you don't even know who Ron is and how strong he really is. He threatened me that if I ever tell anyone that I'm pregnant, he'll come to steal my baby shortly after its birth and then he will also kill me and whip the skin off my back and mount and hang it on his wall.", but when Russell heard her saying that, he placed his other forepaw on her shoulder and said to her "That Ron doesn't even knows what he's even talking about, and you shouldn't listen to anything he have to say, especially when it turns to be something that is much worse than death. He's just a big bully who is merely using you to his own advantage in order to become a powerful king, but you shouldn't let him think that everything here in Equestria belongs to him. In other words, what am I trying to say is that you need to stand up to him and show him how weak he really is on the inside so that way you can beat him and defeat him for making you the horrible centauress you aren't really meant to be. Show him that you're strong enough to tell everyone the truth and blame him for being the real culprit behind all of this. Do this for everyone, but most importantly, do this for your family - your father, your mother and your sisters, and even for Stephan, Andy and Zoey.".

When she heard what Russell said to her about confronting Ron and telling everyone else the truth, Anastasia looked at his reassuring smile before she then turned and looked to see Andy and Zoey standing behind him and giving her reassuring smiles too, and they're not alone - Violet, Noah and Feliks also gave Anastasia the reassuring smiles she needs in order to change and become brave and strong enough to face Ron and stand up to him and show him how weak he really is on the inside compared to her, and once she felt sure in herself, Anastasia gave Russell an understanding smile before she said "You're right, Russell. I must show everyone how brave and strong I really am on the inside. I shouldn't let Ron use me and control me for his own benefits anymore. I must face Ron and stand up to him and show him how weak he really is on the inside. As a princess, it's my duty to face dangerous enemies and show them how strong I really am compared to them. And if Ron thinks that he can threaten me and use me to mean harm to such good, friendly and innocent toddlers as Andy and Zoey against me own will, then I will show him that he's messing up with the wrong centauress. I will not obey him, nor will I get down on my haunches before him anymore. That Ron chose the wrong centauress to mess up with, and I will show him how strong a female like me can really be.".

When everyone heard what Anastasia said as she slowly became more braver, confident and sure in herself, Russell said to her "That's it, Anastasia. Show that Ron that you're strong and brave enough to face him and tell everyone else the truth. Show him that you're not afraid of him anymore. Show him that he's the one who is really afraid of you, and not you afraid of him. I know you'll be able to stop him and defeat him for his crimes, we all know you will.", and with these words being said, he finally let go of Anastasia and then he went back down to stand on all fours again and nodded his head to show her that she can take Ron down and show him that even females like herself can overpower and defeat him in the end.

When Anastasia looked down and saw the reassuring and encouraging look on Russell's face and then turned to look at the five children who are all standing behind him and giving her reassuring and encouraging faces too, she gave them all a smile before she then turned to look away from all of them and looked forward to the horizon with a determined look in her eyes before she said "Ron, what you did to me and to Andy and Zoey was far beyond forgiveness, and I'm going to show you who's really braver and stronger than who. I'll show you that I may be a female, but I'm still much stronger than all your power. You can't control me into doing bad things such as attacking or harassing babies, toddlers and children for your own advantages and benefits anymore. You're asking for it, and now you're going to get it. Your reign of terror is going to be over soon, Ron. We'll see who's really afraid of who here. I promise you that this time, you won't get away with this so easily. I'm going to make sure that you'll pay the full price with your life for everything bad that you've done.", and after she said all these things about Ron, Anastasia turned to look back at Russell and at the five children and said to them "Let's go, everyone. Let's show Ron who he's really dealing with. He's going to pay the full price for all the pain he caused for all of us, from the beginning and until now! He will pay us all - with his own life! Let's go and show Ron that he's not the centaur he think he is! We're all going to show him that all the fun he had from tormenting us all is going to be all for nothing and all over forever!", and when they all heard what she said, Russell and the five children all nodded their heads in agreement and yelled and said all together in unison "RIGHT! THE FINAL BATTLE BEGINS! LET'S GO!", and so with these words being said, the seven of them went on their way all together and started searching everywhere for Ron so that they can face him, fight him, defeat him and finish everything bad he started.


	147. Chapter 146:Ron's defeat, returning home

Meanwhile, back with everyone else, they all continued to search everywhere in the dark void-like space for Andy, Zoey, Noah and Violet, but as the time passed, they slowly started losing their hopes, but that all suddenly changed when they all suddenly spotted a mysterious purple magic aura (which was in fact the same one who brought them all to the dark void-like space in the first place) slowly coming up towards them, and when they all saw the purple magic aura coming closer and closer towards them, King Edward asked and demanded "Huh? Who's there? Show yourself, right now!", but just then, soon after King Edward said that, he and everyone else all suddenly heard an evil laugh as Ron stepped forward and showed himself in person before everyone's eyes, thus revealing that he was the one who was (and still is) using the purple magic aura (with his own Unicorn horn, of course), and judging by the evil smile he have on his face, everyone else knew very clearly that the Unicorn centaur before them is a new villain and that he's also up to no good.

Then, Ron said evilly "Well, I expected you all to be here just for me!", but when they all heard what he said, King Edward asked him "Who are you, strange centaur?", and then Ron said back to him "I'm Ron, Howard's best friend and one of the most evil centaurs in all of Equestria!", and when they all heard what he said, Queen Camilla asked him "Wait, are you saying that you're actually the best friend of that old ruffian who abused both his wife and his own children?", and when he heard what the good centaur queen said, Ron said back "Yes, exactly! By the way, let me tell you all about my true intentions.", and then he added and explained "Ever since those two filthy pony princesses (Celestia and Luna), that changeling king (Thorax) and the master of chaos (Discord) destroyed my friend, Howard, I was willing to both avenge and succeed him and make sure that our evil reign will last forever!", and then he continued and said "But before you destroyed Howard, I too had a few dirty little plans in mind, and so I decided to use one of your precious daughters (Anastasia) in order to get exactly what I want!".

When everyone heard what he said, Celestia asked Ron "What are you even talking about?", and then Thorax added with a hint of anger in his tone "Are you trying to say that you're been using either our Chloe or Aylene to your own advantages?!", but then Ron said back to him "Oh no, Thorax the changeling king! I would never want to use that filthy hairless ape-girl of yours and/or make her to do as I ask her to do!" before he then laughed evilly, thus offending Chloe and hurting her feelings (because she too was with everyone else and she too heard what Ron just said about her), but just then, Aylene trotted and came up to Ron and then she flew up to his level to look at him in the eyes, before she then yelled at him in the face "How dare you call my sister a hairless ape-girl?! You should be ashamed of yourself for what you're saying about others who aren't even from your own species!", but then Ron surrounded her with his magic and then he sent her flying all the way back to the group before he said "Nobody tells me how should I treat other creatures from different species! I'm the strongest centaur in all of Equestria!".

However, just then, King Edward came close in his face and then he yelled at him "I demand that you set us all free from this dark and scary place!", but then Ron just slapped across the face and sent him falling aside before he said "Never! I want you all to be all mine! And by the way, let me tell you all about who is the one girl I used in order to get exactly what I want!", and then he asked Queen Camilla "She would happen to be a nearly 8 foot tall, 20 year-old young adult centauress with a very big lower horse stomach, and she also would happen to have a great fear of both male centaurs and youngsters, wouldn't she?", and when she heard what Ron just said to her, Queen Camilla gasped in shock when she realized who he's talking about, and then she asked in shock "Wait, are you saying that the one daughter of ours whom you used to your own advantage is...ANASTASIA?!", and then Ron said back "That's right!" before he laughed evilly at her and at everyone else who stood behind her.

When everyone heard what Ron just said about that he used Anastasia to his own advantages, they all gasped with shock, and when King Edward recovered and stood back up on his hooves, he looked at the younger male centaur with anger in his eyes before he then said "How dare you using our firstborn daughter to harm other centaurs and other creatures against her will and for your own benefits?! That's against the laws!", but then Ron said back to him "Silence, you old fool or else I'll destroy you for good along with that old hag for a wife of yours!", but when she heard what he said to her husband, Queen Camilla looked angrily at Ron and she angrily jumped up into the air and she was about to strike him with her own magic for calling her and her husband an old fool and an old hag, but before she could hurt Ron, however, she was suddenly being blasted away by a blast of a very familiar blue magic which sent her flying and falling a few yards away into the center of the group consisting of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids, who luckily caught her and saved her just in time before she could hit the ground on her back.

Just then, shortly after Queen Camilla used her own magic to stand back up on hooves again (after she was caught and saved by everyone else who prevented her from hitting with the ground on her back), two familiar teenage centaurs came up and then stopped by both of Ron's sides, and these two were none other than Bluebell and Stephan, who are now no longer in a coma (most likely being revived by Ron's magic), but then everyone were also shocked and horrified to see their faces - their eyes were glowing malevolently red, their faces looked very angry and they were even bearing their teeth in front of everyone's faces like two angry and hungry wolves who are about to attack and kill their prey, thus probably showing that not only Ron have managed to revive Stephan and Bluebell with his magic, but he also managed to brainwash them and place the both of them under his total control (and yet once again - to his own advantage).

Then, Ron stretched his right human arm and hand and pointed his own index finger at King Edward and said evilly "Bluebell and Stephan, make yourselves useful to me and kill King Edward, and once you're done with him, you can kill his wife and all of these other filthy creatures!", and when they both heard what he said, Stephan and Bluebell said together "As you wish, our king!" and then they charged and started attacking King Edward and didn't stopped, and even when Chloe, Aylene, Vanessa, Queen Camilla and everyone else called for the two of them to stop, neither teenage centaurs listened to anything they all said due to Ron's magic being strong enough to take over their whole minds and make the both of them his personal minions and henchmen.

However, just then, a big male leopard suddenly came out of nowhere and roared angrily at Ron, Stephan and Bluebell, thus suddenly getting their attention as Ron first turned to look at him and then the two teenage centaurs suddenly stopped attacking King Edward and also turned to face the leopard instead, and when Chloe, Aylene, the mane seven and some of the other creatures among the group of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids noticed the male leopard who is staring Ron, Bluebell and Stephan and making them stop attacking King Edward in an instant, they were all shocked when they recognized the leopard - it was none other than Russell himself.

When everyone saw Russell standing there and looking angrily at Ron and at the brainwashed Bluebell and Stephan, Rainbow Dash said "No way! Is that Russell? It can't be!", but then he shocked her and everyone else when he roared angrily again and yelled at the brainwashed Stephan and Bluebell "Leave the king alone!", and then he went up to them and stepped in between Ron, the brainwashed Stephan, the brainwashed Bluebell, King Edward and the rest of the massive group consisting of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids, but just then, shortly after Russell came in between all of them to stop the fight between Stephan, Bluebell and King Edward, Rainbow Dash suddenly approached him with her friends following her in tow, and once she got close enough to the red leopard, she asked him "Russell? Is that really you? How could that be?", and then she added and pointed out to remind him "You're supposed to be with Yigal, his brothers, Black Heart and their animals team! You're supposed to be one of the bad guys!", but then Russell turned to her and to her friends and said back to all of them "Not anymore!", and then he added and explained "I was a bad leopard and was supposed to be Black Heart's animal minion and henchman, but recently, she mistreated me and eventually she kicked me out of the villains' house, so now this means that I'm no longer one of them! And, as a matter of fact, following the same mistreatment and banishment from the villains' house, I chose to dump my own evil ways and horrible nature which I received from them and put them behind my back and I decided to be a feral leopard instead, but my luck changed once again when I met Andy and Zoey and ended up befriending them and joining their side after I saved their lives from a trio of jackals which were attacking them and were trying to eat them, but when I was attacked and almost got killed instead, Andy and Zoey helped me and we worked together in order to take down the jackals, and in the end, we successfully managed to kill one of them and chase the two others away, and after that, we expressed our feelings and showed and revealed our respective pains to each other, which led to us understanding and befriending each other, and that's exactly how we came to be friends with each other in the first place!".

When everyone heard what Russell said about that he recently have changed, none of them (except for all of those who were with him before) didn't really seemed to believe him, but that is until a familiar female voice suddenly came from behind him and said to all of those who didn't believed in what he said to them "He's telling you all the truth! Russell is not a bad leopard anymore! He already told me everything that happened to him before he befriended Andy and Zoey!", and just then, Anastasia suddenly came out of nowhere and then she stopped and stood besides Russell, and when everyone saw her standing besides him, they all gasped in shock (except for Russell himself, of course).

Just then, when King Edward and Queen Camilla saw their firstborn daughter standing besides Russell, the two of them quickly trotted up to her and then King Edward asked "Anastasia? What in the world are you doing here?", and then Queen Camilla added "Where are Andy and Zoey? Don't tell me that you hurt them again in any kind of way or something!", but then Andy and Zoey suddenly came out of nowhere and then they stopped and stood by both Anastasia and Russell, and then Andy said "She didn't hurt us at all, and as a matter of fact, she didn't really meant to hurt us back in the royal castle, nor she did even meant to yell at us to leave and never come back after the accident - she was forced to do all that against her own will!", but when they all heard what he said, everyone looked at Andy with shock, before Queen Camilla looked down at him and then asked him "But, if our daughter, Anastasia, didn't really meant to hurt you and/or your twin sister, Zoey, nor did that red leopard, Russell, then who exactly is the one responsible behind all of this?", and then Andy explained "Ron is the one who is truly responsible for everything bad we've been through! Anastasia is actually a good centauress and she didn't really wanted to do that to us against her own will, and Russell is also a good and loyal friend, even though he's not a centaur himself but is actually a leopard! In other words - they're both innocent! Ron is the real culprit here and he's the one who shall be punished for all of his crimes!".

When everyone heard what the toddler male centaur just said, they all gasped in shock while Ron just looked down at Andy with angry eyes and then he said "Hmmm, very well then! You're asking for it, Andy! And I'm going to make sure that you're going to get it and regret it for exposing me in front of everyone like this!", but then a familiar young male voice suddenly cried "We're not going to let you do that, Ron!", and soon afterwards, Noah came out of nowhere with Violet and Feliks following close behind him, and just a short moment later, the three got reunited with everyone else at last, and when Austin and Jenna saw that their 5 year-old son is okay and that he's also completely unharmed, the two parents were so overjoyed that they immediately went up to embrace him, and that's when the three Deertaurs shared a family hug after being reunited with each other at last.

When Jenna and Austin pulled away from Noah and then looked down at him in the eyes, the two Deertaur parents asked him in unison "Are you okay, Noah?", and then he said back to them "Yes, of course I'm okay!", but then Jenna asked him "What happened to you? Did Anastasia hurt you before you found us?", but when he heard what his mother said, Noah said back to her and to his father "Of course not! Anastasia is good all along, and Russell even told her on the way here everything that happened to him before he met Andy and Zoey and made friends with them! For addition, Anastasia even told us her secret she's been keeping from all of us for almost a full year, and she was forced to not tell it because Ron threatened her with her life if she ever tells the secret to anyone!".

When Jenna and Austin heard what their young son just said to them, they both asked him "Secret? What secret?", but then Noah said back "Anastasia will tell you all very soon, but I also promise you that you all will like it when she tells you all everything you really need to know that she was forced to not tell because of Ron!", and then the three Deertaurs turned to look at Anastasia, who is just about to tell and reveal her secret to everyone, and so she took a deep breath and said to everyone, including her own family "Well, now I think it is time for me to tell you all the secret which I was been forced to keep to myself for almost a full year and not tell anyone of you, and yet again - I was forced to not tell you my secret because of Ron.", and when they all heard what she said, everyone (except for Andy, Zoey, Noah, Violet, Feliks and Russell) looked at her with curiousity which can be seen on their faces and eyes, and then King Edward asked her "And what would that secret might be, Anastasia?", and that's when Anastasia sighed heavily and then said to everyone "The truth is...is that I'm pregnant.", and when everyone heard what she said, they all gasped in shock, while Russell and the five kids who already heard that once before (which made them already completely aware of the secret) stood nearby with understanding faces and eyes, for the fact that they already know that she's pregnant, but then the six of them also felt sorry for her too, because of the fact that Ron threatened her with her own life to not tell the secret to anyone, not even to her own family, until the baby's birth.

Then, King Edward asked his young adult daughter while still having and still showing up a shocked expression on his face "What?! Anastasia, how could you hide such thing as pregnancy from your own family just like that?", and then Queen Camilla also added while still having and still showing up a shocked expression on her own face too "Anastasia! Why in Equestria did you do that, darling?!", and when Anastasia heard what both of her parents just said to her, tears slowly started forming in her eyes and she also started trembling both in pain and in fear, feeling unable to speak or talk about it some more due to Ron being nearby and able to hear her telling the secret too, and when he heard her telling everyone else that she's pregnant, an angry scowl started to form on the wicked young adult male centaur's face and rage also started burning in his eyes, thus showing that he's not so happy to see his supposed-to-be wife turning on him and betraying him (for an instance - like in the way she does).

However, just as Anastasia was about to break down and burst into tears, she suddenly felt a small hand touching at her lower right horse foreleg and it was none other than Andy, who was just trying his best to help her get the encouragement she needs to speak up and tell the truth to her parents and to everyone else as well, and when she looked down at him and saw his face, Andy gave her a reassuring smile as he looked up at her and showed her with a nod of his head that she can tell the truth no matter what, even if Ron is nearby and would be really angry at her for doing so, and after a short moment, Anastasia turned to look back at her parents and at everyone else who stood in a very large group behind them, and then she said "I...I wanted to tell you and everyone else that I was pregnant this whole time, but I was forced to never tell that to anyone of you because of Ron. He...he threatened me that if I ever tell anyone of you that I'm pregnant, he told me that he'll come to steal my baby and take it away from me to himself and then he'll kill me and will hang my skin on his wall. He threatened me with my own life!", and once she said these words, Anastasia couldn't hold it in herself anymore and so she finally burst out loud into tears and then she started covering her face in her hands in order to hide her tears of pain, fear, shame, and even guilt.

Then, Anastasia suddenly felt a harsh bucking in the butt which caused her to scream in pain, and so when she turned around and uncovered her face, she saw Ron looking at her with his eyes are now burning with rage and a big scowl of anger can also be seen on his face, and just then, he went around Anastasia and he ended up grabbing her by her neck with his arms and hands, and then he started choking her in front of everyone else, including her own family, and as she tried to fight back against Ron's firm grip, Anastasia begged him with tears in her eyes "Please, Ron! Don't do this to me! You left me with no choice, but please, forgive me!", but then she's slapped harshly across the face by him, and then Ron yelled at her "I WARNED YOU WITH YOUR OWN LIFE, ANASTASIA! NOW YOU'RE GOING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO FILTHY YOUNG FEMALES LIKE YOU WHEN THEY DISOBEY AND BETRAY THE FUTURE KING OF ALL OF EQUESTRIA!", and then he was about to use his magic to strike Anastasia and end her life for betraying him.

However, just as he's about to destroy Anastasia for betraying him, Ron suddenly felt a small yet harsh bucking in his right hind horse leg, and so when he turned around to see who's behind him, he saw Andy standing behind him with a scowl of anger on his own face and with rage burning in his own eyes as well, and then the toddler male centaur was soon starting to attack him in the hind horse legs and was trying to deal damage to the much older male centaur's body, much to Ron's displeasure to see a 2 year-old toddler like Andy daring to fight him on his own in order to make sure that he (Ron) means no more harm to Anastasia, and so that's when Ron yelled down at him in response to his attacks "STOP ATTACKING ME THIS INSTANT, YOU FILTHY LITTLE TODDLER!", but then Andy cried back "NEVER! I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANASTASIA ANYMORE! SHE'S A GOOD CENTAURESS WITH A GOOD HEART, AND ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO HER SO FAR WAS CRUSHING HER! I WON'T LET YOU DO TO HER THE EXACT SAME THING MY OWN FATHER ALMOST DID TO ME AND TO MY SIBLINGS!", and when Anastasia heard what Andy said and then turned around to look at him, she had tears in her eyes and she couldn't believe what the toddler centaur is doing for her in order to make sure that she doesn't meets the same horrible fate which he (Andy himself) almost have met along with Zoey and Stephan back on the day their own father (Howard) was defeated for good.

However, Ron just laughed madly at Andy for a short moment before he then yelled back at him "PATHETIC LITTLE TODDLER! NOW YOU'RE WILLING TO FIGHT AGAINST ME TO SAVE THAT FOUL TRAITOR FOR A PRINCESS FROM ME?! YOU DON'T HAVE THE MAGIC YOU NEED TO FIGHT ME, AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT POWER IS!", but then Andy cried back "I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE ANY KIND OF MAGIC, BUT I'M STILL MUCH STRONGER THAN YOU BECAUSE I'M A GOOD CENTAUR AND I TRULY CARE FOR AND LOVE MY FAMILY AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS! YOU WILL NEVER BE STRONGER THAN ME, RON! BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A GOOD HEART!", but when Ron heard what the toddler centaur bellowed at him, he yelled back "OH, YEAH?! AND SOON YOU WON'T HAVE YOUR SO-CALLED GOOD HEART EITHER!", and then he let go of Anastasia's neck and turned and quickly grabbed Andy instead, and then he held him up by the back of the neck and gave him an evil glare, showing him an angry face complete with bloodshot eyes.

Then, Ron said evilly "I JUST WANTED YOU TO BE ALL MINE SO THAT I CAN MAKE YOU MY SON, BUT ALL YOU DID IN RETURN WAS REJECTING ME ALL THE TIME! I WAS WILLING TO MAKE YOU MY LITTLE PRINCE WHO WILL ONE DAY BECOME THE STRONGEST EVIL CENTAUR IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA AFTER BOTH HOWARD AND ME, BUT INSTEAD OF ACCEPTING ME AS YOUR NEW DADDY, YOU DECIDED TO TURN WITH YOUR LITTLE BUTT ON ME!", and then he added "SO IN OTHER WORDS - I GUESS THAT'S IT! IF YOU WON'T ACCEPT BECOMING MY SON, THEN YOU WILL END UP BECOMING MY MONSTERS' FOOD INSTEAD! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH YOUR UNWISE DECISION TO REJECT ME, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO COST YOU YOUR OWN LIFE IN RETURN!", and then Ron violently dropped Andy on the ground and then he snapped his finger, and when he did that, Sitka finally appeared out of nowhere in front of everyone's eyes, only that his six limbs (his human arms, his lower bear forelegs, and his bear hind legs) are all now being chained up as he was being brought forward by Ron's magic to watch helplessly as the wicked Unicorn centaur destroys Andy for not choosing him as his father.

Then, Ron yelled in anger "MONSTERS, SHOW YOURSELVES!", and just then, shortly after he said that, the very same saber-toothed monsters from the maze-like dungeon suddenly appeared out of nowhere and quickly went up towards Ron and also towards everyone else, only that now there aren't just two of them, there are now six of them and they're all also ready to destroy Andy for Ron's evil pleasure, and once the monsters got close enough and reached their evil master, Ron pointed threateningly at Andy and yelled "MONSTERS, DESTROY ANDY! NOW!", and when they all heard what he said, the six saber-toothed monsters turned away from Ron and slowly approached Andy and they all prepared themselves as they were about to start attacking him on the spot, much to everyone's shock and horror.

When Anastasia saw the six saber-toothed monsters slowly approaching and preparing themselves to attack and destroy Andy, she cried and begged "Ron, please tell those monsters of yours to not hurt Andy! He's just a little toddler! He doesn't deserves to meet such a horrible fate!", but then Ron said back as he turned to her and showed up a look of pure evil on his face "Oh, don't you worry about it, Anastasia! Once my monsters are done with him, YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE ARE ALL NEXT!", and then he motioned for the monsters to start attacking Andy, but just as they were about to do so, Andy looked at them with tears in his eyes as to him it appeared like nothing is going to save him now and that he's not going to live any longer, and so that's when he started crying and he yelled "STEPHAN! BLUEBELL! PLEASE, HELP ME! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! SAVE ME!", but at first, the two teenage centaurs, who are both still brainwashed by Ron's magic didn't seemed to hear or even mind his begs for help, and so it appeared like that Andy is soon going to be gone for good.

However, deep inside Stephan and Bluebell's minds, their inner senses were actually able to hear Andy's cries very clearly, and after a short moment, memories of theirs with Andy and with Zoey, as well as those with all their friends and with their respective families immediately started running through their heads and all these memories flashed back inside the two teenage centaurs' minds, and just as the six saber-toothed monsters were about to end Andy's life, tears started forming on Stephan and Bluebell's faces before their eyes suddenly changed their color from the scary and intimidating bloodshot one to their normal and respective eye colors which they always had, and that meant one good thing for everyone (except for Ron, of course) - Stephan and Bluebell are now no longer under Ron's control and they're not brainwashed anymore, which means that they're both finally back in their own senses again.

Once they're both finally back in their own senses again, Stephan and Bluebell shook their heads for yet another short moment before they looked all around themselves as their visions slowly became clear, only to reveal that now they're no longer lying down in a coma anymore, and so when they both looked to notice the huge crowd of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids, with King Edward and Queen Camilla standing in front of the crowd, the two teenage centaurs gasped in shock before Stephan asked "Does anyone of you knows where we all are?", and then Bluebell added "What's going on? Why's everyone here, and what is this place?", and when they all heard what the two of them just said, Chloe and Aylene immediately started trotting and running out of the crowd and they both went forward to hug Stephan, knowing that now he and Bluebell are both okay and are finally back to normal, and once they reached the two teenage centaurs, Chloe and Aylene both hugged Stephan tightly and then Chloe said first "Oh, Stephan! Thank goodness that you and Bluebell are both okay!", and then Aylene added "Yeah! We're so happy that you two are finally back to normal and that you're no longer in a coma anymore!", and when Stephan heard what they both said, he couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy to see his two female non-centaur best friends again after he and Bluebell were been in a coma for quite a while since the horrible accident which happened shortly before Anastasia banished Andy and Zoey away from home, but the true happiness kicked in for a moment when Bluebell also joined in on the hug and started hugging Stephan as well, thus showing him that she too is so happy to see him and everyone else (including her own family) again.

However, the good reunion moment between the four friends was suddenly cut short when they all suddenly heard a familiar scream, and so when they all turned around with their heads, they saw Andy being trapped and pinned down by one of the six saber-toothed monsters, and the one who is now pinning him down is also just a few mere inches away from striking him with its head, jaws and upper saber-like teeth, and for addition to this, the monster is also just a few mere short seconds from ending him for good right before everyone's eyes. However, luckily for Andy, Stephan and Bluebell heard his cries for help, and when the two teenage centaurs saw the saber-toothed monsters are about to end Andy in a matter of seconds, rage started boiling in their eyes and big scowls of anger also started forming on their faces, and just a short moment later, Stephan yelled angrily at the monsters "Hey, you monsters! Leave my little brother alone!", and then he and Bluebell both started charging angrily towards the monsters and they soon started attacking them, and so that's when four out of the six saber-toothed monsters turned and focused their attention on Stephan and Bluebell and decided to attack them instead, but the two others stayed behind and decided to finish Andy for good anyway, only for them to be suddenly attacked and knocked away from him by Russell and Anastasia, who together managed to get the two other saber-toothed monsters away from Andy, and so now they both need to make sure that these two saber-toothed monsters won't come any closer to him, nor will try to attack or kill him.

However, the two saber-toothed monsters soon decided to switch their intentions from destroying Andy to destroying both Russell and Anastasia instead, and so that's when they both made the first move when they quickly charged towards both the red leopard and the centauress and started attacking the both of them, and so it soon became a battle of two against two, but a few short minutes later, in mid-battle, one of the saber-toothed monsters successfully managed to grab at Russell's left hind leg with its mouth and jaws and then it started biting him with its teeth and sabers as hard as it could in order to cut deep into the red leopard's meat and flesh and also try and break his leg bones to make sure that he won't be able to fight back and will be finished off in no time, and no matter how much Russell cried in pain and also how much he desperately fought back against the larger creature, it won't let go of his left hind leg, and so it looked like Russell is going to be finished off for good right before everyone's eyes.

However, just as things seemed too bleak for Russell, the saber-toothed monster suddenly let out a painful roar and immediately released its grip of Russell's left hind leg without leaving any major or severe wounds on it, and just then, the larger creature suddenly roared painfully once again as it felt something hard hitting and beating it repeatedly on the back of its neck, and it was none other than Anastasia, who is now kicking her lower horse forelegs on the back of the saber-toothed monster's neck to make sure that it doesn't kills Russell, and as she kept kicking the creature repeatedly, Anastasia yelled down at him "You leave Russell alone, you big bully!", and after she kicked it a few more times, the saber-toothed monster let out a dying roar before its body suddenly broke apart and then turned into pieces of stone, and then the broken pieces of stone which were once the creature disintegrated into powder, thus showing that the saber-toothed monster that Anastasia have kicked and beaten is now gone and defeated, but that was only one out of six, which means that there are still five more saber-toothed monsters to go before she'll be taking on Ron in a battle of one-on-one.

As for Bluebell and Stephan, they're too doing just fine fighting the four other saber-toothed monsters which turned to attack them instead, and during the battle, Bluebell used her magic and she successfully managed to blast two of the saber-toothed monsters and explode them into pieces of stone before these also disintegrated into powder shortly afterwards, just like the first one who tried to kill Russell but was defeated by Anastasia did just a few short minutes ago, thus leaving just three more saber-toothed monsters to take down, defeat and destroy for good.

However, while Anastasia watched her younger sister and future brother-in-law taking on the saber-toothed monsters and winning, she couldn't see the other saber-toothed monster which she and Russell haven't yet defeated approaching her from right behind her back and preparing itself to jump up and strike her right on the back, and just then, the saber-toothed monster jumped up and it was about to strike Anastasia right on the back and end her life, but luckily for her, however, Russell managed to recover in time and he saw what's happening before his eyes, and so that's when he quickly managed to jump and leap up onto the saber-toothed monster's back and successfully stop it and prevent it from striking at Anastasia's back in the nick of time, thus allowing her to turn her head and look back to see Russell preventing the saber-toothed monster from striking her, but knowing clearly that he wouldn't be able to hold onto the larger creature's back much longer due to him being still injured in the left hind leg, Anastasia quickly helped Russell take the monster down by kicking and bucking it as hard as she could a few times in the face with her hind horse legs, until it also broke into pieces of stone and then disintegrated into powder like the first three saber-toothed monsters already did, thus leaving just two more to go and also enraging Ron at the same time when he saw how much his monsters and his magic are slowly failing him.

Then, Stephan and Bluebell successfully managed to deal with the last two saber-toothed monsters by making them hit too hard against each other, and they managed to do that by standing in place and waiting for them (the saber-toothed monsters) to charge towards them (Stephan and Bluebell themselves), and once they were close enough, Stephan and Bluebell both managed to jump away from each other, which resulted in the last two saber-toothed monsters hitting each other on the heads too hard, and soon after that happened, they both broke into pieces of stone and then they also disintegrated into powder, thus accidentally destroying both each other and themselves, much to Ron's pure fury and rage to see that all of his saber-toothed monsters are defeated and destroyed.

With all the saber-toothed monsters destroyed, Anastasia went up to Andy and then she knelt down to his level and asked him "Are you okay, Andy?", and when he heard what she said, Andy said back as he then stood up on his hooves again "Yes, Anastasia. Better than okay, actually.", but their moment was soon ruined when Stephan and Bluebell turned their heads to see Anastasia and Andy near each other, because when they saw the young adult centauress who hurt Andy and Zoey before present right next to Andy, they both thought that she (Anastasia) is trying and willing to mean harm to him (Andy) again, and so that's when the two teenage centaurs immediately charged towards them, and once they were close enough, Stephan jumped and knocked Anastasia away from Andy and then he yelled angrily at her as he pinned her down on her side "You stay away from my little brother, you heartless beast!", but when she heard what he said, Anastasia cried and begged "No, wait! You don't understand! Stephan, please listen to me!", but then Stephan asked her while still showing up an angry expression on his face "Listen to you?! Why should I?!" and then he added and pointed out "You hurt my little siblings' feelings, and they both did you nothing to deserve that!", but then Anastasia said back to him "I know what you're thinking about me, and I just want to say that I'm so sorry for the way I yelled at your little siblings and hurt them like I did back in the royal castle.", and when they both heard what she said, Bluebell asked her older sister "And is there something else that you still want to say to us about yourself besides how much you hurt Andy and Zoey back then?", and when she heard what her younger sister said to her, Anastasia said back "Yes, there is.".

Then, Anastasia took a deep breath and then she said to both Stephan and Bluebell "The truth is...that the reason I was so rude and hostile towards you (Stephan) and towards Andy and Zoey...was because I'm pregnant.", and just like everyone else who already heard her telling her secret, when Stephan and Bluebell both heard what she just said, they both gasped in shock before Stephan got up and stepped aback and away from Anastasia so to let her move and stand back up on her hooves again, and once Anastasia stood back up on her hooves again, Stephan asked her "Wait, so are you saying to us...that you're having a baby?!", and then Bluebell also asked "And so this also means...that I'm going to be an aunt?!", and when she heard what her younger sister and future brother-in-law said to her, Anastasia nodded her head in agreement to show them that they're both right and then she said to them "Yes, it's all true, and even though Vanessa is only 5 years old, I hope she too will accept the fact that she's going to become one of the two aunties to the baby I'm going to have, just like you (Bluebell) are going to be my baby's other auntie who is just about the right age and is also almost big and old enough to help me in caring for it once it's born.".

Then, she (Anastasia) also added "The truth is...is that I really wanted to tell you all about that I'm pregnant, but some horrible centaur who abused me to his own advantages threatened me to never tell my secret to anyone of you, because he said to me that if I'll do so, he'll come back to steal my baby and take it away from me to himself once it's born, and that same horrible centaur was also the one who forced me to become the abusive, blind-minded and hostile centauress I wasn't really meant to be at all, and so it was his fault that I yelled at Andy and Zoey and demanded them to run away and never return back home after the accident which happened when both of you (Stephan and Bluebell) were knocked out cold and fell into a coma, because he wanted to kidnap and abduct Andy and make him his own son, but after I realized my mistake, I decided to go look for both Andy and for Zoey to make sure that nothing bad happens to them out there in the wild, and also to make sure that that horrible centaur won't get exactly what he wants.".

When they both heard what Anastasia said about that she's not really the one who is to blame for Andy and Zoey's pain, Stephan asked her "What are you talking about? If you're not the one who is really responsible for Andy and Zoey's pain, then who IS the one who is to blame for all of this?", and then Anastasia turned her head and looked angrily at Ron and said as she then raised and stretched her arm and pointed her index finger at him "This is the horrible centaur who harassed me and used me to his own advantages! He's the one responsible for my hostility towards Andy and Zoey in the first place! He was the one standing behind all of this!", and then she added "His name is Ron, and he used me because he wanted to kidnap and abduct Andy and make him his own son, but when Andy refused to obey him, he (Ron) decided to destroy him (Andy) and rule all of Equestria without the need of an adopted child to succeed him! Ron is the real culprit here! He's really the one who is to blame for Andy and Zoey's pain! He's the one who should be punished forever for all of his crimes and also for doing all of this to everyone! Especially to Andy, Zoey and ME!" Anastasia yelled angrily as she, Andy, Zoey and even Russell all looked angrily at Ron, whose cover has been blown, and they're not the only ones who looked at him angrily like this - everyone else in the crowd consisting of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids also looked at him with fury and rage burning in their eyes as they all stared and glared angrily at the Unicorn centaur, who is now trapped and outnumbered.

However, despite this, there is just one thing that Ron can still do - kill Sitka for his skin, and so that's when he used his magic to show up his knife and then he levitated it up towards Sitka, who is still floating in the air with his two human arms and four bear legs still chained up so that he couldn't escape, and then he (Ron) aimed the knife right at Sitka's neck and throat, ready to end the life of the 20 year-old good male Beartaur right before everyone's eyes, and so that's when Sitka angrily said to him "Oh no! You wouldn't dare doing this! Don't you dare killing me like this in front of everyone's eyes, you monster! Equestria's rulers will make you pay for doing this!", but when he heard what the Beartaur just said to him, Ron said back evilly "I don't even care about anything you say to me, you filthy old Beartaur! Because I'm the true future king of all of Equestria, and so I listen to NO ONE!", but then King Edward yelled at him "Ron, you set that Beartaur free this instant! If you don't, my wife and I we'll both make sure that you will!", but then Ron spat at his face and yelled with rage burning in his eyes "I DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM NO ONE, YOU FILTHY OLD MAN!", and then he turned to Anastasia and said to her with an angered expression "And as for YOU, Anastasia, or should I say in other words - my WIFE, when your baby will be born, I will take it away from you to myself! And your parents and your sisters' heads, alongside the Beartaur's skin will hang on our wall!".

However, when she heard what the wicked Unicorn centaur just said to her, Anastasia cried and yelled back "NEVER!", and then she charged towards him and then she started fighting and attacking him by wrestling against him, but after a minute of wrestling against each other, however, Ron gained the upper hand and so he managed to slap Anastasia hard across the face and knock her off her hooves, causing her to fall and hit the ground with the right side of her body, and then Ron used his magic to move the knife away from Sitka's neck and throat (without killing him first), and then he (Ron) levitated it right to his own left hand, and once he held the knife in his hand, Ron slowly approached Anastasia and then he cruelly and heartlessly said to her "Goodbye forever, my wife!", and then he raised his arm and hand up in the air, and a short moment later, he brought his arm and hand down towards Anastasia's upper human back, ready to stab her and end her life for both defying and betraying him.

However, just as Ron was about to end Anastasia's life, Queen Camilla suddenly yelled at him "That's what you think, you ruffian!", and then she lit up both her horn and her hands and then she blasted her magic up at Sitka's limbs, thus breaking off his magical bindings and restraints and setting him free, allowing him to fall and swoop down from above right towards Ron and then slash him across his upper human back with the sharp, bear-like claws on his upper human hands, causing Ron to scream in pain as he then tried to shake away the pain, but to no success, and then Sitka started attacking him while also doing everything he can to protect and defend Anastasia from him at the same time, thus showing her family and everyone else not only how strong and fierce he is when there's danger, but also how good and caring he really is compared to Ron, who is just the complete opposite of Sitka, due to his cruel, heartless and malevolent nature, which in turn makes the Beartaur good and the Unicorn centaur the one who is truly evil.

Sitka and Ron fought each other for a few minutes before Sitka gained and received the upper hand by first standing upright on his hinder bear legs, and then he raised up his left human arm and hand and just then, a short second later, he quickly moved and swiped his human arm and hand down at Ron and struck him right on the head with his bear-like claws, but that's not all - Sitka's bear swipe turned out to be the most effective move he did in the fight against Ron as it successfully managed to snap and break Ron's Unicorn horn in half, thus destroying his ability to use magic and also severely wounding and weakening him, and that's because besides just breaking his horn in the end, Sitka also managed to claw and slash Ron all across both his upper and lower bodies during the same fight, thus giving him deep wounds, injuries, scars and even claw marks all across his full body (and also giving him similar wounds, injuries and scars which were pretty much like all of those of none other than Howard himself).

With Ron now severely wounded and also too weak to fight back, Sitka held him up and restrained him with both his upper human arms and lower bear forelegs grabbing tightly and then locking their grip onto Ron's upper human arms and lower horse forelegs to make sure that he doesn't tries to make any move to escape with the last remaining power which he still has deep inside his body, thus allowing King Edward and Queen Camilla to approach him with looks of determination can be seen on their faces and eyes, and then King Edward said to Ron "Now that your horn is broken in half, and also that you lost almost all of your power, and for addition, now also that you're caught and captured, I therefore declare you the real culprit who is responsible for some of the worst crimes which defy the laws of centaurkind.".

"First - you used and forced a centauress to act and become hostile to many other centaurs as well as you also made her insult and hurt the feelings of many other non-centaur creatures against her own free will, and also for your own advantage. Secondly - you're also guilty for child abuse and for using your magical abilities to trick, frighten, torment and even attempted killing a group of young and innocent children with your own magic, and also for taunting them and threatening them that they will be all yours time after time. Thirdly - you're also guilty for committing such horrible animal abuse and cruelty on this extremely rare red leopard here who was also been through all of this and was also been threatened and abused more than once by your awful magical tricks, and for addition to this - you're also guilty for abusing this good, friendly and cute little leopard cub the same way, too. Such horrible crimes are inexcusable in the centaur kingdom and are worthy of true punishment!" King Edward said and added as Ron was declared guilty for all the crimes he did so far.

However, just then, Ron immediately spat King Edward in the face again and asked angrily "What are you thinking you're going to do with me?! The exact same thing you did to my friend, Howard?!", and when they all heard what he said, Queen Camilla said back with an angered expression "You definitely deserve to be turned into stone after everything bad that you've already done so far in your life, Ron!", and then Anastasia came up to him and added in agreement "My mother's right! It's all over for you, Ron! Now you're going to join that monster of a friend of yours (Howard) and meet with the same terrible fate just like he did!", but just then, when he heard what she said, Ron tried to pretend to show regrets for the cruelty in his actions and so he said to Anastasia and begged from her "Please, Anastasia! Have mercy for me, I beg you!", but when she heard what he said, Anastasia asked back angrily "Mercy? For what YOU did?!", but then Ron lied to her and said back "It wasn't me! It was the red leopard! That filthy big wild cat made me do all of this! I was planning on killing him for everything he have done!", but when Russell heard what Ron said about him, he started growling in anger and bearing his teeth up at him, knowing very clearly that Ron is merely talking insulting nonsense about him (which none are even true, for Russell is now already walking on the path of redemption and firm transition to the side of good).

However, since Anastasia also knew that Ron was bluffing, she said back to him with an angered expression "You're fooling everyone else who is present here and all around, just like you already fooled the children and me!", and when Ron heard what she said, he felt truly scared and intimidated for the first time in his life, and so that's when he asked her while showing his fear in his eyes to her and also to everyone else who is present all around "What are you going to do to me, Anastasia?" and then he added "You wouldn't kill your own husband just like that, would you?", and when Anastasia heard what he said to her, she lowered her tone a little bit, but when she spoke again, however, she still sounded angry as she then said to him "No, Ron. A centauress like me shall never do or mean any harm to anyone. And do you want to know why? Because I'm not like you.".

When Ron heard what Anastasia just said to him, he said back to her "Oh, thank you so much for showing me your kindness, Anastasia. You're also truly noble, I have to say.", and then he added "And I promise that I will make myself up to you. If there's something you still want me to do after everything bad that I've done, I'll be willing to do that thing for you.", and when she heard what he said, Anastasia said back to him "There's just one thing that I want you to do, Ron.", and when he heard what the young adult centaur princess said to him, Ron asked her "Oh, really? What is that thing that you want me to do?", but just then, soon after she heard what Ron said to her, the next thing that Anastasia said back to him would shock him to the very core as she first stepped forward and looked and stared him dead in the eyes, and then she said to him in a low, angry and also a deeply disappointed tone "Run. Run away, Ron.", and when he heard what she said, he asked with shock in his eyes "What?", and then Anastasia added and said back to him "Run away, and never return.".

When Ron heard what Anastasia just said to him, he was indeed shocked to the very core, and so that's when Sitka finally let go his grip of the wicked Unicorn centaur so to let him begin and go on his way and do exactly as Anastasia told him to, and after having a shocked expression on his face for a full minute, Ron apparently 'gave in' and said as he started walking away very slowly "Yes. Of course.", but then he suddenly stopped with his rear end right in front of Anastasia and added "As you wish...your MAJESTY!" he yelled angrily as he then kicked and bucked his right hind horse leg up and directly hit Anastasia hard in the upper human stomach, thus causing her to scream and cry in pain and hold her upper stomach with her human arms and hands, but just then, Ron jumped on her and managed to pin her down to the ground again and then he said evilly "THE END IS NEAR FOR YOU! YOUR TIME TO DIE HAS COME! SAY GOODBYE FOREVER, ANASTASIA!", and then he raised up his arms and hands and he was about to use them to strike Anastasia and beat her to death, for he won't ever listen to anyone (pretty much like Howard himself).

However, just as things looked bleak for Anastasia, she luckily was rescued from harm again by Stephan, Zach, Austin and all the other males, including Simon and Sitka who just very recently have joined the good side and proved their loyalty to everyone else as heroes, as they too also joined all the other males in the battle and fight against Ron and helped attacking him some more for him being unredeemable just like Howard himself, and after a few long minutes of battling and fighting him, Ron is finally being taken and levitated up into the air by both King Edward and Queen Camilla, who used their magic together to make sure that he doesn't escapes his fate, and as Ron struggled and tried to move and do his best to resist to their magic, but to no avail, King Edward angrily said to him while also looking up at him and showing up a determined expression on his face "Ron, for you being such a horrible, manipulative, abusive, ungrateful and even an unredeemable centaur, my wife, Queen Camilla, and I we're both going to show you our true power and also give you just what you truly deserve for everything bad that you've done - a taste of your own medicine! In other words - you're going to meet with the exact same fate as Howard did - you're going to be turned into stone! FOREVER!", and with these words being said, both royal centaurs used their magic together to blast two magic beams directly at Ron, thus hitting him, petrifying him and turning him into stone, just like how Celestia, Luna, Thorax and Discord have already did with Howard before, and just before Ron's head turned into stone like the rest of his body, he screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" one last time as it didn't took long before he was completely petrified and was successfully turned into a stone statue, and thus he becomes the second evil centaur to be defeated this way, after Howard.

With Ron being petrified, turned into stone and defeated for good, King Edward and Queen Camilla turned to look at each other for a brief moment, before they nodded to each other in agreement and then turned to look back at everyone else who are all present all around, and then they both said together to everyone else in the crowd consisting of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids "Let's go home, everyone!", and when they all heard these words being said, they all nodded in agreement with the two royal centaurs, before all of those who are capable of using magic used their respective magical abilities and powers alongside King Edward and Queen Camilla, and so they successfully managed to teleport themselves, each other and all the others who aren't capable of using magic (including the stone statue of the now defeated Ron) back to Equestria.


	148. Chapter 147:Charity and Faith are born

A full week have passed since the many events which happened recently in Equestria, from Bluebell's family's visit, to Andy and Zoey's banishment, to Russell's decision which later led to his redemption, and to all the other many events which happened afterwards, including Anastasia's confession and the fight against Ron (which led to his ultimate defeat at the hands of both King Edward and Queen Camilla), and if any of you are asking yourselves about what happened to his stone statue after his defeat, then here's the answer I have for all of you - he's been placed and displayed in Canterlot Sculpture Garden right next to Howard's stone statue, and so with both evil male centaurs are already defeated and turned to stone, they're now displayed right next to each other in Canterlot Sculpture Garden, where they both will stay this way for many more centuries and millennia to come, until their total destruction will finally destroy all the chances that the two wicked centaurs may return to cause terror in all of Equestria.

For addition to this, Russell is taken to Ponyville Hospital so that he can heal and recover from the leg injuries which he received on his left hind leg during the great fight against Ron, and he's already lying there on the hospital bed in one of the patients' rooms (the one in which he is to stay until he's fully healed) for a full week, but even so, the healing process of Russell's injured left hind leg is slow and still has a long way to go before he's fully healed and ready to leave the hospital, but the true good news behind the full completion of Russell's body and injured leg is and would be the official announcement of his redemption, which would make him the fourth animal to have officially reformed himself and changed his own side and alignment from the bad side to the good side (the first three animals who have already did so before him were Shujaa, who was the first to reform, Kenai, who was the second to reform, and Agatha, who was the third to reform).

Another important thing that's going to happen is that today is the day for Anastasia to finally give birth to her baby, but a little does she or anyone else knows what kind of surprise Anastasia's special baby would really be, and so she too went to Ponyville Hospital so that her new baby will be born, and everyone else (minus Russell, who is already there for a full week and is still making healing progress due to his injured leg) followed her there, and they all waited outside the birthing room and some of them also wondered what the baby who will be born would look like, and among those who waited patiently for the baby's birth were the Alicorn princesses, Shining Armor, the changeling kings, and even Flurry Heart, who has since grown up into a young and healthy Alicorn filly, but still haven't yet got (or received) her cutie mark, and so with everyone waiting outside the birthing room (in Ponyville Hospital), they all wished Anastasia good luck in having her new baby, and King Edward and Queen Camilla wished and hoped that the baby who will be born will look similar to Anastasia.

However, as for Andy and Zoey, they stayed at home because they're too young to go to the hospital to wait until Anastasia's baby is born, and they're not alone - the other babies, toddlers and older youngsters (including Feliks the young leopard cub, Violet the toddler Zebratauress, who started becoming friends with Timmy (the male toddler Zebrataur who already have joined the good side more than a year ago), and even Vanessa and Noah, who already started befriending each other) stayed at home as well, but it will come out a surprise that they're all actually all together with each other at Andy and Zoey's home (which is in Canterlot), but luckily, they're not left all alone by themselves - Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon and Sitka are all there with the babies, the toddlers and the older children in order to keep them all company and also to assure them that Anastasia is going to be okay, and so will Russell (who is still in the hospital as well due to his injuries, which will take time to heal completely before he and Feliks can be reunited with each other).

During the time in which Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon and Sitka all cared for all the youngsters at Andy and Zoey's home in Canterlot, even Sitka appeared to have developed friendship bonds with the youngsters, but the two youngsters whom he befriended and liked for the most are Kayden and Tallulah, the two toddler Beartaurs who were rescued as younger babies on the time which led to and later resulted in Kenai's redemption, and that's because the three Beartaurs (the two toddler youngsters and the almost mature adult male) are all good and not either neutral or bad like most other Beartaurs from their own species, and that's what made them all very special, and for addition to this, Sitka is also the first mature Beartaur to be good like the two toddler youngsters, the second individual to be a male, and also the third individual from the Beartaur species to join the good side and become one and part of the family, and that's what makes Sitka happy since now he got and received a second chance of life after being neglected and abused repeatedly by his own mother (Margaret) from his birth and until the day when it was the final straw for him and he ran away from her to start alone and without her, after having been neglected and abused by her for 20 years.

A while later, Stephan, Zach, Aron and Simon all sat down with all the babies, toddlers and older youngsters near the fireplace (which Andy and Zoey's house have) and then Stephan asked Sitka "So, tell me, Sitka. Since now we all already know that you're a good Beartaur, despite the fact that you're almost a true mature adult, can you please tell us all about your life story?", and then Zach added "It would surely sound so interesting to hear about your life, I mean, for the past 20 years.", and then Aron also said "Hearing from you about your own life story indeed will sound really interesting, especially since you're 20 years old and are almost a true mature adult.", and then Simon added "If you tell us about your life story, Sitka, we'll all get to know you even better than we did before.", but when he heard what the four teenage males said to him, Sitka said back "Well, I'm not sure about that.", but when they all heard what he said, Stephan asked "Why not?", and then Sitka said back and explained "Because my life story won't exactly sound like a good thing anyone would want to hear, especially after everything I've been through, and before I met all of you.", but then Vanessa said to him as she then placed the palms of her own hands close to each other and also close to her upper human chest in a pleading manner "Please, tell us about your life story, Sitka. I promise I won't judge you for anything you'll say and/or tell us about your own past.", and then she asked "Please, Sitka? Pretty please?", and after looking at her and at all the other youngsters, toddlers and babies, who all also gave him pleading and begging looks, Sitka sighed heavily and then he said to all of them and to the four teenage males who were also with them "Alright, as you all want me to do, I will tell you all about my own past and also about my life story, but promise me just one thing, okay? Don't cry when I'll get to the most saddest and painful parts which are within my past and my life story.", and then he asked everyone who sat down near the fireplace and before him "Will you all do that for me?", and when they all heard what he said, everyone (including Stephan, Zach, Aron and Simon) said back to him all together "Yes, Sitka. We promise we won't cry when you'll tell us all about the pain that is within your past.", and with these words being said, Sitka began telling everyone who sat down before him about his past and life story, and also about all the pain which he had endured due to his mother's mad and abusive nature.

A full hour later, when Sitka was done telling his own past and life story to everyone who sat down before him and listened to everything he said, all the babies, toddlers and older youngsters were almost in tears from hearing the most saddest and painful parts which were and are within Sitka's past and life story, and even Stephan, Zach, Aron and Simon felt really sorry for what Sitka have been through, but then they were also angry to hear that his own mother was the one who did all that horrible abuse on him, and just then, Stephan asked angrily "How could that old hag who is none other than your own mother do all that to you?!", and then Zach added "Whoever she is, she may be old, but definitely not so smart!", and then Aron also said angrily "If I were her, I would be teaching her a true life lesson, one which she'll never ever forget!", and then Simon also added "Yeah! I wish I could find that monster of an old Beartauress and then kill her with my antlers for everything bad she have done to you so far in your life!", and then he also added and said "Nobody deserves to be mistreated, neglected and/or abused by an elder just like that! And it doesn't matter if the ones who were hurt and abused by these mad elders are children or even adults!".

However, when he heard what the four teenage males said, Sitka said back to them "You four have nothing to be angry about, because it's not even your fault that I went through and endured all of that needless pain, and it's already too late to change the past, but I know that there's one thing that you can still help me do - help me change my future so that I won't have to go through more pain anymore. If I'm here to stay as your newest addition to this one big happy family, then you must help me with my future. Well, you all know, in case my mother ever comes to find me and would want to take me away from all of you so that she can have me all to herself once again. Even your youngsters can help preventing my mother, Margaret, from taking me away from all of you, and I know that even the youngest members in this extended family could help me deal with her in case she does comes for me.".

When they all heard what Sitka said, Vanessa stepped forward and asked him "So, do you think that even I can help you deal with your mother?", and then Sitka said back to the 5 year-old centaur princess "That's correct, and if Noah's with you, then you two together can give her a double kick to the rear end to show her what you're both really made of, and also show her that you're not afraid of her, even if she's a Beartaur just like me.", and after Sitka said these words the all the babies, toddlers and older youngsters, Noah asked him "If I may ask you, Sitka, how old is your mother?", and then Sitka explained and said back to him and to all the others "Well, my mother, Margaret was 37 years old when I was born, and it may come up as a shocking surprise to all of you to hear, but my father, Matthew was actually born much younger than her, and as a matter of fact, he was 8 years younger than her, which means that he was only 29 years old when I was born!".

When they all heard what Sitka said about the ages of both of his mother and his father and also about the fact that his mother was actually much older than his father in age, the babies, the toddlers, the older youngsters and even Stephan, Zach, Aron and Simon all gasped in shock, before Andy stepped forward and asked him in shock "So, if your mother gave birth to you when she was 37, does that means that now she's 57 years old?!", and that's when Sitka nodded in agreement and said back "That's correct, Andy. Today, my mother is 57 years old and she's slowly aging up towards 60 years of age!", but then he also quickly added "But that doesn't mean that she's not a villain, because sometimes not only adults, but also children, teenagers and even the elderly can potentially be such things as dangerous and ferocious villains, though the chances for these things to happen are neither high or low, but still somewhere else in the middle, but even so, believe it or not, my aging mother is still a cruel and heartless Beartauress, regardless her age.".

When they all heard what Sitka said about his own mother being a cruel and heartless Beartauress regardless her age, Zoey asked "So, if you're saying to us that your mother is such a brute despite her old age, does that means she'll mean harm to other creatures, even if these other creatures were only about our own age?", and then Sitka said back "The answer is yes, she does means harm and she even kills and eats other creatures, even if they're just helpless babies who are less than a year old.", and when everyone who sat down before him heard what he said, they all gasped both in shock and in fright before Zach said "I can't believe what I'm hearing right now! How could a middle-aged female like your mother destroy the innocent lives of babies and children just like that?!", and then Sitka said back and explained to him and to all the others "Because she's a ferocious and merciless predator, and all she truly cares about for the most is only herself, and I even witnessed her killing and eating helpless animals like many other predators do, but not even minding sharing their meat with me because she always ate everything to satisfy only herself, and plus, I don't even have the heart to eat the meat of any living animals besides just fish.".

However, when they all heard what Sitka just said about the fact that the only living animals which he does eats are only fish, Simon asked him "Excuse me for asking you that question, Sitka, but why in Equestria do you only eat fish?", and when he heard what the Deertaur just said to him, Sitka said back and explained "Because to me, eating fish is a much better thing to do when you're an omnivore than eating other animals like mammals, birds and reptiles, and the truth is...is that my diet is composed of fruits, berries, honey, edible mushrooms, fish and even vegetables if offered, and that's exactly why I don't and I won't ever dare touch or eat the meat of other animals like mammals, birds and reptiles.", and when he heard what Sitka said, Simon said back "Wow, so this tells us everything we needed to know about what you really eat, and this also truly fixes everything about your diet, Sitka. Thank you so much for telling this to all of us. The information about your diet is indeed something that is really interesting, and I think everyone else should also know about that so that they can all give you everything you said that you eat or like to eat, and maybe one day we'll all take and invite you to a fish festival so that you can also eat as much fish as you want.".

When Sitka heard the last thing that Simon just said, he asked the Deertaur "Fish festival? What's that?", and then Simon explained "Fish festivals are special events which happen once every year in the centaur kingdom, where my parents and I used to live before I joined that awful leader, Oscar. Fish festivals happen in the centaur kingdom once every year during the summer, at the time when there are so many fish to catch, cook and eat, and I'm pretty sure that you'd like to go and get invited to the fish festival at least once or twice, and I also think you should because that's indeed something that a Beartaur like you should never miss or forget.", and when Sitka heard what he said, he smiled and said back "Well, thank you for telling me about that special event, Simon. That indeed sounds like something which I would love to go and attend to every year.".

However, just then, shortly after these words were said, Sitka suddenly opened his mouth wide and let out a yawn, and that told him just one thing - that he's get tired and that he needs to rest, and so that's when he said to everyone else shortly after he yawned "Well, I guess it's my time to take a rest.", and when everyone else who were with him heard what he just said, they all had to agree with him, for they too were all also getting tired just like him, and so that's when Zach said to him "Well, I have to agree with you, Sitka.", and then Stephan added in agreement "We're all get really tired after such a long day.", and then Aron also said "Yeah, I can also feel that now it's getting really late.", and then Simon added "Now let's take a good rest, for now of course.", and then Sitka said to him and to all the others "Yeah...oh, and just one more thing.", and when he heard what the Beartaur said, Simon asked "What is it, Sitka?", and then Sitka explained and said back "Please don't worry about my mother and/or about her being such a brute, because I know that one day, she'll eventually get exactly what she truly deserves - her punishment. Now let's go to sleep for now, because it may take a few hours before Anastasia's baby will be born.", and then he finished and said "Have a good rest, everyone.", and then he lowered himself down to the floor and laid down on his side, before he slowly close his eyes and fell asleep, and soon after he did so, everyone else in Andy and Zoey's house also did the same, and so it wasn't long before everyone were all sleeping all around and also on the floor like a very huge herd of sleeping bisons during the night.

A few hours have passed and it's now past midnight, and so right now, the correct time is 2 A.M., but morning will come only between 5 and 7 A.M., but then everyone at Andy and Zoey's house (who are all still sleeping at the time) are all still completely unaware of the surprise that finally came during this very night. However, that is until Twilight and her friends suddenly came out of nowhere through and by Twilight's teleportation spell and reached and arrived right outside and near Andy and Zoey's house, and once the seven mares reached the door which leads into the house, Twilight knocked on the door and that soon caused Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon and Sitka to wake up, and then Sitka went up to the door to answer, and once he opened up the door, he saw Twilight and her friends standing right outside the house and also right in front of him, and when he saw the seven mares standing before him, Sitka asked them "What are you girls doing here outside in the middle of the night?", and then he added "It's not even morning yet. I hope you're all here for something important, and if there is something important you girls want to tell me and all the others, then what's it's gonna be?".

When the seven mares heard what he said, Twilight explained "Sitka, you must come with us to the hospital. Anastasia told us that she wants to see you and all the others now.", but then Sitka asked her "She wants us all to come to the hospital to see her in the middle of the night? If that's so, what does she really wants to talk to us all about that is so important during such hour in the middle of the night?", and then Twilight said back and explained to him "Sitka, Anastasia is now a new mother, and she told us that she wants you all to come with us to the hospital to see her new baby.", but when Sitka heard what she just said, his eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped, but that, luckily, was just for a short moment before he soon controlled himself again and shook his head and snapped out of his shocked state and then said back "Thank you for telling me about that, Twilight. I'll go back inside to wake up all the others and tell them about the good news. Wait outside with your friends until we're all ready to go to the hospital and see Anastasia and her new baby.", and then Sitka immediately went back inside the house to tell the good news to Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon and to all the youngsters.

Five minutes later, Sitka, Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon and all the others came out of Andy and Zoey's house, thus showing Twilight and her friends that now they're all fully awake and are also ready to go to Ponyville Hospital to see Anastasia and her new baby, and so with everyone ready to go, Twilight lit up her horn and then she used her teleportation spell and she managed through and by using it to teleport herself, her friends and everyone else to Ponyville Hospital to meet all the others, Anastasia and her new baby whom she already gave birth to.

Once they all arrived near and right in front of Ponyville Hospital, the mane seven, Sitka, the teenage males and all the youngsters are approached by Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha, who then told them all to follow them, and so that's when they all went forward and they all soon entered the hospital. Once they're all inside the hospital, everyone followed behind Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha, who in turn led them all to meet with all the others who are already inside the hospital, and about five minutes later, that's when they all got reunited with each other just outside the birthing room where Anastasia is waiting for Sitka, Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon and for all the youngsters to come inside and see her and her new baby whom she recently have given birth to.

Once everyone got reunited with each other in the hospital, Bluebell came up and said to her little sister Vanessa "Guess what, Vanessa? We're aunties now!", and when she heard what the older teenage centauress just said to her, Vanessa gave her back a happy and beaming smile before she cried happily "Finally! I'm only 5 years old and I'm already an aunt! It makes me so much happy to know that now there's someone whom I can finally play with as much as I want!", but then she quickly asked shortly afterwards "But wait, is the new baby a boy or a girl?", and when Bluebell heard what her little sister said to her, she said back "Go inside the room and see for yourself, Vanessa. Anastasia will be so happy to see you coming in to see her and she'll also be happy for you to meet her new baby.", and when she heard these words being said, Vanessa couldn't help but keep smiling happily before she then entered the room and went inside with Sitka, Stephan, Zach, Aron, Simon, Noah and with all the youngsters to see Anastasia and also to meet her new baby whom she recently have given birth to.

Once they're all inside the patient's room, Sitka, the teenage males, Vanessa, Noah and all the youngsters saw Anastasia lying down on the patient's bed and looking at them all with a happy smile, and then she said to all of them "Thank you all so much for coming to see me, everyone. I'm also so happy to see that you all came here to the hospital to see me shorty after I gave birth to my baby.", and when everyone heard what she said, Stephan asked her "And now that we're all here just like you asked all of us to come here and see you, can we see your new baby and what does he or she looks like?", and then Anastasia said back to him with a smile "Of course you can, Stephan, and since you are my future brother-in-law, I give you the honor to be the first to take a look at my new baby.", and when Stephan heard what she said to him, that's when he slowly trotted and came up towards the bed to see what does Anastasia's newborn baby looks like.

However, once Stephan reached close enough to the bed and then looked down at Anastasia, that's when she removed some of the blanket off herself to uncover an unexpected surprise which soon caused the teenage male centaur to gasp in both shock and surprise - it turned out that Anastasia didn't gave birth to just one baby, but to twins. However, despite the fact that they're born twins from the same mother (Anastasia), it is also revealed that they're born as different centaur types - one twin is a Unicorn centaur just like Queen Camilla, whereas the other twin is a Pegasus centaur just like King Edward and Bluebell (similar to how the cake twins are born a Unicorn and a Pegasus; Pumpkin Cake was born a Unicorn, whereas Pound Cake was born a Pegasus), and for an addition to these, unlike them (the cake twins) and Andy and Zoey, who are born a male and a female in each respective set of twins, Anastasia's newborn twin babies are both born from the same gender, in their case - they're both born females just like their mother, their aunts and their grandmother.

And now, we're also going to see everything else which will tell us about these newborn twin centauresses' appearances. Both female twins are born with fresh, pinkish skins on their upper human bodies (like all regular newborn baby human beings), their lower horse bodies' coats of fur have almost the same color as their mother's, with the only difference is that Anastasia's coat of fur is gray, whereas her newborn twin daughters' is light gray, and the final thing we need to know about is the newborn twins' eye colors - the Pegasus centauress twin was born with lime-colored eyes just like her mother, whereas the Unicorn centauress twin was born with purple eyes just like her defeated father (Ron), but unlike him, however, the twin Unicorn centauress' eyes didn't possess the same cruelty, heartlessness and/or the same pure evilness as in his own eyes, which means that the newborn Unicorn centauress twin was born good just her mother and not bad or evil just like her father.

Just then, Anastasia slowly turned and moved to sit upright while holding her two newborn daughters tightly in her arms, moving the blanket away from herself in the process, and once she stood up with her upper human body (while also sitting upright on her lower horse body) and with her newborn baby daughters in her arms, she motioned to each of the two baby centauresses with her chin and said "Stephan, I'll be so glad for you and for everyone else here to meet my two newborn daughters - Charity *she motioned to the Unicorn centauress with her chin* and Faith *she motioned to the Pegasus centauress with her chin*.", and when everyone else also saw the two newborn babies, Vanessa beamed with happiness and joy and then she went up close to Anastasia and said "Awww! They're so cute! I like them, Anastasia! I'm so happy to meet my two new nieces!", and then Noah also came up to see the babies from up close too before he then said "For such small and fresh newborn babies, I too must say that they both look so gorgeous!", and everyone else behind them couldn't help but smile, but as for Sitka, however, he started shedding tears of joy, for this was his first time in his 20 years that he have seen such small and fresh newborn baby centaurs as Charity and Faith.

Then, when Anastasia looked over and saw Sitka standing right in the back of the group and shedding tears of joy, she asked him "Sitka, why are you crying? Is there's something wrong?", but then the Beartaur said back to her "It's nothing, I'm fine.", but since she wasn't really buying his words, she said back "Sitka, is there's something troubling you?", and when he heard what she said, Sitka said back and confessed "Well, the truth is...is that I've never seen such small and fresh and gorgeous newborn baby centaurs like your two baby daughters. My mother always told me that she won't ever let me see newborn babies for as long as she lives, and she said that to me before I ran away from her.", and when she heard what he said, Anastasia asked "Why? Why would she say that to you?", and then Sitka sighed heavily and said with tears still stinging his eyes "Because she thinks all babies are useless creatures, and whenever she sees babies, she'll not be very nice to them, just as she wasn't with me.".

When Anastasia heard what he just said, her smile disappeared and is soon replaced with a questionable look before she then asked "What do you mean, Sitka? What does your mother do to babies?", and when he heard what she said, Sitka sniffled and explained back "My mother, Margaret, she always...she always kills and eats every creature she sees, and to her, babies are the most easiest meal she can find in order to satisfy her carnivorous belly. My mother is a horrible meat-eater who always causes pain and trauma to other creatures, including me.", and when Anastasia heard what the 20 year-old male Beartaur just said to her, she gasped with both shock and with fright when she realized that Margaret will also eat newborn baby centaurs like Charity and Faith.

Then, Sitka continued and said to the horrified centauress "My mother also told me to stay away from all other creatures, whether if they're babies, children, teenagers and even true mature adults who are almost my own age, and she forbade me from going anywhere near all of them and/or making friends with anyone else until I turn 21 years old, because that's when you're truly being called an adult, since you only become a young adult at the age of 18 years, and since I'm only 20 years old, I'm only a nearly true mature adult.", and then he added "She often used my young age for her own advantage and she also tried to make sure that I'll stay with her forever and will never leave her. However, that all changed when it was the final straw for me, and when my mom slapped me across the face and yelled at me like she always does when I do something that is always wrong in her eyes, I yelled back at her and I ran away from her, but soon after I did so, my mother threatened that she'll find me and will get me back home, and she also threatened that she'll whip the skin and fur off my whole lower body.", and then tears started rolling down the Beartaur's eyes before he then said in a pained tone "She wants to kill me.".

When she heard what Sitka just said about his own mother willing to whip the skin off of him and kill him for being a good Beartaur, Anastasia's shocked and horrified expression soon changed and transformed into a heartbroken one and she started feeling sorry for him, but then she was also angry at the fact that his own mother (Margaret) is the one who wants to kill him just because of him being a good Beartaur, and so that's when she said to herself on the inside of her own mind _"Poor Sitka. I cannot bear to see him in so much pain like this. How could that old beast who is his own and also his one and only mother do such horrible things to him?! Child abuse is one thing, but abusing someone to the point where he's almost a true mature adult?! As the princess and future queen of my own kingdom, I shall not let that monster of a Beartauress get away with that so easily! No mother should ever abuse her own child just like that, even if her child is almost an adult! I shall tell mom and dad about this and I will also ask them to help protect and defend Sitka after everything bad he have been through with that old excuse who is none other than his own mother! I shall also make sure that that old Beartauress will regret that for threatening her own son with his very own life just like that! No mother should ever tell her own children that she'll whip their skins off of them, not even if she's really angry at them! I will do my best and I will make sure that Sitka will be safe and happy forever and that his mad and abusive mother will never get him, nor will mean him any harm anymore!"_.

Then, Anastasia slowly came down from the bed and because she's now able to stand up and walk due to her own lower horse body now being fully relaxed, she was now able to leave the bed and then she slowly walked up towards Sitka, and once she was close enough to him, Anastasia said "Sitka, please look at me.", and when Sitka did as she said and looked at her, he asked "What is it, Anastasia? What do you want from me?", and then Anastasia said back "I understand how you feel, and I'm so sorry that you had to go through and endure all that pain from your abusive mother, and I want to help you deal with your pain and also to make sure that your mother never abuses you ever again.", but when he heard she said, Sitka asked her "What do you think you can do to both help me and also to stop my mother?", and then he added and pointed out "You're just a single mother with two newborn daughters.", but then Anastasia said back "You're wrong, Sitka. I'm not just a single mother myself. I'm so much more, and I'm going to make sure that your mother will never mean you any harm ever again.", and then she added "Your mother may be much older than me, but I will show her how strong a young female my age can really be. If she ever comes to take you away, Sitka, I'm going to stand up to her and show her that I'm not afraid of her, even if she's a Beartauress like you and could be more dangerous compared to Ron.", and when Sitka heard everything she just said to him, he looked at Anastasia with shock in his eyes, not knowing how to react to the fact that now she's willing to help him, and he also didn't know how to react to the other fact that she's also going to make sure that his mother never takes him away.

However, Sitka soon accepted the fact that Anastasia will help him deal with his pain once she moved a little bit forward and then moved with her left arm towards him to let him pick up and hold one of her newborn babies, and in this case - the baby she gave for Sitka to pick up and hold in his own arms is Faith (the Pegasus centauress twin), and once Anastasia got and reached close enough and then offered Sitka to pick up and hold her winged newborn baby daughter, Sitka couldn't help but shed tears of joy before he then slowly reached towards Anastasia's left arm with his own arms and very gently picked up and held Faith up in his arms, with one arm and hand holding her from behind the back while the other arm and hand are supporting below her head and neck to make sure that she won't drop down to the floor, nor will get hurt by accident, but once Sitka had Faith in his arms and then slowly moved her close to himself to let her tiny body touch and feel his warm upper human chest, that's when a group of new instincts suddenly woke up within him - his paternal instincts, and these are indeed very important things that almost every young or adult male possess, which in turn will both show and will teach the male how to care for a baby (usually one that isn't his own) until he's ready to be a father himself.

When everyone else in the room saw Sitka growing attached to Faith and even treating her like if she's his own daughter, they all couldn't help but smile at him, but out of all of them, only Andy, Zoey, Violet, Kayden and Tallulah felt truly happy to see Sitka showing and displaying his paternal instincts in front of them and also right before their eyes, and since Sitka is also a good Beartaur and not a bad one like his own mother, he truly deserves to become a father and have a family of his own someday, but when that will happen, Sitka will be the one who will lead and will take care of his own family and not his mother Margaret, for we all already know what she will do to Sitka if she ever finds out that he managed to have a family of his own - she will whip his skin off of him, or in other words - she will kill him for sure.

Just then, the door opened up to reveal Bluebell, Layla, Linda, Chloe, Aylene and all the others, and when everyone who are already in the room saw them all looking at them and then also coming into the room to join them, Sitka said with tears of joy stinging in his eyes and while still holding Faith up close to and against his warm upper human chest "I truly like Anastasia's newborn baby daughters. They're both so adorable, and I also feel like I can take the rule of a father figure for them and be the father that these two precious babies truly deserves for the most. Well, if it's okay with Anastasia and under her permission of course.".

When Anastasia heard what Sitka said about the idea of him taking the rule of a father figure for her newborn daughters, she smiled at him before she then said "Sitka.", thus getting his attention the moment he heard her saying his name, and then he asked her after he turned around to look at her again "What is it, Anastasia?", and then Anastasia said back to him "I truly accept you and your words, and I will let you take the rule of a father figure for my new daughters. After all, you really cared about me and you even risked yourself and saved my life before, and so if it weren't for you, Charity and Faith wouldn't have been here and neither I would've made it. It's all thanks to you that my baby girls are both alive and are here with me, Sitka. You're truly my savior, even if you're a Beartaur, and that's because you have a good heart, unlike most other Beartaurs who live anywhere in this world.", and then she reached out her left arm and hand to touch Sitka on the left side of his upper human chest and then she added and said to him "Thank you again for being such a good and kind Beartaur and also for saving me and my little daughters' lives.", and when he heard what she just said to him, Sitka gave her a happy yet also tearful smile before he then leaned with his head down towards her, and once he reached and got close enough, he kissed Anastasia on the left cheek, thus causing her to step aback from him and gasp in shock as she was taken aback for a short moment, before it all suddenly changed again when Anastasia's shocked expression which she had on her face disappeared and was soon replaced with a warm smile on her face, and then the new, first-time mother centauress also giggled lightly and she was also blushing slightly at Sitka, thus giving us all a possible hint which could easily tell that she started loving and liking him as a new friend of hers, and Sitka indeed is one individual male who is just around her own age, one which she (Anastasia) truly deserves to be friends with for the most, despite the fact that the two of them are from different species.

However, their moment was cut short when they and everyone else all suddenly heard a scream which came from Russell's room, and that told Sitka and Anastasia instantly that Russell might be in trouble, and so that's when they both immediately rushed to Russell's room with everyone following close behind them, and when they reached and then opened the door to his room, they saw that Russell is now covered in new injuries which he just received, but the true terror kicked in when Anastasia and Sitka both turned their heads away from Russell and saw a big burly Beartauress attacking him, hurting him and even roaring at him angrily in the face, and when Sitka saw the Beartauress who is attacking Russell, he immediately gasped in both shock and in fright as he soon recognized her by the aging looks of her face, her scars and her burly appearance - it was none other than his cruel and heartless, 57 year-old mother - Margaret.

However, just then, a few short moments later, Margaret suddenly turned to see and notice Sitka and Anastasia looking at her with everyone else standing behind them and also looking at her as well, and upon seeing Sitka again, Margaret's angry face immediately changed into a fake smile before she then said "Sitka! There you are! It's so good to see you again, my son!", but then Sitka asked back in shock "Mother?! What are you doing here?! How did you even know where I am?!", and when she heard what he said, Margaret said back "Because I'm your mother, Sitka, and also because I worry about you, and sometimes I worry about you a lot.", but upon hearing his mother saying to him these words again, Sitka shook his head in disbelief and also shook off some of his fear and he tried to stand up to her and so he yelled back "No, you don't even worry about me, Mother! I could see through your words that you're lying to me!", and then he added "I know why did you came here to Ponyville Hospital, Mother - you came here because you want to kidnap and have Charity and Faith for breakfast and also to whip the skin off my back!".

However, when she heard what her 20 year-old son just said to her, Margaret chuckled lowly and then she said "I wouldn't ever do such horrible things as killing or eating helpless babies, Sitka. I'm a good Beartauress and I actually like making friends with everyone I meet.", but then Anastasia yelled back at her "I don't even believe you, you old hag! Sitka already told me about you, and I won't show you the same love, kindness and/or respect I show him!", and then she added and demanded "Now leave Russell alone or you're messing with me and with my family!", but when she heard what the centauress just said to her, Margaret said back "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. Such horrible insults coming out from your mouth shall not be accepted, dear. Also, I would like to teach you and your newborn daughters to respect an old Beartauress like me. After all, I'm almost 60 years old, 57 to be exact, and I would want your cute little daughters to see how strong a female my age can really be.", but then Sitka yelled at her "You leave Anastasia and her baby daughters out of this, Mother! They did you nothing wrong! If you want to hurt someone here in this room, hurt me instead of Anastasia or her daughters!".

When everyone heard what Sitka just said about that he's willing to let his mother hurt him in order to make sure that she doesn't hurt Anastasia or her newborn daughters, they all gasped in shock when they realized that Sitka is willing to defend Anastasia and her daughters with his very own body and even with his very own life. However, Margaret just laughed evilly and then she said "Well, I don't even care about anything you say to me, Sitka. After all, I won't leave this place after ending your life. Oh, no, no, no, I'm going to stay here so that I can have your so-called new friend and her little daughters for breakfast too! Once I'm done with them - the red leopard will be next!", and then she laughed evilly again, thus causing Russell to gasp with both shock and with fright and also causing Charity and Faith to cry in distress upon hearing such horrible words coming out from the middle-aged Beartauress' mouth.

However, Sitka and Anastasia both resisted to her threatening words and then Sitka said first "If you want to get me, Anastasia, her daughters and Russell, then let's see if you're able to take on two young adults like the both of us at once!", and then Anastasia added "Yeah! Neither of us are afraid of you! We both know that you're saying these horrible words because you're trying to be intimidating!", but then Margaret said back to them "Very well then, I challenge you both to a fight against me and a friend of mine! It will be a fight of two-on-two! I will leave you two alone for a month so to let you train hard enough before the fight against me and my friend, and once the month passes by, I will return and will come back for you two with my friend to exact my revenge on you and also to fight you two!", and then she added and said to Sitka and Anastasia "If you two win, I will leave you alone for good! But if my friend and I win, you both are coming back with me, and you'll both become my slaves for the rest of your lives!", and then she asked "How does that sounds to you two?", and when Sitka and Anastasia both heard what she said to them, Sitka nodded his head in agreement and said back "I accept the challenge, Mother!", and then Anastasia also added the same way "As the princess and future queen of my own kingdom, I too accept your challenge!".

When Margaret heard what the two 20 year-old young adults just said to her, she smiled at the both of them evilly and then she said "Then it's settled! You two are going to fight together against me and my friend! It will happen a month from now! And it's going to be a fight of two-on-two! If my friend and I win, you two are both going to become my personal slaves for the rest of your lives!", and with these words being said, the wicked Beartauress turned away and then she jumped through the wide open window (through which she jumped before in order to get inside Russell's room), and once she got outside the hospital, Margaret started running away and went towards the horizon, and a few long minutes later, she completely vanished and disappeared into the night, thus showing and telling both Sitka and Anastasia that their days of training for the great fight against her and her friend will start from tomorrow at morning.

Once Margaret was completely gone from sight, Anastasia and Sitka quickly turned their attentions back to Charity and Faith, who are both still crying in distress because the two newborns thought that they're going to lose both their mother and potential father to Margaret and to her friend whom she mentioned (although not by name), and so that's when the two young adults immediately started calming down and comforting the two newborns and did their best to reassure them and tell them that Margaret won't be able to take them (Anastasia and Sitka) away from them (Charity and Faith), nor from anyone else, and once Charity and Faith both calmed down and fell asleep, Anastasia and Sitka let Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha to go inside and into the room and check on Russell, who is lying down on the floor, but despite his new injuries which he just received from Margaret, Russell, luckily is going to be okay, for his spirit was incredibly strong, and so by the time Margaret and her friend will come for both Sitka and Anastasia, he will be already fully healed and ready to announce his own redemption to all of Equestria.


	149. Chapter 148:Russell's new life

When the next morning came, Anastasia and Sitka started their training, and so for the next 29 days which slowly passed one-by-one, they both trained together as hard as they could in order to get strong enough and ready to fight Margaret and her friend whom she mentioned (although not by name), but despite their training for the upcoming fight against Margaret and her friend was an advantage for both Sitka and Anastasia, because then the two will also be able to take down many other enemies besides just them (Margaret and her friend), Sitka and Anastasia's training for the upcoming fight was also a disadvantage, because from morning to evening, they won't be able to see and/or tend to Charity and Faith, and so this means that they will be able to see and tend to the newborn baby centauresses only every night, from dusk to dawn.

However, luckily for them and also very fortunately, Bluebell, Layla, Linda, Chloe, Aylene and all the others are able to care for and tend to Charity and Faith while Anastasia and Sitka are training hard every day in order to get strong enough to fight Margaret and her friend, and at the same time, Russell is slowly healing in the hospital and his condition is slowly raising up and he's also on the road of recovery, but while he's still healing in the hospital, Russell still had one thought that was bothering him - which pony he would choose and accept as both his partner and his best friend - Applejack, Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash? For now, Russell is still healing in the hospital and only time will tell before he will be fully healed and ready to announce his own redemption to all of Equestria.

The next 29 days slowly passed one-by-one, and by the end of the 29th day, Russell has already fully healed from all of his injuries, which completely disappeared from his body, from his leg injuries which he received during the fight against Ron, to his other injuries which he received on the rest of his body from Margaret (Sitka's mother), and so with his body is already fully healed, Russell can now leave the hospital and go meet everyone else (especially Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha), who are all waiting for him to come along and join the good side (and also so that he can announce his own redemption to all of Equestria), and so with his body is already completely healed, Nurse Redheart and the other nurses who work at Ponyville Hospital allowed him and gave him a permission to go and leave the hospital at last, and so with that permission given, Russell finally left Ponyville Hospital and he went to meet up with everyone else so that he can tell them all that he wants to join the good side and also to announce his own redemption to all of Equestria.

The following day after the end of Russell's full recovery, everypony and every creature from all across Equestria came to Canterlot and attended to the special ceremony in which he will announce his own redemption and will also explain to everyone about how and why did he decided to leave Black Heart, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and their animals' side and reform in the first place, and that in turn will also reveal to everyone that there's a new evil human living in Equestria (in that case - it's Dan Ashmor).

During the ceremony, Russell explained to everyone about his story and also about the reasons why he decided to leave the villains and reform in the first place, but once he explained and told everyone about Dan Ashmor being a new villain despite the fact that he's only a toddler who is still less than 2 years old (which in turn would make him even younger than Andy and Zoey), almost nobody believed him, almost nobody that is except for Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Agatha, and even Andy and Zoey themselves, who knew that he wasn't joking, nor lying about Dan Ashmor being a new villain who could become a threat to all of Equestria in the future, and so in order to support Russell, Andy came up and stood right next to him and explained to everyone who stood in front of them and all around that despite his extremely young age, Dan Ashmor would use to make Russell's life feel miserable by peeing on his fur all the time and also by treating him like a toilet before Russell's redemption, and he even told everyone that when he and Zoey first met Russell after he left the villains (and also after the two toddler centaurs were banished away from home by Anastasia, who was pregnant at the time), he was able to smell the horrible scent of Dan Ashmor's pee in Russell's fur, which told him instantly that there's another human being living in Equestria who might actually be the same as bad as Yigal, Gilad and Ezra, and that the new human could and also might actually be a dangerous threat to all of Equestria in the future once he's at least a young teenager or a fully grown adult.

However, just then, shortly after everyone heard what Andy said about Dan Ashmor being a potential villain who could and might cause a lot of damage to all of Equestria once he's old enough, an all too familiar wicked female voice suddenly said and yelled out loud "THERE YOU ARE, RUSSELL!", and upon hearing what the voice just said, Russell immediately swallowed nervously for he knew very clearly who is the owner of the voice who just yelled out his name - it was none other than Black Heart herself. Then, shortly afterwards, the wicked Pegasus mare was seen trotting up and making her way through the massive crowd of ponies, non-ponies and even centaurids, and Yigal, Gilad and Ezra are also seen following behind her with their animals in tow, but that's not all - Dan Ashmor was also seen riding on Black Heart's back, and once the villains managed to get past the massive crowd of creatures from different species, Dan Ashmor moved his head and looked from both behind and over Black Heart's head, neck and mane and saw Russell with Andy standing right next to him, and when the toddler human boy saw the red leopard again, he smiled evilly at him and said in a cute yet also demonic voice "Well, well, well! Look at what we have here!", and then he added "It's Russell, also known as - my favorite toilet! It's so good to see you again!", and then he laughed evilly at him, thus causing and prompting Russell to mutter back "Oh, no.".

Then, Black Heart flapped her wings and so that's when she flied and went up towards Russell and Andy, and once she reached high and close enough to them, that's when she landed right in front of them with Dan Ashmor still riding on her back and also holding onto her mane so that he wouldn't fall off, and when Russell saw his former owner and the wicked toddler human boy from up close again, the red leopard started feeling very uncomfortable, and even Andy could sense and feel that something might or even will go horribly wrong, despite the fact that it's only the first time Andy have just met toddler Dan, and also from up close and even face-to-face.

Then, Black Heart lowered herself down onto her haunches for a moment so to let toddler Dan climb down and get off her back, and once the toddler human boy stood on the solid floor below, that's when Black Heart stood back up on her hooves right next to him and the two gave evil smiles to both Russell and Andy, who could easily tell that something could and would definitely go horribly wrong, and just then, Dan started walking up towards them and then he said as he reached and came up close enough to the red leopard and to his toddler centaur friend "Did you thought that you could really escape me, Russell? Well, my caretakers and I we all suggested that since you didn't liked me even a bit, we all knew that that would lead to you betraying us and joining all these filthy creatures of the good side!", but upon hearing what he said, Russell roared angrily at him in the face and then he yelled back "How dare you speak to me again after everything bad that I've been through with you?! You're the most disgusting and horrible toddler ever known to exist in this world! I even have some proofs which can tell everyone around that you're indeed a future villain!".

However, when toddler Dan heard what Russell just said, he asked the red leopard "Oh, yeah? Like what?", and then Andy explained back as he looked and stared Dan dead in his eyes and gave him a stern face "Well, for an instance - I know that you mistreated Russell so badly before he ran away from you villains and left you behind, and I also know that you even referred him to as your personal toilet!", but upon hearing what the toddler centaur before him just said, Dan just laughed back at him and said "It's not true at all - I do love Russell as my friend too and I just want him to come back home to us villains, which is where he truly belongs!", but then Russell interrupted him and said back "I know that you're lying to me, you horrible little monster! I will never come back home to the villains' side with you!", and then he turned his head to Black Heart and said to her "And as for you, Black Heart, you can just forget about me and replace me with some other animal who will be truly willing to do as you and as your human friends ask! I'm done with you, and I don't want to come back to the villains' side with you! I'll rather choose to be a good animal instead!", and when Black Heart heard everything that he just said, she just stared and looked at him with a shocked expression, unable to express her feelings to him after hearing what he just said to her about that he's finally willing to reform himself to the good side and turn his back on and betray the villains due to his horrible mistreatment which he received from them before his redemption.

However, just a short moment later, something snapped inside Black Heart and so that's when her shocked expression immediately transformed into an angry one, and once pure fury and rage could be seen in her eyes, that's when she screamed and yelled in anger as she then started attacking Russell, who in turn decided to fight back against his now former owner, but after a few long minutes of fighting each other, Black Heart got the upper hand and so she managed to grab Russell by the neck with her forehooves and then she started to choke him to death right before everypony and every creature's eyes, thus shocking them all with the fact that she won't hesitate to kill those who betray her, although Chloe and Aylene did saw it coming because they both already saw the memory showing Black Heart killing her own husband and Aylene's father (Wild Berry) for both not accepting her cruelty and heartlessness and for betraying her for her being abusive towards Aylene.

When Andy saw his red leopard friend being choked to death, the toddler centaur cried and begged "Stop it, please! He's my friend! Don't choke him like that!", but Black Heart just ignored him and kept squeezing tightly at Russell's neck and throat, and then Dan laughed evilly before he then said to Russell "If you won't accept what I always do to you, then I guess that's it, Russell! If we can't have you as a loyal friend, we're going to have you as a trophy instead! It will be my great honor to have your beautiful skin as my toilet, until I grow up into a fully grown man and decide to hang it up on the wall instead!", but upon hearing what the toddler human boy just said, something suddenly snapped inside Andy, and then, just a short moment later, his hands clenched into fists and he started digging and kicking at the floor with his horse legs and hooves, and finally, a scowl of anger formed on the toddler centaur's face as he then glued his eyes and his eyesight on Dan, thus showing that he's now ready and willing to fight the malevolent yet also young human for saying such horrible words on his friend like that.

Then, Andy said "How dare you?!", and that was enough to cause Dan to immediately turn away from Black Heart and Russell and look at him instead, and then he asked back "Huh? What did you just said to me?", and that's when Andy raised his voice and yelled at him in anger "HOW DARE YOU?!", and upon hearing what he said, Dan said back to him "Well, well, well. Now you wanna fight me, do you?", and then Andy yelled back "Of course I'm going to fight you! You will pay for saying such horrible words on my friend like you just did! I won't let you get away with that so easily, you future monster!", and upon hearing what the toddler centaur said, Dan said back "We'll see about that, filthy centaur!", and then, without hesitation, the two male toddlers started fighting each other and so that's when a duel soon began between them.

When everypony and every creature who are present all around saw the fight between Andy and Dan Ashmor, they were all in shock, and Zoey was the most shocked to see her twin brother willing to fight Dan and beat him in order to both defend Russell's respect and also to teach the evil human toddler and future human villain a lesson for messing up with him (Russell, not Andy himself) the whole time before Russell's redemption, and during the fight, they all heard Dan Ashmor suddenly yelling while still fighting back against Andy "How dare you filthy centaur messing up with me?! Who do you even think you are?! You think you can win against me?! You don't even know what power is!", but then Andy yelled back "You're wrong, Dan! I do know what true power is! The true powers of both good and evil! And I'm for one not going to let you or your elders hurt my friend like this!", and so without warning, the toddler centaur immediately turned tail and then he angrily bucked Dan right in the chest with his horse hind legs and hooves, thus throwing him over the balcony on which they, Russell and Black Heart all stood and also causing him to fall down straight towards the massive crowd of ponies, non-ponies and centaurids, who all watched him falling down towards them, but luckily for him, however, Dan was caught in midair and was rescued in time by Tony Black, who immediately responded and leapt up to his rescue, and once they're back on the solid ground below, Tony Black immediately took Dan back towards the other villains in order to make sure that no other creatures won't hurt him.

However, despite the fact that she was and still choking Russell at the same time, Black Heart noticed what just happened to Dan, and so when she looked at Andy and stared him in the eyes, the Pegasus mare's face started turning red from anger, and then she immediately let go of Russell's neck, thus finally letting him catch his breath and recover from the attack, but then Black Heart decided to kill Andy for both taking on Dan and also for winning in the fight he just had against him, and so that's when she angrily charged at Andy and she managed to grab the 2 year-old toddler male centaur by the tail and forcefully started dragging him along with her towards the edge of the balcony on which they and Russell stood, and then, without warning, she cruelly and heartlessly swung Andy and tossed him up into the air before she then turned tail and then bucked him in the rear end and launched him from over the balcony, hoping that that will end him for messing with Dan, and when Andy started falling down towards the massive crowd of many different creatures below, he gasped with fright and then he immediately covered his own face and especially his eyes with his small human hands and braced himself as he waited for his small body to hit with the ground below.

However, just as Andy was about to hit with the ground below, something strange suddenly happened - as Andy braced himself as he waited for his own body to hit with the ground below - nothing happened. Then, a short moment later, when Andy felt that nothing is really happening to him, he suddenly became curious and so he slowly uncovered his face and eyes and looked down, only to find out that he's actually hovering just a foot above the ground, but that's not all - he also felt like he was surrounded by a magic aura and he saw that it was also a pink one, but it wasn't from any creature who is capable of using magic all around, but when Chloe, Aylene, Bluebell, Layla, Linda and everyone else looked down at Charity and Faith, who were being held up by Bluebell and Layla, they all saw that Charity's Unicorn horn is glowing up in the same pink magic aura which surrounds Andy and makes him hover just a bit above the ground, and back then, that was also the same pink magic aura which prevented Anastasia from crashing into the ground after she jumped through the wide open window in the royal castle while she was still pregnant, thus showing and revealing that Charity's magic is what saved both Anastasia and now Andy from getting seriously injured, or even worse - killed.

Then, shortly afterwards, Charity's magic (which she used and controlled) slowly started lowering Andy down towards the ground below, and once he touched the ground below with his hooves, that's when Charity's magic finally let go of him, and once Andy stood on solid ground and also appeared safe and sound and completely unharmed, that's when he sighed in relief and said to himself "I'm safe.", and then everypony and every creature who are present all around (except for the villains, of course) were all relieved to see that Andy is okay and that he didn't got hurt after being thrown over the balcony by Black Heart, but when she saw that Andy is safe and sound, Black Heart immediately turned her attention back to Russell, and so that's when she decided to kill him for his beautiful skin and fur, and then she also said to him with pure rage burning in her eyes "Say goodbye, Russell!", but since Russell has already recovered from the last attack (which was from Black Heart herself), he was ready to fight her and show her what happens to somepony or to someone when he or she (or they) neglects, abuses and/or messes up with a leopard like him.

Then, shortly afterwards, Black Heart and Russell immediately charged towards each other, but this time, however, Russell got and received the upper hand instead of Black Heart, as he then swiped at the wicked Pegasus' left shoulder with his right foreleg and forepaw, and it soon turned out that his sharp claws were very effective, for not only he was able to slash Black Heart on the left shoulder, but also he was able to slash her near the left wing too, thus it's very likely that he managed to seriously wound her, and then he turned tail and yelled at the Pegasus mare with his rear end is now in front of her "Get out!", and then he immediately kicked her up in the face with his hind legs and hind paws, which also turned out to be very effective as the kicking force from the reformed red leopard's hind legs and hind paws was actually enough to both launch and send Black Heart flying over the balcony and then falling down to the ground below, only to end up crash landing right on top of Gilad and Ezra, who both got hit and injured from having the Pegasus mare crash landing on top of them, but the two adult human males are luckily still alive and are able to get her off of them before they both stood up again and dusted themselves off.

However, shortly after they both recovered, Gilad and Ezra immediately turned their attention to Black Heart, and they both gasped in shock the moment they saw her injury which she just received from Russell, and when the injury on Black Heart's left shoulder and near her left wing started bleeding, Gilad said "I think we should go now! Black's Heart's wounded here!", and then Ezra added in agreement "Yes, that's right! We gotta go now!", but before the villains left, Yigal looked up at Russell and then he yelled at him in anger "You will pay with your life for doing that to our friend, Russell! You hear me?! You will pay with your life for what you've done!", and so with these words being said, that's when Gilad and Ezra took Black Heart with them and then they lifted her up and placed her on top of Scamper (Gilad's golden (albino) zebra stallion), and to make sure that their injured Pegasus friend doesn't falls off his back, they supported by sticking close by both of Scamper's sides and each of them placed a hand on each side of Black Heart in order to support her while she's sitting on top of Scamper's back, and so with Black Heart both sitting and riding on top of Scamper's back and with Gilad and Ezra supporting her in order to make sure that she doesn't falls off his back, that's when the villains turned around and started walking away and making their way through the massive crowd of many different creatures, and once they all reached the other side of the crowd, the villains kept walking and traveling away from Canterlot and they went all the way back to their home, which is located within the deep parts of the Everfree Forest.

Later, with the villains are gone (for now, of course), Russell calmed himself down and said to himself "I hope that one day, I won't have to see or hear from that Black Heart, or from any of her evil human friends anymore.", but just then, shortly after he said that, a voice suddenly called him and asked "Russell?", and when he heard the voice saying his name, Russell turned his head and looked over, only to then see a Pegasus mare flying and hovering over the balcony and also in front of him, but this time, however, it wasn't Black Heart at all - it was none other than the element of loyalty herself - Rainbow Dash.

When Russell saw her hovering over the balcony and also right in front of him, he asked her "What do you want, Rainbow Dash?", and when she heard what he said, she lowered herself down to the balcony and once she stood on all fours before him, she said "Look, Russell. There's something I really want to talk to you about.", and when he heard what she just said, he asked "What is it, Rainbow Dash? Is there's something wrong?", but then she said back to him "Oh, no, not at all, Russell.", and then she added and explained "It's just...ever since you left Black Heart and her evil human friends and joined all of us, I saw you being so loyal and friendly towards everypony and every creature around, especially towards Andy.", and when he heard what she said, Russell raised an eyebrow and then he asked "And?", and soon after she heard what he said, Rainbow Dash continued and explained "Look, Russell. I know that once you used to be a villain, but now that you left the villains and now that you also willingly reformed and joined the good side, I just want to say...that I wanna be your friend. Your bestest friend to the very end.", and then she approached a bit closer and stretched her right foreleg and forehoof to him and asked "How does that sounds to you, Russell? Do you want me to be your bestest friend?".

When he heard what she just said, Russell first felt tears of joy forming in his eyes, and just then, after a short moment and without any hesitation, he went up to her, reared and stood up on his hinder legs and then he wrapped both of his own forelegs and forepaws around Rainbow Dash's neck and pulled her into a loving hug, thus showing her and everyone else that he really does wants to be best friends with her, and upon seeing Russell crying tears of joy and also accepting her as his bestest friend, Rainbow Dash couldn't help herself and she too started crying tears of joy and then she also started hugging him back too, and when everypony and every creature saw the touching moment between them, they all couldn't help but smile happily and look up at the two of them, but out of all of them, those who truly loved and liked the touching moment between Rainbow Dash and Russell for the most are Celestia, Luna, Fluttershy, Rarity, Shujaa, Kenai and Agatha, who all knew that the two will make a pretty good team and will also be good partners with each other, and that's because Rainbow Dash and Russell have many things in common.

Later, after the end of the ceremony in Canterlot, everypony and every creature went back to their respective homes and homelands, but as for Russell and Rainbow Dash, they first went to Rainbow's old and previous home (which is located up within Cloudsdale, home of the Pegasi), but since Russell doesn't have any wings on his back, nor he can walk on clouds, Rainbow Dash had no choice but to carry him along and on her back the whole time, but surprisingly, she was actually able to carry his whole weight easily, and even when she flew up towards her old and previous home in Cloudsdale, and the reason to this is that it's because she was a strong mare, and Russell himself wasn't too heavy for her to carry on her back, and so once they reached Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash immediately took Russell with her to her parents' home so that he can meet them and explain to them why he chose to leave the villains and reformed and decided to stick with Rainbow Dash, and later, after they visited Rainbow's parents, Rainbow Dash and Russell left Cloudsdale and they flew and went all the way (with Russell riding on Rainbow's back) to Rainbow's current home, which is located near Ponyville - the Cloudominium, and once they arrived at the Cloudominium, Rainbow Dash immediately took Russell with her inside to live with her in her home from now on, and indeed, from this day forward, Russell and Rainbow Dash will be living together and with each other as best friends and good partners happily ever after.


	150. Chapter 149:battle at Sweet Apple Acres

A day have passed since Russell began living in Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash, and right now, it's already 67 months (5 years and 7 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it's also 55 months (4 years and 7 months) since Aylene became her sister, and today is the day where Anastasia and Sitka are going to fight and battle together against Margaret and her friend on a fight of two-on-two, and due to her and to Sitka's hard training throughout the last month since Charity and Faith's birth, King Edward, Queen Camilla and Vanessa all had no choice but to leave Anastasia alone with him (Sitka) so to let them both train as hard as they could for the upcoming fight, and so with Anastasia staying behind with everyone else, the three royal centaurs had no choice but to go back to the centaur kingdom without her, but today, they returned back for her because now they know that today it's the day where she and Sitka are going to fight against Margaret and her friend (whom she didn't mentioned by name).

Meanwhile, as for Anastasia and Sitka, they both trained really hard in order to become strong enough and ready to fight together in the upcoming battle against Margaret and her friend, and the two of them trained hard enough throughout the whole month which slowly passed, and once it was the day where the fight against Margaret and her friend will take its place, the young mother centauress and the good Beartaur both knew that the time has come, and they also knew what would be the consequences of the fight in the end - if Sitka and Anastasia win - they both will live the rest of their lives in peace, but if Margaret and her friend win - Sitka and Anastasia will be taken away by them and they both will become Margaret's slaves and personal servants and for the rest of their days, and so Sitka and Anastasia both knew that they must win in the fight against Margaret and her friend so not to leave Charity and Faith alone and without a mother and/or a potential father, and also because if Margaret and her friend will win in the fight, the now month-old twin baby centauresses would become 'orphans', for they won't be able to see or hear from their own mother Anastasia or even from Sitka ever again.

Later, in the afternoon, it was 3 P.M. when Margaret finally showed up in the battlefield where she chose for the fight to take its place, which is in a meadow in Sweet Apple Acres that led to the Everfree Forest, from which she came to get exactly what she wants - Sitka and Anastasia. However, she's not alone - next to Margaret, there was a big male Beartaur who appeared to be just around her own age, only slightly a bit older than her (like a year older or so), which meant that he was likely almost 60 years old (because Margaret is only 57 years old), but that's not all - the big male Beartaur who stood right next to Margaret also has visible scars from previous fights on both his upper and lower bodies, and one of them was a big scar that ran down across his left eye, but despite the appearance and presence of the scar across his eye, it seems that he's still able to see properly with his left eye, which surprisingly isn't damaged or blind, and he also appeared big and strong enough to kill large centaurids such as Rhinotaurs.

The big, scarred, middle-aged male Beartaur is none other than Brutus, Margaret's friend, who, just like her, is also a cruel and heartless beast and a merciless predator, and he too is known to kill many other creatures, and it doesn't matter if they're newborn babies, older juveniles, teenagers, adolescents or even mature adults, and sometimes, he would team up with Margaret in order to take down other creatures and get more prey and more food for the both of them to eat, but then we would also know that he's obviously NOT Sitka's father, since Matthew is none other than Sitka's real father, and also, since he's already dead for the last ten years (since Sitka was only 10 years old), this in turn would make Sitka an orphan from father, which means that he only have Margaret as his own mother, despite the fact that she abused and even hated him for the most.

Anyway, back to where we were, shortly after Margaret and her friend Brutus have arrived at the battlefield that was the meadow in Sweet Apple Acres that was also near the Everfree Forest, Applejack's big brother, Big Mac, have noticed the two, evil middle-aged Beartaurs while he was plowing at the seeds of corn which he already planted into the soil, but then, upon turning their heads and noticing the Earth pony stallion staring and looking at them, Margaret thought of an idea and then she said to Brutus "Brutus, get that big stallion for me, now!", but when he heard what she just said, Brutus asked her "What for, Margaret?", and then Margaret said back evilly "We're going to use him as a live bait to attract every creature here, including Sitka and his friend, Anastasia!", and upon hearing her saying these words, an evil smile crept on the scarred male Beartaur's face and then he said back "Of course, Margaret! I'll get that big stallion for you now!", and so with these words being said, Brutus immediately charged towards Big Mac and aimed to capture him, abduct him and take him back to Margaret along with him.

However, upon seeing the big, scarred, middle-aged male Beartaur coming towards him, Big Mac immediately turned tail and then he started trotting and galloping away from Brutus, who soon started giving a mad chase after him, but despite the fact that Big Mac was a fast stallion, no matter how fast he galloped, he couldn't outrun the male Beartaur who kept chasing after him and also kept gaining on him, and so Brutus got nearer, and nearer, and even more nearer, catching up with him, and suddenly he caught Big Mac by the tail and dragged him back towards him, and so that's when Brutus held Big Mac upside down, before he then spinned the stallion until his head faced upwards again so that he can look at him in the eyes, and upon seeing Brutus' scarred face and sharp, bear-like teeth, Big Mac swallowed nervously as he looked up at the evil male Beartaur before him, but just then, however, Brutus slowly raised up his upper right humanoid arm and clawed hand, and then, without any hesitation, he brought his arm and hand down and punched him square in the face, thus knocking Big Mac out cold and unconscious, before Brutus then dropped him back to the ground and then he started looking around and everywhere in Sweet Apple Acres and he searched for a big, long and strong rope which could help him tie up and restrain Big Mac before he wakes up and recovers from the punch which was delivered to his face, and after searching everywhere, Brutus finally found a big, long and strong rope, one which indeed could help him tie up and restrain Big Mac so that he can use the stallion as a live bait so that everypony and every creature, including Sitka and Anastasia will come all the way to the meadow to rescue him.

A few minutes later, Big Mac was tied up and restrained by the rope which Brutus found and used to capture him, and for addition to this, Big Mac was also being brought back to Margaret, who thanked Brutus for him being able to capture and restrain the stallion so that he can be used as a live bait for everypony and every creature, who in turn will come to the meadow to rescue him from the two wicked, middle-aged Beartaurs, and so with Big Mac is now both restrained and is used as a live bait, Margaret smiled evilly at Brutus and then she said to him "You did a good job, Brutus! Now all we have to do now is just to wait for everypony and for every creature, especially for Sitka and for Anastasia to come here to the meadow to rescue him!", and then she added "And once my son and his new friend are here with everyone else with them, we can finally fight them and show them and everyone else who really rules this world - evil, meat-eating Beartaurs like US!", and so with these words being said, both Margaret and Brutus started laughing evilly together, for they're both completely aware that their plan is going exactly as they planned.

Meanwhile, in the CMC's Treehouse (which is their Clubhouse), Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Randall are talking and discussing with each other about going outside and helping other ponies and non-ponies with their friendship problems or help others with their works, and during their talk with each other, Sweetie Belle said and suggested "Perhaps we can go help my big sister, Rarity, in making a beautiful fabric cloth which can fit in size for lions like Agatha to wear.", but then Scootaloo suggested "Or maybe we should go on a hot air balloon and go up to the skies to visit Cloudsdale and see how Rainbow Dash and Russell are doing together.", but then Randall suggested "Or Maybe we should go help Pinkie Pie foalsit Pound and Pumpkin in Sugarcube Corner.", but then Apple Bloom said to her three best friends "Well, I think we should all go to Sweet Apple Acres and help Granny Smith bake and make us some tasty apple treats to eat.", and then she asked "How does that sounds to you, guys?".

When Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Randall all heard what Apple Bloom said about going to Sweet Apple Acres and helping Granny Smith bake and make some tasty apple treats to eat, Randall couldn't resist the idea of going to bake and make tasty apple treats with Apple Bloom at Sweet Apple Acres, and so, without second thoughts, Randall said to Apple Bloom "I really like the idea of going to bake, make and eat tasty apple treats with you, Apple Bloom. I'm coming with you. I'm in!", and when she heard what the Earth pony colt said to her, Apple Bloom smiled at him for a moment, before she then turned to look at her two other friends and asked them "So, what do you say, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo? Do you wanna go to Sweet Apple Acres to bake, make and eat some tasty and delicious apple treats with Randall and I?".

When Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both heard what Apple Bloom said about going with her to Sweet Apple Acres to help Granny Smith bake and make some tasty and delicious apple treats to eat, and when they also heard that Randall is coming with Apple Bloom, the two friends nodded in agreement before Scootaloo said "Yes, of course we'll come with you two.", and then Sweetie Belle added "I bet it's going to be so much fun too!", and when she heard what the two of them just said, Apple Bloom said back "So what are we all waiting for? Let's go now!", and so with these words being said, the four foals left their treehouse and went together to Sweet Apple Acres to help Granny Smith bake and make some tasty and delicious apple treats to eat, but arriving at Sweet Apple Acres will be as far as they will get, because the four foals are all going into a trap - right into Brutus and Margaret's teeth and claws.

Meanwhile, Sitka and Anastasia were done with their training and now they're strong enough and ready to go and fight Margaret and Brutus, and so with their training for the fight are now complete, Sitka said to Anastasia "Let's do this, Anastasia!", and then Anastasia added and said back "Yeah, you're right, Sitka! Let's go show your mother and that friend of hers who they're both messing and dealing with!", and then Sitka said "We'll show my mother and her friend how strong young adults our own age can really be!", and then Anastasia added "Yeah! I will rather die fighting than accepting living as Margaret's personal servant and slave for the rest of my life!", and then Sitka said "We must go fight my mother and her friend! We need to do that! For ponykind's sake, for all other non-pony creatures' sakes, and also for all centaurid species' sakes!", and then he added and said "For everyone's sake, we're both going to fight my mother and her friend and make sure that they don't and won't mean harm, nor will kill or eat anyone anymore!", and when she heard what her new friend just said, Anastasia said in agreement "The time to fight your mother and that friend of hers has come! Let's go face her and show her and that friend of hers how smart and strong we really are!", and so with these words being said, Sitka and Anastasia started trotting, running and galloping together and also as fast as they both can, and so that's when they both started searching everywhere for both Margaret and Brutus.

Back with the CMC, they all kept walking together towards Sweet Apple Acres, and right now, they're almost there, but a little did they know is that they're walking right into Margaret and Brutus, who are already there, and for an addition to this, they also captured Big Mac and managed to have him tied up and unable to move so that he can be used both as a hostage and as a live bait for everypony and for every creature. Then, just a few short minutes later, the CMC finally arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, and they went up to the main farm house where Granny Smith is waiting for them inside so to ask her if they can help her make some tasty and delicious apple treats, but just before they got close enough to the porch and to the front door of the farm house, they suddenly heard someone screaming angrily, and it came right from the meadow which was leading towards the Everfree Forest.

However, despite they are startled by the sudden angry scream at first, the four foals soon shook their heads and snapped out of their startled states and then they decided to go to the meadow, check out and investigate and also to see what was going on, and so that's when Apple Bloom and her friends went to the meadow which leads towards the Everfree Forest to check, investigate and see what was going on. When they arrived in the meadow, they spotted and saw Big Mac, who had just woke up and recovered from the punch to his face sitting down in the meadow and also tied up and secured in ropes, but then they also turned to see and notice that there's also a big, burly, middle-aged Beartauress (Margaret) standing right in front of him and smiling down at him evilly as some saliva came out of her mouth, thus showing Apple Bloom and her friends that she (Margaret the Beartauress) will and also is going to eat him very soon, due to her patience starting to wear thin with each passing minute, and so it won't be long before Big Mac will become Margaret's lunch and will be eaten alive by the wicked Beartauress.

When Apple Bloom saw her big brother being tied up and held hostage by Margaret, she couldn't help but gasp in shock, and her friends also did the same, before the Earth pony filly then called and said to the middle-aged Beartauress "Hey, you!", and when she heard what Apple Bloom just said to her, Margaret immediately turned her head and looked over Big Mac to see Apple Bloom and her friends standing in a distance away from her, and she also saw that Apple Bloom is bearing an angry look and expression on her face and is also staring at her with rage boiling inside her head and mind.

However, just then, when Margaret saw the angry face of the Earth pony filly who stood in the distance and also in front of her, the wicked Beartauress asked evilly "Well, well, well. What do we have here?", but then Apple Bloom yelled at her and said "Let my big brother go, you big old varmint!", but when she heard what the Earth pony filly just said to her, Margaret just said back and asked "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. This is not how little children should talk to middle-aged adults like me, now is it?", but when they all heard what she just said to them, Sweetie Belle cried "You let Big Mac go this instant, you mangy old Beartauress!", and then Scootaloo added "Yeah, set him free or else you're messing with all of us!", but when she heard what the two of them just said, Margaret just chuckled evilly before she then said back "Do you four filthy little foals think I will set that stallion friend of yours free? You fools! I'm using him in order to get my son and his new friend to come all the way here to me so that I can exact my revenge on him for betraying me and for leaving me like he already did!", and then she laughed evilly at the four foals, who still looked angrily at her when they all heard what she just said to them.

Then, when the four foals heard what Margaret just said, Randall yelled at her "You let the big brother of our friend go, because if you don't, we're going to deal with you ourselves and make sure that you'll leave and go back to where you came from!", but when Margaret heard what the Earth pony colt just said to her, she said back evilly "I won't be doing that if I were you!", but when they heard what the wicked Beartauress just said to them, Apple Bloom asked her "Why are you saying that, you big old varmint?", and then Margaret pointed a humanoid finger and a big and sharp bear-like claw of hers above and behind the four foals and said back evilly "Look behind you, you filthy little foals!".

When the four foals heard what Margaret just said to them and then turned around, they all looked up to see Brutus standing and towering over them, and their anger was soon washed away and was then replaced with fear when they saw the almost 60 year-old male Beartaur looming over them and showing them his visible scars and also his burly appearance, complete with a scary and intimidating height of 10 feet (3 meters) at the top of his humanoid head, which means that he's even taller than Sitka or even Margaret, and for an addition to this, Brutus also appeared to be tall enough to look at an adult elephant in the eyes, but the terror soon kicked in when he evilly smiled down at the CMC, showing them his sharp, bear-like teeth at the same time with some saliva coming out of his mouth, thus scaring the four foals almost to death.

However, just as Brutus was about to attack and capture the four frightened foals and have them for lunch, a male voice suddenly called and yelled "Stop right there! Leave these four foals alone!", and when he heard what the voice just said, Brutus slowly turned around to see Sitka and Anastasia trotting, running and galloping towards him, before they both stopped and then stood right in front of him and also started showing up their anger to him at the same time, and when Brutus saw the younger male Beartaur and the young adult centauress looking angrily at him, he smiled at them evilly and so did Margaret, who was happy to see her son and his new best friend again so that she and Brutus can finally fight them and have the two as their personal servants and slaves.

Then, with Sitka and Anastasia are just in the right place where Margaret wanted them both to be, she called and said evilly "Well, how delightful it is to see you and your new friend again, Sitka, now isn't it?", but when they both heard what she said, Sitka yelled angrily at her "Leave these foals alone and also let that stallion go!", but then Margaret said back "Never, Sitka! Never!", and when they both heard what she said, Anastasia angrily charged towards her, but then, however, she is suddenly grabbed and was forcefully lifted up and thrown back down by Brutus, who then said to her "You shouldn't mess up with us, young lady! We're dangerous!", but when she heard what he said, Anastasia immediately stood up again and then she turned tail and bucked Brutus hard in the upper human stomach, but that actually hurt him only a little, and then he laughed evilly at her and said "Hahaha! For a young lady, you're such a loser!", but then Sitka yelled at him "How dare you?!", and then he ran up to the older male Beartaur, stood upright on his hinder bear legs and yelled at him in anger "Take that!", and then he slashed Brutus on the upper human back with the bear-like claws on his upper, humanoid hands, thus dealing him more damage than Anastasia did and causing him to roar in pain.

Then, Sitka turned to look down at the CMC and then he said to them "Go, young fellas! Go and tell everyone else that we're fighting my mother and her friend!", but then Apple Bloom asked him "But what about my big brother (Big Mac)?", and when they heard what she just said, Anastasia said back to her "It's okay! Don't worry about him! Once we're done with Margaret and with her friend, we'll set your brother free!", and when the four foals heard what Sitka and Anastasia both said about that they will fight Margaret and Brutus first and then will set Big Mac free, Apple Bloom said to her friends "Let's go tell Applejack and her friends!", and then Sweetie Belle added "I hope they will be able to help Sitka and Anastasia deal with Margaret and her friend in time!", and then Scootaloo said "Let's just hope we'll be able to get back here in time before something bad really happens!", but then Randall added and reassured his three friends "Don't worry, girls! It's going to be okay! I just hope that Anastasia and Sitka will win in the fight and will be able to set Big Mac free before we'll come back with everypony and every creature! If Anastasia and Sitka will win in the fight, Big Mac is going to be okay! But now, we need to go and tell everypony and every creature about what's happening in Sweet Apple Acres so that they can all come all the way here and help Sitka and Anastasia fight Margaret and her friend and set Big Mac free!", and so with these words being said, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Randall turned tail and started trotting and galloping away and so they all went out of Sweet Apple Acres as fast as they could, and the four went together towards Ponyville in order to ask everyone else to come with them to help Sitka and Anastasia fight and deal with both Margaret and Brutus and also to help rescuing Big Mac and setting him free.

Then, once the CMC were gone from sight, Margaret charged towards Sitka and she was about to attack him, only to be stopped by Anastasia, who jumped in between them and put herself right between the evil and abusive mother and her good 20 year-old son, and when Margaret saw Anastasia standing in front of her and blocking her path, the middle-aged Beartauress roared and swiped her hand at the centauress, who quickly dodged the move and then she went up towards Margaret and she punched her square in the upper human chest, causing her to let out a scream of pain, and then Anastasia turned tail and bucked Margaret in the upper human stomach, doing her more damage than she did to Brutus.

However, when he saw what Anastasia just did to his friend, Brutus angrily charged at her and tried to attack her, only for Sitka to grab him and pull him back by his hinder bear legs, thus causing him (Brutus) to turn his attention and look back at the younger male Beartaur, who held onto his hinder bear legs and didn't let go, and upon seeing Sitka grabbing tightly onto his hinder bear legs, Brutus yelled at him "Let me go!", but then Sitka said back to him "I don't think so, Mister!", and then he added "Now take that!" as he then kicked his own left bear foreleg right at Brutus' crotch, causing him to roar in both anger and in pain, and just then, Sitka let him go so to let the older male Beartaur to turn around and face him, and once Brutus turned around and faced Sitka, the two male Beartaurs looked at each other angrily, ready to fight each other more.

As for Margaret and Anastasia, they too looked at each other angrily and then Margaret readied herself to strike Anastasia, but the centauress quickly dodged her move and then she galloped in circles around her in order to make the villainous Beartauress dizzy, but since Margaret knew exactly what Anastasia was trying to do, she decided to go and run in circles after her in order to catch up with her and deliver a big blow to take her down, and during their speed move, Margaret went up to Anastasia's right side and once she was close enough to her, the Beartauress jumped onto her and knocked her off her hooves, causing her to roll over and then lay down on her side.

Then, Margaret went up to Anastasia and then she started attacking and wounding her by punching, slapping and slashing at her upper and lower backs with her humanoid hands and bear claws, causing the centauress to scream in pain as she desperately tried her best to defend herself, but since Margaret was a strong Beartauress (regardless of her age), it was no use for Anastasia, and so it wasn't long before she was then rolled upside down onto her back, and then Margaret managed to pin her down and trap her underneath her larger and heavier body with each of her lower bear legs, thus preventing Anastasia from fighting back against her, and then she looked down and smiled evilly at the now helpless centauress, who is now unable to fight back, and so with Anastasia unable to either fight or get away from her, Margaret said to her evilly "Time for you to say goodbye, young centauress!", and so that's when she lowered her lower humanoid body down towards her and then she brought her left humanoid arm and clawed hand down towards Anastasia, ready to deliver the blow right to her head and face and knock her out cold.

However, just as Margaret was about to beat Anastasia and knock her out cold, the evil Beartauress suddenly felt something slashing her on the the upper human back, and so when she turned around, Margaret saw Sitka standing behind her and looking angrily at her, and just then, without any hesitation, Sitka jumped onto his own mother and threw her off Anastasia, thus giving her the chance to slowly recover and stand up on her hooves again, but then, however, Anastasia came face-to-face with Brutus, who came up to her and showed her both a hungry and wicked smile full of sharp teeth and saliva coming out of his mouth, but just as he was about to attack her, Anastasia galloped and went all the way around him and then she came up from behind him and then she jumped up and landed right on his back, and so that's when she started attacking him by punching and slapping him on both sides of the face with her bare hands and at some point, she even started pulling hard on his bear-like ears when he started shaking, moving and running wildly all around like a raging Spanish black bull, but no matter how hard the middle-aged male Beartaur tried, he was unable to throw Anastasia off his own back.

As for Margaret and Sitka, they fought each other and got locked up in a battle of mother versus son, and during the fight between the middle-aged Beartauress and her 20 year-old son, Margaret said "Now this is an opportunity I've waited my whole life for!", and when Sitka heard she said, the younger male Beartaur said back "I've been waiting for this moment to come too, and I'm not a helpless little cub ANYMORE!", and so with these words being said, the mother and young adult son started fighting each other like two male animals from the same species who fight each other for the same territory, but despite Sitka dealt damage to his evil mother's body, Margaret soon went around him and then she repeatedly slashed at his upper human back with her claws, before she then jumped up and tackled him down to the ground and rolled him upside down and onto his back and pinned him down under each of her bear legs in the same way she did with Anastasia.

With Sitka pinned down under her body, Margaret lowered her upper body down towards him and then she also lowered her head to look at him in the eyes, and once she got close to his face she asked him out loud with fury can be heard in her tone "ARE YOU STILL MOMMY'S LITTLE BOY, SITKA?!", but upon hearing her saying these words again, Sitka yelled back at her "I said it once before, and I will say it out loud again! I'm NOT mommy's little boy ANYMORE!", but when she heard what her young adult son just said to her, Margaret angrily kicked him hard in the crotch with her left hind bear leg, causing Sitka to roar in pain before she then said back to him in an infuriated tone "THAT YOUNG CENTAURESS (Anastasia), DOES SHE EVEN KNOWS, THAT YOU'RE MOMMY'S LITTLE BOY?!", but just then, shortly after the wicked middle-aged Beartauress said these words, Brutus suddenly came up charging towards them while still shaking angrily because Anastasia is still riding and holding onto his back so not to fall off him, but once they were close enough to Margaret and Sitka, Brutus wildly started rolled himself on the ground with Anastasia still on top of him until they both hit Margaret and Sitka, thus accidentally causing and making Margaret to lose her balance, slip and fall off Sitka and hit the ground hard with the right side of her head, thus accidentally knocking her out cold and unconscious and also taking her out of the battle.

However, despite Margaret being knocked out cold was an advantage for Sitka and Anastasia, it soon turned out to be a disadvantage when the two tried to move and stand up on their hooves and feet again, to no avail. When Brutus noticed Sitka and Anastasia trying to stand up in vain, the almost 60 year-old male Beartaur saw this as an advantage and then he jumped onto the two and pulled them towards himself and started choking them by their necks with each of his humanoid arms, and Sitka and Anastasia vainly tried to fight back and/or get away from him, and when Big Mac (who was still tied up in the ropes) watched and witnessed what Brutus was doing to the two young adults, the Earth pony stallion called and yelled at him "Stop doing this to them, ya big old rotten varmint!", but his calls turned out to be in vain as Brutus just ignored him and kept choking both Sitka and Anastasia until they both dropped unconscious, and so that's when the middle-aged male Beartaur let go of the two and let them fall and hit the ground on their backs, thus winning in the fight against them.

Then, Brutus grabbed both Anastasia and Sitka by their hinder horse and bear legs and then he started dragging them away and was about to take them away with him, and when he saw that Brutus was about to leave with Sitka and Anastasia dragged along with him, Big Mac angrily yelled at him "Ya won't get away with this!", but then Brutus turned to look at him for a moment and then he chuckled evilly at him and said back "Oh, but I already have!", and then he turned away from the still tied up Earth pony stallion and resumed dragging Sitka and Anastasia along with him (Brutus himself), and just then, shortly afterwards, Margaret slowly opened her eyes and then she slowly started to move, and after no more than two minutes, she was fully recovered, she was up on her feet again and she was also ready to leave with Brutus, and when she saw that he already have managed to take out both her son and his best friend, Margaret smiled evilly and then she said to Brutus "Good job you did, Brutus! Now let's go back to the jungle and take these two as our personal servants and permanent slaves!", and so with these words being said, Brutus and Margaret were about to leave with Sitka and Anastasia being dragged along with them.

However, just as it seems that Margaret and Brutus have won, something strange suddenly happened - when the two middle-aged Beartaurs were about to leave and take Sitka and Anastasia along with them, they both suddenly themselves being frozen in place and unable to move even an inch, and so when Margaret and Brutus barely managed to turn their heads and look to the left side, they saw everypony and every creature standing there and looking at them angrily, and King Edward, Queen Camilla and Vanessa were also standing among them, with the centaur king and queen using their magic together to surround the two Beartaurs with their magic aura and stop them from taking Anastasia and Sitka along with them.

Then, Tah and Igor turned to look at each other for a moment and then they nodded in agreement, and soon afterwards, the two good Rhinotaurs charged towards the two evil Beartaurs and once they're close enough, they both wrapped their arms around the two Beartaurs' bodies and held them up in their arms like if they're cradling a pair of giant babies, and then, just a short moment later, Tah and Igor tossed both Margaret and Brutus and threw them up into the air, and then Charity, who was being held up by Stephan (who held and carried her in his arms) lit up her own horn and used her own powerful magic (which she's capable of) to launch the two wicked Beartaurs away from the meadow of Sweet Apple Acres and all the way towards the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest, thus getting rid of both Brutus and Margaret (for now, of course).

With Brutus and Margaret are gone for now, King Edward, Queen Camilla, Vanessa and Bluebell went to check on Anastasia, whereas Igor and Tah went to check on Sitka, who are both still unconscious and not moving at all, and at the same time, Applejack went to untie Big Mac from the ropes and set him free, but even though Anastasia and Sitka are both in a much more dangerous condition than Big Mac was, when King Edward lowered his head down and put his own animal ear on Anastasia's upper human chest, he could both hear and feel that her heart is still beating, which means that she's still alive, and Igor, who also lowered his own head down and then put his own, rhino-like ear on Sitka's upper human chest also heard and felt the Beartaur's heart beating, which means that he too is still alive, and upon hearing and feeling their hearts beating, King Edward and Igor immediately raised their heads back up and then they told and informed everyone else that Anastasia and Sitka are both still alive, but then, however, they all also knew that the next thing they must do now is to take them both to the hospital so that they can both heal from the injuries which they got and received during their fight with Brutus and Margaret, and so that's when King Edward and Queen Camilla both used their magic again, and together they managed to gently lift up and levitate the still unconscious Anastasia and Sitka and then place them down in both Tah and Igor's arms, who in turn cradled and carried the two young adults with them, and so with Anastasia and Sitka are cradled and carried in Tah and Igor's arms, that's when everyone took them to Ponyville Hospital so that the wounded mother centauress and the good Beartaur could both heal and recover from their injuries after the fight the two just had with Brutus and Margaret.


	151. Chapter 150:Filimon's birth

A full month have passed since Sitka and Anastasia's fight against Brutus and Margaret at Sweet Apple Acres, and right now, they're almost fully healed and almost ready to leave Ponyville Hospital, but that's not all. Anyway, right now it's already 68 months (6 years and 8 months) since Chloe first arrived in Equestria, as well as it's also 56 months (5 years and 8 months) since Aylene became her sister, and today, the two are so excited, and all their friends and allies are all expecting to make, prepare and throw a special party for Chloe since something very good and special is going to happen to her - she's finally turning 14 years old and she's also ready and willing (along with Aylene) to celebrate her fourteenth birthday, which will come in only three days, and that was enough time for everypony and for every creature to work together and make and prepare the special birthday party they're all going to throw for Chloe to celebrate her fourteenth birthday, and at the same time during these three days, Sitka and Anastasia will be leaving the hospital and joining and helping everyone else in the preparations for Chloe's fourteenth birthday.

Meanwhile, around the same time and in the Everfree Forest, the Everfree Forest's united herds are all doing just fine all together ever since Queen Tukta's oldest grandson, Shufai have reformed himself and became a good elephant, and ever since his redemption, Shufai started making good friends with all the other animals who joined and came to live with the herds, both big and small, and thanks to Flower the meerkat (one of Shufai's smallest best friends which he eventually befriended and bonded with), he became the good elephant he was really meant to be, but despite we already know of his redemption (which some of us might've forgotten due to some of the following events, such as Howard and Ron's defeats, as well as Charity and Faith's births and Russell's redemption), there's one thing that Shufai himself and even his younger, juvenile sister Kyra still don't know is coming very soon - the upcoming birth of the newest member of the Indian elephants herd, and the calf will be born to Shufai and Kyra's mother, and that in turn will make the mature adolescent and young juvenile elephant siblings a big brother and a big sister for the newest, future member of the Indian elephants herd of the Everfree Forest.

However, that's not all - in the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest, Black Heart have found and received a new animal which in turn replaces Russell (who have since reformed and joined the good side). Black Heart's new animal companion and the newest addition to the villains' animal team is a lone adult male melanistic spotted hyena whose fur is completely black (which in turn would make his dark spots invisible against his fur, similar to Tony Black's own black fur which makes his own dark stripes invisible against it the same way, and also - due to his melanism). The pure black spotted hyena's name was Chunga, and since it was already said that he was a lone hyena with no clan, this means that he's not part of Queen Thandi's spotted hyenas clan (which we already know of because Chloe, Aylene and Stephan have already visited their territory and have already met them before, alongside King Upali and his Atlas bears family, which share the same territory and also live in peace with the hyenas).

However, despite the fact that he's a lone hyena, Chunga was actually very social and he quickly formed a loyalty bond with Black Heart, thus replacing and throwing out the severed bond which she have had with Russell (before he reformed and chose Rainbow Dash as his best pony friend), and when he was brought to the villains' house to meet with all the other villains, he was accepted as the newest addition to their animals team, and Tony Black was quick to both befriend and bond with him because they're both mammalian carnivores who share the same extremely rare mutation that almost no other tiger or hyena anywhere in Equestria has or already have, and that made them inseparable, regardless their separate species, but then we all know what that also means - there's a new villainous animal who is willing and eager to help the villains conquer Equestria, one who is a melanistic mammalian carnivore just like Tony Black himself is (and is also best friends and partners with him), and so with Tony Black and Chunga being both melanistic mammalian carnivores as well as new friends and partners, that's going to be a big problem to fight them, especially if they're going to attack at night (due to their same skin and fur colors and their shared melanism).

The following day, Yigal, Gilad, Ezra, Black Heart and their animals attacked the Everfree Forest's united herds, but unfortunately for the villains, they were both chased and were driven off by the herds' six strong and fearless leaders (Queen Tukta, Angalifu, Mekong, Sariah, King Mebaya and Queen Zhenya), and so with the attack (which was during the day) coming out a complete failure, Tony Black and Chunga talked to each other and they decided to go outside and attack together during the night, because both mammalian carnivores are purely black due to their shared melanism, and so therefore they will be able to attack and frighten all the small and young animals and cause them all to cry and panic without having all the large and adult animals noticing them doing so.

Later that night, Tony Black and Chunga went outside and then the two went together all the way to attack the Everfree Forest herds at night (like they planned), and this time, no one could see them coming and/or attacking properly due to the both of them being purely black, melanistic and invisible against the dark, which gives both Tony Black and Chunga their advantage to attack other animals at nighttime, and also, regardless their differences in species, the two mammalian carnivores are now friends and partners indeed and it appears that nothing is going to stop them from attacking the Everfree Forest's united herds, and like it's already said - since they're both purely black, melanistic animals, no one could see them coming and/or attacking properly in the dark, which gives Tony Black and Chunga the advantage they both need in order for their attack at night to come out a complete success.

Meanwhile, around the same time, Shufai and Kyra's mother was fully awake during the night and because she was fully aware that she's already 22 months pregnant (elephants' gestation period lasts 22 months), she went away from the united herds to a safe place where she can give birth to her calf privately and without any problems or interruptions, but a little did she know is that she's about to come face-to-face with two unwanted visitors who are on their way to attack the herds - none other than Tony Black and Chunga themselves. Later, in about 2 A.M., Shufai and Kyra's mother finally delivered a healthy baby bull (male) calf whom she names 'Filimon', and in no more or fewer than 20 minutes, 'Filimon' was already able to stand up on his feet and take his first steps.

However, despite the calf was already born, a little did the mother elephant know is that she and her calf are now being stalked by Tony Black and Chunga, who were attracted to them by the scent and smell of fresh blood from the afterbirth, and upon spotting both the mother and her calf, the two melanistic mammalian carnivores decided to change their plan from attacking the united herds to attacking the mother elephant and her calf instead, and so now Tony Black and Chunga want to steal, kidnap, and then kill and eat the newborn calf, because in the animal kingdom, the younger the animal is - the tastier its meat and flesh would be, and so it's very likely that a newborn elephant calf's meat tastes much better than the adult elephant's meat (to predatory animals, of course).

Just then, Tony Black and Chunga both approached closer stealthily and kept stalking Filimon (the newborn elephant calf) and his mother, and so with them being close enough to the two elephants, the two villainous and melanistic mammalian carnivores waited for an opportunity to charge and attack the newborn calf, and they knew exactly when to strike - when Filimon and his mother both turn tails and start walking away from where they are now and go back to where the united herds are located (and can be found) all together. Then, shortly afterwards, Filimon and his mother both turned tails and then they started walking away together and so they went back to the main area where the united herds are to be found, and the mother elephant (Shufai and Kyra's mother) was also planning to introduce her surprise calf (Filimon himself) when morning arrives and when all the animals in the united herds will be fully awake, not yet aware that she and her newborn son are being stalked from behind by Tony Black and Chunga, who eyed Filimon and licked their lips and jaws both hungrily and evilly upon choosing and targeting him as their prey, and the two also prepared themselves to follow and then strike and get exactly what they both want.

And then, it happened - Tony Black charged towards Filimon and he was about to attack him, but when he heard the tiger approaching him and then he turned around and saw his glowing eyes (predators' eyes usually or always glow in the night and/or in the dark) coming towards him, Filimon started crying in distress, and when his mother heard his cries and then she turned around as well and saw Tony Black's glowing eyes coming towards them, she soon realized what the black tiger is trying to do and so she started charging towards him, now completely aware of his presence due to his glowing eyes, and when Tony Black saw the mother elephant angrily charging towards him, he jumped up into the air and tried to strike her right on the left side of her face, but she managed to protect and defend both herself and her newborn baby son by slapping Tony Black hard across the face with her trunk, thus sending him flying away into the distance, before he then fell down and landed inside a big bush and got hit on the head with the largest and thickest branches inside it, thus getting defeated (but not killed).

However, shortly after she took out Tony Black, the mother elephant suddenly heard her newborn son screaming and trumpeting for help, and so when she turned around, she saw Filimon being attacked by Chunga, who said to the newborn calf "Tasty, tasty beautiful baby elephant!", and then the black hyena opened his mouth and jaws wide, thus showing up his sharp teeth and fangs, but before he was about to deliver the blow, the mother elephant yelled at him "Oh no, you don't!", and then she charged towards Chunga and she swung her big and powerful trunk and launched him away from her son Filimon, who is luckily unharmed and sustained no injuries from the attack, and as for Chunga, he flew to the distance from the powerful swipe he just received from the mother elephant's trunk, and so he ended up hitting with his back and also with the back of his neck and head against a big tree, and that was enough to knock him out cold as he then fell off from the tree to the ground and laid down unconscious, defeated, but luckily, not dead or killed.

Then, with Tony Black and Chunga taken out and defeated (but not dead or killed), Filimon went up to his mother and he is rewarded with a big motherly hug from her long and muscular trunk, and after a few long moments of comfort and reassurance, the mother elephant broke her hug with her newborn son, and so that's when the two started walking together back to the main area and part of the Everfree Forest - the main area and part of the Everfree Forest where all the other animals (the united herds) are living together in peace and with each other, and also, we can say that with Filimon's birth, that means that another new good baby animal is born into the world of Equestria.


	152. Chapter 151:Filimon separated

When morning arrived, it was the day before Chloe will turn 14 years old and will celebrate her fourteenth birthday, and right now, everypony and every creature are resuming and still working hard on the preparations for Chloe's fourteen birthday, and they all even got and received some more help from both Anastasia and Sitka, who are now fully healed and are already allowed to leave the hospital and go help everyone else with the preparations for Chloe's upcoming birthday party, but we all know that that's not all.

Back in the Everfree Forest, Queen Tukta, Shufai, Kyra, all the Indian elephants and all the other animals (who are all parts of the united herds) are all being introduced to Filimon, the newest addition to the Indian elephants herd and also the newest newborn animal to become and be part of the united herds, and Filimon's mother (who is also Shufai and Kyra's mother) explained to her two older children and to her mother (Queen Tukta) that she kept him (Filimon) a secret and a surprise the whole time so that she can give birth to her surprise calf during the night and then bring him to meet the united herds and have him introduced to his family and also to all of their neighbors who live alongside them in the morning, but then she also added and mentioned that she had to defend him and protect him shortly after his birth from Tony Black and Chunga, who tried to use their own melanism in order to sneak behind them in the dark and then get Filimon for themselves so that they can eat him.

However, luckily for Filimon, he managed to survive the night and see the first morning of his life, and not to mention that Tony Black and Chunga were knocked out cold and unconscious by the calf's protective mother, but even though they were knocked out cold last night, they both managed to recover from the attack at sunrise, and then they both went back to inform Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart about their unsuccessful attempt in trying to steal and eat Filimon (shortly after he was born during the night). When Yigal, his brothers and their evil Pegasus friend all heard what their melanistic tiger and hyena said to them (including the part where they mentioned Filimon and also that he's just a newborn baby elephant calf), the four evil owners (who are more masters than owners) sent Tony Black, Chunga, Saut and Karoosh together to track down the united herds in order to scare them and cause them all to panic first, and then force them all to run away so that they can go after them and separate Filimon from his mother, from his family and from all of his friends and neighbors, and then capture and destroy the newborn Indian elephant calf, and this time - for good and for sure.

As for all the animals of the united herds, they all made good friends and allies with Filimon, but there are three tiny baby animals who really liked him the most - Maisie the bushbaby (Galago), Riley the fennec fox and Cheeky the jerboa, who are now already official members and are also part of the united herd, and not to mention, the smallest ones. Also, ever since Shufai has reformed and learned to accept all kinds of small animals as his friends, his heart and his mind changed and that made him a good elephant, but that also made him the complete opposite of the two worst elephants who all they like to do is to hurt, abuse, kill and destroy babies, juveniles, adolescents and even mature adults from all kinds and species (or any animals or creatures who are good, including Indian elephants) - Terrence and Topsy, the last two African bush elephants living in Equestria, who are also the last living individuals both from and of each gender (one is male and the other is female), thus meaning that if both of these evil elephants are to be sentenced to death, African bush elephants will be extinct in Equestria.

However, Terrence and Topsy won't appear again right now, but they will still appear later on, and if they appear again, we know that they will be up to no good (just like always), and if they meet Filimon, neither African bush elephants will hesitate to end his life in an instant, for they will never befriend, nor will accept an Indian elephant in their presence, and also because Queen Tukta, Shufai and Kyra, as well as the whole Indian elephants herd are among Terrence and Topsy's worst enemies, but since the Indian elephants herd is united with the other animal herds, that would make Terrence, Topsy and all of their non-elephant, shape-shifting animal friends and allies (including Lysander) outnumbered, and if all the good rulers of Equestria will help the united herds deal with the animal villains by taking and draining their magical abilities, Lysander and his animals team will all be wiped out for good and for sure.

Anyway, those who are going to appear right now and frighten the herds are Tony Black, Chunga, Saut and Karoosh, who have just arrived at the area where the united herds live all together, and so the four animal villains carefully started looking around and so that's when they all started searching for the united herds, for they know that Filimon lives among the herds (due to him being the youngest and newest member of the Indian elephants herd), and it didn't took long for the two hybrid rhinos, the black hyena and the black tiger to find the united herds, and when they turned their heads and looked to the left of the united herds, they could see Filimon playing around, and they could also see his mother standing not too far away and watching him playing around, but he's not playing alone - Maisie, Riley and Cheeky are also with him and they're playing around and with him too, and upon seeing the four baby animals playing together, Chunga glared at them hungrily from the distance and saliva started dripping out from his mouth, for he wanted to eat Filimon as the main course, but now he also wanted to eat Maisie, Riley and Cheeky as snacks (because of their small sizes compared to Filimon's much larger size).

However, just then Tony Black snapped his new hyena friend out of his state so that he can focus on the plan and do exactly as they planned, and so that's when the two melanistic mammalian carnivores started making loud roaring and 'laughing' noises, which soon caught the attention of all the animals of the united herds, and upon hearing that there are carnivores around, the leaders of the herds yelled all together in unison "WE ALL GOTTA RUN AWAY AND GET OUT OF HERE! THERE ARE PREDATORS AROUND HERE LURKING NEARBY IN THIS AREA!", and when they all heard what their respective leaders just said about that there are predators lurking around, all the animals started panicking and then they soon started running away from the area in which they all are, and with their respective leaders to guide them all, all the animals followed them in order to escape the predators which they all thought are many, not knowing that Tony Black and Chunga are just tricking and fooling them all into believing and thinking that there are actually many more predators in the area besides just the two of them.

Then, with the plan going exactly as they planned, Tony Black, Chunga, Saut and Karoosh all started following the now stampeding herds, for they all saw and knew that now it's their chance to catch up with Filimon, separate him from the rest of the Indian elephants herd (as well as from the other herds), and then kill him and succeed in their mission, and so with the herds stampeding on and away from the area, the four animal villains gave a hot pursuit after them, hoping to catch up with Filimon and destroy him. As for the united herds, they all kept stampeding on and away from the area, and during their running away, Filimon tried his best to follow and keep up with his mother, and Maisie, Riley and Cheeky are also seen running together and along with him as they all struggled to keep up with his family, with their friends, and also with all of their neighbors.

Then, the totally unexpected happened - Filimon accidentally misplaced a foot on some mud and so that's when he lost his balance and fell flat on his belly and underside, and soon afterwards, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky too accidentally misplaced their feet and paws and fell flat on their bellies and on the same mud, and upon falling on the mud, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all quickly called for the herds "Hey! We fell on some mud here! Please, come back! Somebody, help us!", but because of the loud sounds of their running away and stampeding for their lives, none of the animals seemed to hear their calls, nor they even noticed that the four youngsters are left behind, and so with their calls for help going unanswered (and also in vain), Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are soon being left behind by the herds to fend for themselves.

Shortly afterwards, the four baby animals started moving around as they all tried to stand up on their feet and get themselves and each other away from the mud on which they slipped and fell, and after no more than just five minutes, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all managed to stand up on their feet get away from the mud on which they slipped and fell, but by the time the four baby animals managed to get away from the mud and stand up on their feet again, the herds were already gone from sight, and so all what's left behind is just their footprints, and so with the herds being gone from sight, the four baby animals felt tears forming in their eyes, but the one who was so sad for the most was Filimon, for this is the first time he was separated from his mother, as well as from the rest of his family, and since he's just a newborn baby elephant calf, he still depends on his mother and he also needs her milk in order to grow up and survive, but with his mother now gone from sight, Filimon wouldn't survive very long, and so that's when the newborn baby elephant calf started crying out loud and wailing for his mother to come back for him, but his loud and heartbreaking cries won't be answered by any of the herds at all, for it's all just in vain.

However, just then, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky soon started hearing something else that sounded very different from Filimon's loud and heartbreaking cries, and so when the three turned around and looked behind them, they heard some loud rustling sounds in the big nearby bushes which stood before them, and they also saw that something big is moving within the big bushes and right towards them, and so within less than a single minute, Tony Black and Chunga came out of the big bushes and went up towards Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, and when Filimon turned around and saw the black tiger and the black hyena coming towards him and his friends, the baby elephant calf was so terrified, for he soon recognized them by the scary, shining colors of their eyes, and when they noticed that he's afraid of the predators, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all went up to him and hugged him, and so that's when all four baby animals started shaking in fear and also looked at Tony Black and Chunga with tears in their eyes, which in turn made the two melanistic mammalian carnivores smile evilly at them, as they both slowly inched closer and closer towards them.

However, the true terror kicked in when Filimon suddenly felt something hard touching him on the back and rear end, and so when he turned around to see what or who is behind him, he was terrified to see Saut and Karoosh standing just a few inches away from him and from his friends, and although he didn't know who are the two male villainous rhinos who stood before him, he could still tell that they want to hurt him and his friends, and so he started wailing in terror from Saut and Karoosh's presence, as well as from Tony Black and Chunga's reappearance, and all four baby animals were frightened so much that it made the two male hybrid rhinos and their melanistic, carnivoran friends and partners smile evilly at them, thus showing how much they enjoy the baby animals' helplessness.

However, just before the four animal villains can end the lives of the four helpless baby animals, the last two jackals who work for Lysander and for his shape-shifting animals team suddenly came out of nowhere and started attacking Tony Black and Chunga, thus allowing and giving Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon their chance to escape, but as soon as they started running away, Saut and Karoosh started chasing after them so that the two male hybrid rhinos can finish what they and their predatory animal friends and partners have started, and after they gave a hot pursuit after them, Saut and Karoosh finally managed to trap the four baby animals against the edge of a cliff above a fast-streaming river which leads out of the Everfree Forest.

Upon being cornered by the two male hybrid rhinos, Filimon started crying out loud for his mother to come to rescue him, but he is soon being silenced by an angry yell from Saut, who tried to make the newborn baby elephant calf shut up, and then he said evilly while showing up an angry expression on his scarred face "Stop your stupid crying right now, you filthy baby elephant!", and then Karoosh added in agreement with his friend "Yeah! Shut up your mouth, little baby elephant, or we'll make you regret it! BY FORCE!", and then they both let out some scary and angered growls at the four baby animals so to make sure that they all fear and respect the two of them, and Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon couldn't help but shake in even more fear all together upon seeing the angry faces of the two adult male hybrid rhinos who have just cornered and trapped them against the edge of the cliff.

Then, Tony Black and Chunga came running towards their two rhinoceros friends and partners, but at the same time they were also still fighting against the two jackals, who have somehow managed to climb up on their backs and attack them from above as they took a ride on their backs towards Saut, Karoosh and the four baby animals (and also towards the edge of the cliff), and once they reached the edge of the cliff and met up with the other animals, Chunga launched and threw away the jackal which stood on top of his back, but soon afterwards, the jackal flew in the air and crashed and slammed right into Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, thus knocking them off their feet and paws and sending them falling off the edge of the cliff and towards the fast-streaming river below, and soon afterwards, the same thing happened to Filimon as Tony Black launched and threw away the other jackal (which stood on top of his own back), causing it to fly in the air and crash and slam right into Filimon, knocking him off his feet and sending him falling off the edge of the cliff and towards the fast-streaming river below, and soon afterwards, Tony Black, Chunga, Saut and Karoosh all looked down and watched as the four baby animals and the two jackals all ended up falling and landing in the water, making some big splashes in the process, and then getting swept away all together by the strong current of the fast-streaming river, until all six of them disappeared from the four villainous animals' eyes and eyesights.

Upon Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon's disappearance from the villainous animals' eyes and eyesights, Saut quickly turned to look at Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh and then he said to them "Follow down the river stream, and make sure they're all dead!", and then he turned tail and started running away and he went back to the Everfree Forest and also all the way back to the villains' house, leaving the three other animal villains behind to start following down and along the river stream in order to make sure that Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are all dead (in case the four of them will actually survive), and after looking in the direction where the four of them (and the two jackals, too) all got swept away by the current for about two minutes, Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh all knew that they don't really have any other choice but to follow down along the river stream, look out for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, and then make sure to kill them if they have survived, and so that's when the three animal villains started following down and along the river stream and also started searching for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, hoping to destroy them in case they will find out that the four baby animals are all alive and well (if they all have managed to survive).

Meanwhile, back with the united herds, they all finally stopped both their running away and also the stampeding for their lives, and as soon as they all stopped dead in their tracks, all the animals in the united herds started calming down, believing that now everything is going to be okay, but just then, however, Kyra asked her family and her friends "Wait a minute, where's Maisie, Riley and Cheeky?", and then she added as she looked around but didn't see them anywhere "I don't see them anywhere.", and when they all heard what she said, the other animal youngsters and Shufai all gasped in shock, but then the true terror kicked in when they all suddenly heard and then saw Shufai and Kyra's mother asking with a look of both shock and worry on her face and eyes "Wait a second, everyone, where's Filimon?!", and upon hearing what she just said, all the Indian elephants in Queen Tukta's herd gasped in shock, and even the other animals who aren't elephants at all couldn't help but gasp in both shock and horror to realize that Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are all gone and are no longer present among and/or with the united herds.

However, just as Shufai and Kyra's shocked, worried and upset mother was about to cry out loud and bellow loudly for her missing baby, the good luck came to help and assist just in the right time as Lin Raju suddenly came out of nowhere and went up towards the united herds, who all recognized him and greeted him upon his return, and then Queen Tukta asked him if he can help searching and looking out for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon (who got separated from the united herds during the stampede), and when he heard what the elephant queen and matriarch said to him about searching and looking for the four missing baby animals, Lin Raju accepted helping the united herds, for he is slowly losing his touch and severing his bonds with his owner Ezra as well as with the other villains and their animals, and so that's when the Mammophant said to Queen Tukta and to all the other leaders (and also to all the other animals) "You can all count on me, everyone! I will help finding the missing youngsters and I promise that I will bring them back to all of you in no time!", and so with these words being said, Lin Raju turned tail and then he started running away at full speed and as fast as he could and he started searching everywhere for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, hoping to find them and bring them back to the united herds before nighttime comes.

A few hours have passed and it's now nighttime, but Lin Raju still haven't yet found the four missing baby animals, but he kept searching everywhere, hoping he'll be able to find them soon, and as for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, they all have managed to survive after they were swept away by the river's strong current, and now they're back on dry land and on the river bank, but now they're also outside the Everfree Forest and are far away from both the united herds and from home, which means that they will have to face the dangers of the outside world of Equestria - outside the Everfree Forest. As for the two jackals who got swept away along with the youngsters, one of them have managed to survive and get back on dry land as well, but the other jackal drowned and died at the bottom of the river, thus leaving the only surviving jackal to start following the four baby animals' scents and try to track them down, and so that's when it (the one and only surviving jackal) started following Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon by their scents, hoping to track them down and then eat them all before Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh reach and get them first, and also before Lin Raju finds them and takes them back home to the Everfree Forest to reunite them with the still worried, united herds.


	153. Chapter 152:Filimon in the royal castle

Now, it's still nighttime, and far outside the Everfree Forest, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are all searching everywhere for their way back to their home in the forest (and also for the way back home to the united herds), but so far by now, their attempts to find the Everfree Forest turned out to be in vain, but after no more or less than five minutes of vainly searching for their way back to the Everfree Forest (and to the united herds), the four baby animals suddenly spotted a town standing not too far away from them and also in the close distance to which they can all reach before it turns midnight (because right now it's already past 11 P.M.), and knowing that they will have to take the risk in order to reach safety, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon immediately ran as fast as they all could towards the nearby town in order to escape Tony Black, Chunga, Karoosh and the last jackal who works for Lysander and for his own animals team, but then it would also mean that as a result, they also got away from Lin Raju, who is still looking for them and is trying to find them and bring them back home to the Everfree Forest and to the united herds (and also back to where and to which they all belong).

However, little did the four baby animal friends know is that the nearby town to which they all just reached and entered was none other than Ponyville, which means that for the first time in their lives, they entered one of the Equestrian towns of ponykind's society, but then they still didn't know what everypony and perhaps even every creature alike who lives in Ponyville could and would do with them upon waking up, spotting and seeing the four baby animal friends in Ponyville, but we still know that there's a big chance that Twilight and her friends (who all live in or anywhere near Ponyville) will accept Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon and will let them all stay, until Lin Raju comes to pick up the four and take them back with him to the Everfree Forest and to reunite them with the still worried, united herds.

As they started wandering around and through the streets of Ponyville and also looked from side to side at all the houses and buildings on both their left and right, Cheeky said to his friends "I wonder who lives here in this town.", and then Maisie added "If I may say, this town looks really nice.", and then Riley nodded his head and said in agreement "Yeah, I've never been in a town before, and it makes me curious to know who lives here.", and then Filimon let out a small trumpeting sound with his head and trunk and the three other baby animals understood that he was trying to say something to them about Ponyville, and so Cheeky turned to the newborn baby Indian elephant calf and asked him "What are you saying?", and then he added "You're saying that you wanna know who lives here in this town?", and when he heard what the little jerboa just said to him, Filimon let out another small trumpeting sound and then nodded his head in agreement in order to tell Cheeky and the other two baby animals that he's trying to say yes, since he's still unable to talk or even say any words properly, due to him (Filimon himself) being just a newborn.

However, it soon turned out that Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are not the only animals who reached Ponyville - the same lone jackal who survived being swept away by the strong river current have also reached Ponyville and it is now searching everywhere for the four baby animals, and since it's following their scents, it won't be long before it'll be able to find them and start chasing and hunting them down, but when the jackal started getting closer to find them, Filimon suddenly sniffed and smelled the air and he was able to get the jackal's awful scent into his trunk and he also heard it's quiet footsteps approaching, and knowing that the jackal is close and nearby made the newborn baby Indian elephant calf start running away in fear, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky saw him running away and then turned around to see the jackal coming towards them, they gasped with fright and then they too started running away and rejoined with Filimon, and so that's when the four baby animal friends started running away together through the streets of Ponyville with the jackal quickly following behind them and trying the best it can to catch up with them and hunt them down.

Then, as Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all kept running away, they looked both up and forward and saw a huge castle standing in the horizon with many more houses and buildings around it, and we all know what place or better yet to say what city it is - it's Canterlot, and the huge castle which can be seen in the horizon along with the city is the royal castle, and when the four baby animals saw Canterlot and the royal castle in the horizon, they immediately left Ponyville and started running towards Canterlot as fast as they could, and because the jackal is still chasing after them, they knew they have to keep running away for their lives, and they also hoped that they will lose the jackal on the way to Canterlot.

However, the jackal kept chasing after the four baby animal friends, but that is until it accidentally tripped over a rock and fell and hit with its own head against the ground, thus getting knocked out cold and unconscious, but even when the jackal got knocked out cold after hitting with its head against the ground, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all kept running away as fast as they all could for their lives, hoping to find both refuge and protection from the jackal, Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh, who are all willing and eager to hunt them (Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon) down and kill them all, and after running as fast as they could for a while in order to both escape and avoid their enemies, the four baby animal friends slowed down their running pace into a walking pace as they all slowly started growing weak and tired as the night slowly passed, and later, by about 3 A.M., this is when Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all finally lost all of their energy to walk, and so that's when they all finally collapsed and fell unconscious all together while they are all still in midway to Canterlot.

However, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are not going to be the easy targets of their enemies for long, and about no longer than six minutes after the four baby animal friends collapsed and dropped unconscious on their way and also in midway to Canterlot, a shadow suddenly appeared flying in the night sky, but once the shadow flew up in front of the moon and showed itself up against the moonlight, the shadow cleared and its colors are soon revealed, and it soon turned out to be none other than Princess Luna, the princess of the night herself, and she was seen flying up and soaring through the night skies, but when she looked down and spotted and saw the four baby animals lying down unconscious on the ground below, she suddenly became curious and decided to descend down from the sky to investigate and see the four new baby animals from a closer look, and so like a vulture, she started flying both above and around the four unconscious baby animal friends in circles while also slowly descending down from the sky towards them, and so it wasn't long before she landed on the ground and came to a stop as she then stood right in front of them.

When she saw the four baby animal friends lying down unconscious from a much closer look, Luna soon recognized Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, for she and Celestia have already met them before, but she didn't know Filimon, who wasn't yet born at the events which followed after Agatha's redemption, and so that's when she took a good look at him and saw his size compared to the other three baby animals, which was much bigger than all of them together, but still appeared to be much smaller than either a normal pony or even a human, likely about the same size as a large dog, but still though, judging by both of Filimon's size and appearance, Luna could easily tell that she's looking at a baby Indian elephant calf, but she knew that he's not an independent calf - he was just a newborn who is probably only about a day old, which means that he's depending on his mother's guidance as well as he supposedly feeds on her milk in order to survive, yet Luna could see that the baby Indian elephant calf's mother is nowhere to be found anywhere around, and nor is the rest of his herd, and when she realized that the calf (Filimon) is all alone by himself with only Maisie, Riley and Cheeky with him to keep him company, Luna was worried and concerned for them all and at the same time, she also wondered how did the four baby animals ended up lying down unconscious in midway to Canterlot in the first place.

Then, as she looked down at Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, Luna asked herself "I wonder what these four little baby animals are doing out here all alone? And where is this little baby Indian elephant calf's mother? Why isn't he with the rest of his herd?", and after looking down at the four baby animal friends who still lied down unconscious in front of her for no more or less than ten minutes, Luna said to herself "I should probably take these cute little ones to Canterlot so that they can stay there until tomorrow, then I'll send some of the royal guards to go searching for the little baby Indian elephant calf's mother and also for the rest of his herd.", and so with these words being said, Luna lit up her horn and surrounded Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon in her magic aura and just then, with the blink of an eye, she teleported both herself and the four baby animal friends to Canterlot, where they can all stay for the time being, and then Luna will inform Celestia about the four new baby animals first thing in tomorrow's morning before she'll send some of the royal guards to go find Filimon's mother and the rest of his herd.

Hours later, Celestia's sun rose calmly against the crystal clear blue canvas of the morning sky as it radiated a shower of both warmth and light over Equestria, and the rays of sunlight glistened through the royal castle's windows, and through one certain and specific window - upon a large bed on which Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all lied down unconscious, but when the rays of sunlight from Celestia's sun glistened through the window upon their bodies, that's when the four baby animal friends finally started to recover, and just then, the four of them started to stir and slowly opened their eyes, but at first, their visions were all blurry for a few moments, but soon afterwards, after no more or less than just three minutes, the four baby animal friends' visions finally became clear, but once their visions were all clear and they were all able to see properly, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all soon turned and moved their heads in different directions as they all started looking around them, only to see that now they're no longer lying down outside on the road.

Instead of seeing Canterlot and/or the royal castle in front of their eyes, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all looked around them and saw that inside a big room, and when they looked down at their own bodies and feet, they noticed that they're no longer lying down on the cold and hard, stone and brick road on which they collapsed on their way to Canterlot, but instead they're lying down on a very big, soft and warm bed, which made the four baby animal friends even more confused than they were just a few moments ago, and just then, shortly after they became confused about what just happened to them while they were lying unconscious, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all suddenly heard the sound of footsteps going down the hallway which was outside their room, and they also heard that the sound of footsteps started getting both louder and closer with each passing second as someone who walked down the hallway approached towards the door which leads to their room, and upon hearing the sound of footsteps coming towards their room, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all started growing nervous, whereas Filimon grew terrified, as he thought that the sound of footsteps likely belongs to Karoosh or even to Saut, and he absolutely didn't wanted to meet neither of these two cruel and heartless rhinos again.

However, luckily for the four baby animal friends, when the sound of footsteps stopped and then the door which led into their room slowly opened up right before their eyes, they all saw none other than Luna herself appearing before them as she opened the door wide with her magic, for she lit up her horn and surrounded the door which led into their room with her magic aura, and once she finished opening the door wide, Luna stepped into the room to say hello and introduce herself to the four baby animal friends, and when she stopped right before them, Luna said in a calm and friendly tone so not to scare any of the four new animals whom she rescued "Good morning, little ones. No need to fear me. I'm Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's younger sister and the princess of the night. It's a pleasure to meet you four.", but then Riley said back to her, for he and his friends (except for Filimon) already know her "We already know you and your sister, Luna. My friends and I we've already seen you two before in the Kirin village, when you both sent the big bad meanie female African bush elephant (Topsy) who killed our mothers to Tartarus.".

Then, after Riley finished talking to Luna, Maisie asked her "Excuse me that I'm asking you such a question as this, but...how did we got here in the first place?", and then Cheeky added in agreement and said "Yeah, the last thing I can remember is that we four collapsed and dropped unconscious outside and on the road.", and when she heard what they said, Luna said back and explained "I believe I have the answer you little ones are looking for.", and then she added and explained to the four baby animal friends, I was soaring through the night sky after midnight and I looked down and discovered four baby animals lying down unconscious on the road and in midway to Canterlot, and these four baby animals were all of you, and I decided to take you all with me to the royal castle in Canterlot, because I didn't have the heart to leave such poor little animals as you four lying down unconscious and outside on the road all by yourselves, so I used my magic to teleport you four and take you along with me to the royal castle in Canterlot so that you can have your rest for the remainder of the night and then wake up and recover here in the morning.".

When the four baby animal friends what the princess of the night just said to them, Maisie said "Oh, so that's how we got here to this room in the first place. This fixes everything.", and then Riley added "And that's exactly what this place is called - the royal castle, and the city which surrounds it is Canterlot.", and when she heard what the baby fennec fox just said, Luna said "You're right, little one." and then she asked "Can you please tell me your names?", and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky heard what she said, they introduced themselves before they also introduced Filimon, but then they also explained that he and they got separated from the Everfree Forest's united herds and are all being hunted by two male rhinos (Saut and Karoosh), a black hyena (Chunga) and a black tiger (Tony Black), but upon hearing from the baby animals that one of the animals who attacked them before they arrived in the royal castle and in Canterlot was a black tiger, Luna explained to them about who is the black tiger who attacked them before, told them about his name and even told and explained to them that he's Yigal's pure black and melanistic tiger who is just as evil as his human owner, and upon hearing that Tony Black have an evil human owner who is just like him, the four baby animals gasped with fright to know that he was actually being sent by the same evil human owner to hunt them down and kill them all.

However, just then, Luna calmed down the four baby animal friends and she reassured that she, her sister, their subjects and all their friends won't ever let Tony Black or the three other animals (Chunga, Saut and Karoosh) to get them and/or destroy them under their evil owners' orders, and then she said to the four that she will take them with her to see Celestia and Shujaa and perhaps will introduce them to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan as well in order to show the four baby animal friends that they're all safe and sound within ponykind, good centaurids and many other creatures' society, and she also told them that after she will them go outside to explore Canterlot, she will send the royal guards to the Everfree Forest to find and bring Filimon's mother and the rest of the Indian elephants herd (and perhaps even all the other herds) to Canterlot to reunite them all with Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon.

A few minutes later, Luna took Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon out of their room and started leading them as she showed them everything around and inside the royal castle, and along the way, they will meet Celestia, Shujaa, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan during their tour in and all around the royal castle, and after walking down the halls and following behind Luna, they all finally stopped in the royal castle's dining hall, and just then, they saw none other than Celestia coming into the dining hall from the opposite direction and right in front of them, and when they saw her beautiful appearance again, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all looked at her with happy smiles, for they were so glad to see her before their eyes again, but the same cannot be said for Filimon, who just stepped aback in fear and trembled when he saw the even bigger and taller Alicorn mare standing in front of him and his friends, thinking she's going to hurt him if she sees him.

However, when Luna turned around and noticed that Filimon is afraid of Celestia, she went up to him and placed a forehoof on his cheek and said "It's okay, Filimon. There's no reason for you to be afraid of my sister.", and then she added "Celestia is really nice and she won't even dream of hurting such a young and precious little elephant as you.", and when he heard what she said, Filimon stopped his trembling but still kept his distance away from Celestia, who then said good morning to Luna before she suddenly walked up to her and then looked down to notice Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon standing right next to her, and upon seeing the little galago, fennec fox and jerboa, she soon recognized them and then she said to them "Well, hello again, little ones. Long time no see.", and then Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all said hello to her before introducing themselves so to let Celestia know their names.

Then, shortly after Maisie, Riley and Cheeky introduced themselves to Celestia and told her their names, she turned to see Filimon standing a few yards away from her, with Luna standing right next to him. Growing curious upon seeing the new baby animal, Celestia decided to walk up to meet the baby Indian elephant calf from a closer look, for she haven't yet seen or met him before, and once she was close enough, she stopped right in front of Filimon and then she said and asked "Hello there, little one. What's your name?", but since Filimon was just a day old, he was unable to speak to the Alicorn mare who stood right in front of him, but luckily for him, however, Luna introduced him to her and said "This is Filimon, and he's a new friend of Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, and yet despite he's much bigger than all three of them together, he's actually much younger than them.".

When she heard what Luna just said about Filimon being younger than the other three baby animals, Celestia asked her "Really? Then how old is he?", and then Luna said back and answered "I assume that he's just a newborn, because judging by his appearance, his small size and the lack of tusks on his face, he must've been born at least two nights ago, which means he's likely only about a day old or so.", but when she heard what Luna just said about Filimon being just a day old baby elephant calf, Celestia gasped in shock and then she asked "Then what is he doing here in the castle? And where's his mother?", and then Luna said and explained to her what happened to Filimon and to his friends before she (Luna herself) found them and brought them with her to the royal castle.

Once Luna was done explaining what happened to Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon the day before, Celestia couldn't help but shed tears upon realizing that Filimon was separated away from his family and herd by Tony Black, Chunga, Saut and Karoosh, who tried to kill him and his friends under their respective human and Pegasus owners, but she's not the only one who was sad - Filimon heard what Luna said about what happened to him and to his friends the day before they were brought to the royal castle, and he too had tears forming and then rolling down his eyes, because since he is now far away from his mother and from home, all the poor little baby Indian elephant can do is cry.

When the other baby animals and Luna turned their heads to look at Filimon and saw his tears, they couldn't help but feel sorry for him, for they all knew that now he's missing his mother and his herd, just like a little colt or a baby human boy who misses his family, and when Celestia opened her eyes and saw Filimon's tears as well, she went up and reached very close to him and then she wrapped her forelegs and wings around his body, which was no bigger than a large dog's, and then she said to him "I'm so sorry to hear that Tony Black separated you from your mommy.", but just then, a male voice suddenly asked "What's going on here?", and when Celestia, Luna and the baby animals all heard what the new voice just said, they all turned to see Shujaa standing at the entrance which leads to the dining hall, the one through Celestia came just a few minutes ago.

When they all saw the adult male albino orangutan standing at the entrance which leads to the dining room, Celestia slowly pulled away from Filimon and broke her hug with him so to turn around and face Shujaa, who is now looking confused at her and at everyone else who are already present in the dining hall, and so that's when Celestia said as she turned to face him "Oh, Shujaa! I didn't know you're here at the entrance of the dining hall!", and when he heard what she said, Shujaa said back to her and explained "Well, I was just walking down the halls and minding my own business as a royal guard, but just then, I suddenly heard somebody crying, and so I followed the sounds of crying and I decided to go investigate, and so I came here to the dining hall and I found you and Luna here, and now I see that you're the one who's crying.", and then he asked "Is there's something wrong?", but just then, when he looked down and saw Maisie, Riley and Cheeky standing right next to Luna, as well as he saw Filimon slowly coming out from behind Celestia, Shujaa asked "Who are they?" and then he added "Where did these four little guys came from?".

When Celestia heard what Shujaa just said, she immediately wiped her tears away from her own eyes and then she went up to Shujaa and told him to come and meet the four baby animal friends, and when Shujaa came with Celestia into the dining hall and saw Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon from a closer look, that's when Luna introduced each and every one of the four baby animal friends to the albino orangutan, but after they were introduced to him, Shujaa asked Celestia and Luna how did the four baby animal friends arrived in the royal castle, for he haven't seen them coming towards Canterlot and/or the royal castle during the night, and upon hearing Shujaa's question, Celestia and Luna's faces turned saddened once again, and just then, the two explained to him about what happened to Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon before they arrived in the royal castle.

After the explanation about Filimon and the three other baby animals being separated from his mother, from his family and from all the other animal herds (the united herds) was retold, Shujaa was so sad and he too was in tears on the outside, but then he was also in pure rage and anger on the inside, for he couldn't believe that his former best friend, who is now his worst enemy (Tony Black) would do such a horrible thing as separating a newborn baby animal from its mother and from the rest of its family, and when he heard the part of the explanation where it was told that Tony Black tried to kill and eat Filimon and his friends, the already reformed albino orangutan's blood started boiling in fury and madness, and it traveled all the way up from the core of his heart to the top of his head and it made it all the way up and right into Shujaa's brain, which eventually led to his face forming into an angry scowl as he started bearing his teeth at the mention of Tony Black's name.

Then, Shujaa angrily said to himself inside his own mind " _How dare he! How dare that monster of a tiger do such a horrible thing to this poor little newborn baby elephant and to his little friends! Now I really want to go find him and destroy him for being such a ferocious beast towards these poor little guys! And when I'll find him trying to hurt this poor little baby elephant and his little friends again, I'll kill him and will bring his whole body back here to the royal castle and I will ask Celestia and Luna to make his skin and fur a trophy and turn it into a tiger skin rug which will be lying down and will be displayed on the floor of the throne room! That will show Yigal, Gilad, Ezra and Black Heart what happens to those who try to take away the lives of innocent babies and newborns!_ ", and after his mind was done talking and speaking inside him, Shujaa tried to take a deep breath and calm himself down a little bit so not to scare the four baby animal friends, but Celestia and Luna both knew how angry he was at Tony Black, and they couldn't blame him for his anger towards the villainous black tiger, for they already knew for all these years that Tony Black was always a ferocious beast and a heartless brute who is also a dangerous predator who will do everything for his evil human owner who raised him from babyhood.

However, just then, the four baby animal friends saw and noticed a little bit of Shujaa's anger, and so Cheeky stepped forward and asked him "What's wrong? Why are you angry?", and when Shujaa heard what the little baby jerboa just said to him, the albino orangutan said back "It's okay, little one. I'm not angry at you or at any of your friends, I promise.", but when he heard what he said, Cheeky asked "Then why did you just scowled like that? Who are you angry at?", and when Shujaa heard what he said, he knew he would have to tell him the truth, and so that's when the albino orangutan took another deep breath to ease his own anger a little bit more so not to scare Cheeky or any of his friends and then he said and explained "Well, the truth is...is that I'm really angry at who tried to kill you little guys before you all arrived here at the royal castle.".

When he heard what Shujaa just said, Cheeky simply asked and said "What?", and then Shujaa added and explained "You see, I know Tony Black very well, and much like his owner, Yigal, that pure black Bengal tiger indeed have shown all of Equestria his cruel heart. But that's not all though, because besides of Tony Black being such a cruel and heartless tiger, there's something else that you little guys still need to know about me and my friends - we too were once villains who followed and obeyed our respective owners who raised each of us from such a young age, but so far by now, Kenai, Agatha, Russell and I we have all chose to leave the villains' side and join the good side instead, and our wise decisions gave the four of us much better lives than we've ever had before our four respective redemptions.", and then he continued and explained "I was the first villainous animal who have reformed and became good, and after my redemption, Kenai was the second animal who have reformed, and after his redemption, Agatha was the third animal who have reformed, and she's also the only reformed female animal so far, and after her redemption, Russell was the fourth animal who have reformed, and his redemption was the most recent to date out of all four.", and when Cheeky and his friends all heard what Shujaa just said about himself, Kenai, Agatha and Russell all being reformed animal villains who already joined the good side, they all knew and understood through that information that the four adult animals were once friends with Tony Black but are now his enemies, and even Filimon couldn't help himself but stare at Shujaa and look at him in awe to know that he's now looking right at the first out of all four villainous animals who have already reformed so far.

Then, with the explanation being said and told, Riley also stepped forward and stopped right next to Cheeky and then he said and asked Shujaa "So, from what you just told us about yourself and about three of your friends, we can understand and see that you four were once friends with Tony Black, but in the end you all reformed and became his enemies, right?", and then the Albino orangutan said back to him "That's right! After we reformed and joined the good side, we four cut all of our bonds with Tony Black and with all the other villains who are still on his side, including our respective and now also former evil owners! Mine and Kenai's was Gilad, Agatha's was Yigal, the same evil owner of Tony Black, and Russell's was Black Heart, respectively!", and then he also added and concluded "There is also Ezra, who is the owner of Saut and Lin Raju, but for some reason, we came to realize that there's a sudden change in Lin Raju's behavior which causes him to leave the villains behind him and join the united herds, and now he's likely more good than bad!".

However, when Celestia and Luna heard Shujaa mentioning the united herds, Celestia asked him "Wait, Shujaa! Do you know the united herds?", and then Shujaa said back "Sure I know them. They all live in the Everfree Forest, and they make that place much less dangerous and more friendlier in the part of the forest in which they all live together, and among the animal herds, one of them consists of a big family of Indian elephants led by a matriarch known as Queen Tukta.", and then he added and asked "Why are you asking that?", and then Luna explained to him "I think that Filimon belongs to Queen Tukta's herd, and I also think that his friends may also be part of the united herds too.", and then she added and asked "Which makes me think...maybe you can help finding them and bringing them all, especially his mother here to Canterlot so that we can reunite Filimon and his little friends with them?".

When Shujaa heard what Luna just said about bringing Queen Tukta's herd to Canterlot in order to reunite Filimon and his friends with them, the albino orangutan said back "For the princesses and co-rulers of Equestria, I'm ready and willing to do just that! I also promise you that I will bring them all here to reunite Filimon and his little friends with them before sunset!", and when they heard what he said, Celestia said to him "Then you may leave right now and go to the Everfree Forest to find Queen Tukta's herd and bring them here to Canterlot before sunset, Shujaa.", and then she added "I'm pretty sure that out of all of them, Filimon's mother is worried about him for the most.", and when he heard what the princess of the sun just said, Shujaa said back to her "I will leave you, Luna and your little guests right now, but I promise that I will come back here to you with Queen Tukta and her whole Indian elephant herd before sunset. I promise you that you can always count on me.", and so with these words being said, Shujaa immediately left the dining hall and started running down the halls inside the royal castle, and once he found and reached the exit, he got out and soon left the royal castle and then he started making his way from Canterlot to the Everfree Forest in order to find Queen Tukta's herd and bring them all to Canterlot before sunset, leaving Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon in the royal castle with the princesses.

Then, after Shujaa left the royal castle, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon's stomachs all suddenly growled hungrily, and that told Celestia and Luna instantly that the four baby animal friends are now hungry and need to eat, and then Celestia went up to the four and asked them "Are you all hungry?", and when they all heard what she said, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all said yes while Filimon just nodded his head in agreement, and so that's when Celestia went to make Maisie, Riley and Cheeky some of her tasty and delicious morning pancakes she makes every morning for breakfast (and she also saves some, if not, a lot of these for Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to eat as well), and after no more or less than 20 minutes, Celestia came back to the four baby animal friends with eight beautiful piles of pancakes with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries surrounding each of the piles of pancakes on each plate and around the bases of each pile of pancakes, and pony-like faces with smiles on the top pancake of each of the piles, complete with whipped cream on top and above each of the pony-like faces for the manes, and two strawberries on top and above each of the faces pointing both up and to the sides and near the mane for the ears, and in order to make sure that nothing bad will happen to the breakfast meals, Celestia used her magic to hold and levitate them all at once before she then gently placed them all safely on the dining table.

Then, after Celestia prepared and made breakfast for not only herself, Luna, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, but also to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, she used her magic and made a big bottle full of warm milk appear out of thin air and then she levitated and moved it towards Filimon and said to him "And this milk is for you, Filimon.", and then she added "Go ahead, drink it. This milk is just for you.", but when Filimon saw the big bottle full of warm milk which was levitated and was brought forward to him, he hesitated at first, but when he saw a single drop of milk coming out of the rubber teat which was attached to the top of the big milk bottle and then dropping down to the floor, Filimon slowly approached and then he started inspecting the bottle in front of him, and after no more or less than a minute, he opened up his own mouth and then he closed it right on the milk bottle's rubber teat, and then he started pressing with the pressure of his mouth and lower lip and started releasing the milk from the bottle, through the rubber teat and into his mouth, and once he swallowed a bit of the warm milk, a happy expression formed on his face as he then started drinking, swallowing and gulping down all the rest of the milk that's still in the bottle, and once he drank all of his milk, he let go the hold and grip of his mouth of the bottle, turned to Celestia and Luna and trumpeted for them to give him more milk, for he was still hungry, and when Celestia and Luna clearly understood what he was trying to say, Celestia lit up her horn again and then she used her magic again to refill the bottle with more warm milk so that Filimon can continue drinking until he is satisfied.

Later, after drinking, swallowing and gulping down at least three bottles of warm milk (which means that Celestia had to use her magic to refill the bottle with more milk at least twice after he finished gulping down his milk from the bottle at the first time), Filimon accidentally let out a big loud burp, but that told Celestia and Luna instantly that he's now satisfied, yet the loud sound and noise of his burping made the two Alicorn princesses giggle and even laugh a little bit at how loud Filimon is able to burp despite the fact that he's still just a little newborn, yet we're still talking about a mammal that is not a newborn baby human being or a newborn pony foal, but about a newborn baby Indian elephant calf who is still just under the height of 3 feet (91 centimeters), which makes him small but he's still able to let out some loud sounds which would make even a whole pack of hungry wolves to run away from him with their tails between their legs.

Just then, shortly after Filimon finished drinking his milk and is now satisfied, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan walked into the dining hall to eat their breakfast, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all saw the inseparable teenage threesome coming into the dining hall to eat their breakfast, they looked at them in awe, for that's because Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are not only inseparable but are also from different species (Chloe is a human, Aylene is a Pegasus and Stephan is a centaur, and he's also the only male among the three), but when Filimon turned around and also noticed and saw the three new creatures who just came into the dining hall, he immediately cowered in fear, for he thought that Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are dangerous creatures who would try to hurt him or even kill him, like Tony Black, Chunga, Saut and Karoosh already tried to do to him and to his little friends before.

However, just then, Filimon suddenly felt a wing touching him on his back and it was Luna, and when the baby Indian elephant calf turned to look at her, she said to him "It's okay, Filimon. There's no need for you to be afraid. Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are really nice and friendly and they won't ever dream of hurting such a precious little baby as you. You can trust them, Filimon. You can trust all three of them.", and when he heard what she said, Filimon decided to take a step forward and tried to show himself up in front of the human, Pegasus and centaur, who in turn came to notice and see him standing in front of them and in the dining hall of the royal castle.

When the three noticed and saw the new baby Indian elephant calf standing in front of them, Chloe asked Celestia and Luna "Mother? Aunt Luna? Where did that little baby elephant came from?", and when they heard what she said, Luna explained "Well, I found this little one and his three tiny friends, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all lying down unconscious and in midway to Canterlot, and while I was flying in the skies during the night, I looked down and spotted them lying down unconscious and on the ground below, and so I flew down to see them from a closer look and then I inspected them, and I just couldn't leave them lying down on the ground and all alone like that, so I decided to use my magic to teleport all four of them and bring them here to the royal castle.", and after the explanation was being told, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all came up to Chloe, Aylene and Stephan to make themselves appear visible and noticeable to the eyes of the much larger creatures, and then they introduced themselves by their own and respective names to the inseparable, teenage threesome, who in turn came to look down and notice and see them too.

Then, shortly after Chloe, Aylene and Stephan met the four baby animal friends, Aylene asked Celestia and Luna "Mother, Aunt Luna, if it's not a rude question to ask, how old is that baby elephant here?", and then Celestia introduced Filimon and explained "His name is Filimon, and he's a new friend of Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, but despite he's much bigger than all three of them together in size, he's actually much younger than them.", and when they heard what she just said, Stephan asked her "Really? Then how young he is?", and then Celestia explained "Filimon is just about a day old or so.", but when they all heard what the princess of the sun just said about Filimon's age, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all gasped in shock before their eyes widened and their mouths and jaws dropped open, and that in turn made Filimon feel uncomfortable with the sudden change in the inseparable, teenage threesome's behavior.

Then, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan screamed and said out loud all together "A DAY OLD?!", not knowing that the loud tones of their voices managed to scare Filimon, who in turn started to shake and tremble in fear, but then Celestia stepped forward and said to them "Please, lower down your tones, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan.", and then Luna also stepped forward and added "You're scaring Filimon.", and when the three teenagers heard what the princesses just said and then looked at Filimon again, Chloe said "Oops, sorry." and then she stepped forward and went up to the newborn baby Indian elephant calf, but did so very slowly so not to scare him even more, and once she got close enough, Chloe lowered herself down and got down on one knee and also lowered her head to look at Filimon in the eyes, and then she gently started stroking at his back with her right hand and said "Shhh, it's okay, Filimon. We three didn't mean to scare you like that. Don't be afraid of us. We're just shocked and surprised to know that you're just a little newborn. My sister (Aylene), our best friend (Stephan) and I we've never seen a newborn baby elephant like you before, and I must say that it's our pleasure to meet you, Filimon. I also want you to know that you're welcome to stay here and attend to my fourteenth birthday, which will happen today before evening.".

When Filimon heard everything that Chloe just said to him, he looked up at her in the eyes and then he showed her some tears of not fear, but joy forming in them, and that told Chloe instantly that the newborn baby Indian elephant calf not only started to trust her when she tried to calm him down, but he also wanted to stay in Canterlot and attend to Chloe's fourteenth birthday before Shujaa will return with Queen Tukta's herd to reunite them with him (Filimon himself) and take him back home to the Everfree Forest, and so that's when Filimon tried to raise up his own trunk, though he had trouble controlling it at first, but after a few tries, he finally managed to touch Chloe's face and on the left cheek with the tip of his trunk, which in turn made her giggle a little bit before she then said back "I think I'll take it as a 'yes'.", and then she stopped stroking at his back and started wrapping her arms around his neck and started hugging him, which in turn made Filimon understand and realize that Chloe is a good and friendly human who can be trusted and that he can also befriend her.

Then, when Chloe and Filimon pulled away from each other and broke their hug, Aylene and Stephan stepped forward and then Aylene said "You're going to like attending to Chloe's birthday party.", and then Stephan added "And there's also going to be so much fun.", and when he heard what the two just said to him, Filimon decided to make things up in his own mind and so he chose to stay in Canterlot until after Chloe's birthday party, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky decided to stay in Canterlot and attend to Chloe's birthday party too, that's when things settled and four more guests are going to attend to and be part of Chloe's fourteenth birthday party.

With things being settled, Chloe turned to Celestia and asked her "Mother, can we go outside and meet our friends?" and then she added and explained "I want them to meet Filimon and his little friends too.", and when Celestia heard what her human daughter said to her, she said back "Of course you can, but first, you must eat your breakfast before you all go outside.", and when Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all heard what she said and then turned their heads to the dining table, looked at all the plates and saw all the piles of pancakes on them, happy smiles formed on the inseparable, teenage threesome's faces, and then Chloe turned to look back at Celestia and said to her "That's just what I wanted to eat today for breakfast! Thank you, Mother!", and then she, Aylene and Stephan all went up to the dining table and took three seats on the side of the table and sat right next to each other, and then they started eating the piles of pancakes on their plates and began enjoying their meals.

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky looked at Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and saw them eating their breakfast together, the three tiny baby animal friends decided to join and eat with them too by jumping onto three other (and empty) seats which were on the other side of the dining table, and then jumping up again in order to get onto the dining table and eat the other three piles of tasty pancakes which stood on each of the three other plates on the other side of the table, and when Maisie, Riley and Cheeky all reached the top of the dining table and started eating their own piles of pancakes on their own and respective plates, Celestia and Luna smiled at the sight of seeing all six eating their breakfast together and with each other, before the princesses too decided to join in and eat their own piles of pancakes which stood on their own and respective plates, which in turn stood on the front side of the dining table, and so that's when Celestia and Luna went up to the dining table, took their own seats right next to each other and started eating their own piles of pancakes on their own and respective plates, and so that's when all eight started enjoying eating their breakfast together and with each other, side by side, while Filimon just stood there away from the dining table and watched them all eating together and enjoying their meals.

Later, after they all finished eating their breakfast meals, Celestia and Luna finally allowed Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the baby animal friends to go outside and meet the others, and so that's when the seven said goodbye to the princesses and then left the dining room and then went down the halls until they finally found and reached the exit, and then they all got out and soon left the royal castle and went outside and started walking around in Canterlot together, and with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan leading the way, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all followed behind them and hoped that nothing bad will happen and they also hoped that everything will be okay.


	154. Chapter 153:introducing the baby animals

When Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon went outside the royal castle and followed behind Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, the four baby animal friends all gasped in shock and surprise and looked over from behind the teenage human girl, Pegasus mare and centaur in awe at how big and beautiful Canterlot is compared to Ponyville (which the four baby animals friends have already visited the night before), and when they saw all the ponies roaming, walking and trotting around the streets, Maisie said "Amazing! I've never seen so many ponies roaming all around here like this before!", and then Riley added "Yeah! And they all look so nice and they probably wouldn't mind if we stay here in their city until Shujaa comes back and returns with Queen Tukta and with the rest of her herd.".

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan heard what the two tiny animals just said, Stephan turns around and then he also lowered his head down to look back at Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon and then he said to them "Everything's going to be okay. Everypony here is really nice and they won't ever dream of doing you the same horrible things that Tony Black did, and when Twilight and her friends will come and visit here to celebrate Chloe's fourteenth birthday, you'll see just how nice they all are.", and then he added "Also, since you probably already know Shujaa, it will be my, Chloe and Aylene's honor and pleasure to introduce you to Kenai, Agatha and Russell, who live with Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, respectively, and they will also come here to Canterlot to visit us and celebrate Chloe's fourteenth birthday.".

However, when they heard what Stephan just said about Kenai, Agatha and Russell coming to visit in Canterlot alongside Twilight and her friends, Cheeky asked him "Excuse me if my question is going to sound rude or something, Stephan, but can you please tell us what kinds of animals these three friends of Shujaa are?", and then he added and explained "Well, it's because Filimon have already met Shujaa before and he already knows that he's an orangutan, but he haven't yet met Kenai, Agatha and Russell, and he's curious to know what animals they are and what they're really like.", and when Stephan heard what the tiny jerboa just said, he said back and explained "Well, Kenai is a panda bear and he lives with Fluttershy, Agatha is a lioness and she lives with Rarity, and Russell is a leopard and he lives with Rainbow Dash.", but when Filimon heard what the teenage male centaur just said about Agatha and Russell's respective animal species, and when he (Filimon himself) heard him (Stephan) mentioning the words 'lioness' and 'leopard', the newborn baby Indian elephant calf gasped with fright and then he stepped aback and started trembling in fear, and we all know that there's a good reason why Filimon would do just that.

Back on planet earth, in the African savannah and the Indian jungle environments, respectively, both lions and leopards are known to have hunted down, killed and eaten newborn baby elephants, and by their gender, the great majority of the baby elephants which were killed and eaten by these ferocious Big cats were males, which also explains the reason why there are more female elephants than males in the wild, and even in Equestria, there are more female elephants to be found than males, and it doesn't matter whether if they're babies, juveniles, teenagers, adolescents, mature adults, and even elderlies who are already past 60 years of age (in elephant years).

When Chloe, Aylene and Stephan all realized that Filimon is actually afraid of Agatha and Russell because of the two being a lioness and a leopard and also because of them being Big cats from the same two species which prey on baby elephants like him, Aylene went up to Filimon and then she started stroking at the side of his face and cheek with a forehoof and then she said "Shhh, it's okay, Filimon. There's nothing for you to be afraid of. Agatha may be a lioness, and Russell may be a leopard, but I can assure you that neither of them will ever dream of hurting or eating such a young and precious newborn baby elephant as you.", and when Filimon heard what the Pegasus just said to him, he looked at her in the eyes and calmed down his trembling, though he still wasn't sure if to trust her or not.

However, that's when Chloe also went up to him and placed her left hand on the top of his back and said to him "It's okay, Filimon. You can trust us and all of our friends. Even if some of them are carnivores like Agatha and Russell, none of them will never, ever dream of hurting or eating you like Tony Black nearly and almost did, and if he ever comes to get you and eat you or your little friends for lunch, he's going to pay for doing such horrible things to you and to your little friends. We will even make sure that the other animal villains such as Lysander and all of his evil friends doesn't get any of you either. You can trust us, Filimon. You can trust all of us.", and then, without hesitation, the good teenage human girl kissed Filimon on the forehead to make sure that he understands and fully trusts her, Aylene, Stephan and all of their friends.

When Filimon felt the kiss that Chloe just gave him on the forehead, he looked up at her and then a smile started forming on his face, and it showed Chloe and her friends that now Filimon fully trusts them, and just then, he moved up towards Chloe and started scratching himself against her left leg, and he probably did that because elephants like to scratch themselves against trees, and Filimon is no different than other elephants, and he chose to scratch himself against Chloe's left leg because he either thought that her leg is actually a tree, or probably because there were almost no big trees around where Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the baby animals are all standing, and a few minutes later, Filimon was done scratching himself against Chloe's leg, and so that's when he moved away from her and went back to stand right behind Maisie, Riley and Cheeky.

Then, Stephan said to the baby animals "Alright, now let's go see our friends! Chloe, Aylene and I we want to introduce you four to all of them!", and so when they heard what the teenage male centaur just said to them, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon looked at each other and nodded in agreement before they continued following the three inseparable teenagers as they went into the streets of Canterlot, and throughout their time with Chloe, Aylene and Stephan, the four baby animal friends got to meet and befriend almost all of the inseparable teenage threesome's friends and allies, from Zach, Simon, Aron and all the good individuals from their respective kinds who live close by, to Igor, Tah and Trog the Rhinotaurs, who have since became a family of three after Igor and Tah recently became mates, which in turn would make Trog, who is still just a youngster, Igor's new stepson.

Later, after Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon got to meet and befriend and were also introduced to almost all of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's friends and allies, the inseparable teenage threesome took the four baby animal friends to Andy and Zoey's house (which is also Bluebell's, but now Anastasia, Charity, Faith and even Sitka also live in there with them too), and so when they all arrived in front of the house, Stephan turned to look back at the four baby animals who followed behind him and the girls the whole time, and then he said to them "Now, little guys, I would want you all to meet my twin toddler siblings - Andy and Zoey.", but when they heard what he said, Cheeky asked "Are they nice?" and then Riley added "Would they want to be friends with us?", and when Stephan heard what they both said, he smiled kindly at them and said back and explained "Of course they're nice and friendly, and while I was lying down unconscious and in a coma, they managed to befriend Russell, who severed his bonds with the villains and in the end joined us and became good, but out of both of my little siblings who befriended him, Andy was the only one who really stayed with Russell and didn't left him to the very end of their adventurous journey, which ended with the defeat of a Unicorn centaur named Ron, who in turn tried to use Anastasia to hurt and chase Andy and Zoey away from home so that he can kill Zoey and take Andy to himself and raise him in order to make him evil and rule over the centaur kingdom as well as over all of Equestria, but after Anastasia realized her horrible mistake, she decided to go and find Andy and Zoey and tell them the truth - that she's pregnant with her and Ron's babies, and when she was forgiven, Russell encouraged her to show Ron that he is the one who is weak and that he has no right to use her against my little siblings, and in the end, Ron was defeated and was turned into stone for his crimes, and after his defeat, Anastasia gave birth to twin baby daughters whose names are Charity and Faith, and after they were born, Russell announced his own redemption to all of Equestria.".

When the four baby animal friends all heard everything Stephan just said, they're all shocked and surprised to know that Russell is actually friends with Andy and Zoey and that he actually befriended them without any intentions to eat them, despite the fact that he's a leopard, and after hearing what Stephan just said about Russell being loyal and friendly to others, Filimon started having second thoughts about Russell, and so that's when he became much less scared and terrified, and now, instead of being scared and terrified - he became more curious, because now he really wanted to meet, see and get to know Russell, and he even wanted to give himself a chance and try and befriend the already reformed leopard (when he shows up and arrives in Canterlot alongside Kenai, Agatha and the mane seven).

Then, with things being settled and with Filimon now much less afraid and more willing to meet the reformed carnivores who already joined the good side (especially Russell), Chloe, Aylene and Stephan turned away from the baby animals and looked at each other and nodded in agreement, and then Stephan knocked on the door with his hand and asked "Hello?", and then he also added "Hello? Is anybody home?", and just then, shortly after Stephan knocked on the door and called, the door suddenly opened up to reveal Bluebell, who then stepped outside and came up close to meet her boyfriend and the other two girls who stood right next to him and also with him, and once she came outside the house to meet the three, Bluebell said "Well, hello there, Stephan. It's nice to see you again. Also good to see you too, girls. It's so nice to see you two again as well.", and then she asked the three "Anyway, what brings you three here in such a good-looking day?", and when they heard what the teenage centauress just said, Aylene said back to her "Look behind us, Bluebell. We have brought here some new guests with us and we want you to meet them.", and when she heard what the Pegasus just said, Bluebell slowly went around the three other teenagers, and once she went around them and past them, she looked down and saw Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon standing behind Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's backs, and when the four baby animals turned to see and notice her, they all couldn't help but gasp in shock at first, but instead of feeling afraid of her, they all started staring at her in awe, and even Filimon couldn't help himself when he looked up and saw Bluebell's beautiful face looking down at him, and that easily told Bluebell that the newborn baby Indian elephant calf have never seen a centauress as beautiful as her before, and so that's when she smiled down at Filimon and gave him a light giggle.

Then, shortly after Filimon started bonding with Bluebell, the newborn baby Indian elephant calf started walking around the teenage centauress, and as he went around her, Filimon saw how beautiful and gorgeous she is when he saw the appearance and shape of her young body, and the white coat of fur on her lower horse body made her even more attractive, but once Filimon reached and got behind Bluebell's rear end, he stopped walking and then he turned and looked up and saw her tail, and so that's when he reached up with his small trunk and he tried to touch Bluebell's tail, probably because he wanted to play with it, and when Stephan noticed what Filimon is doing, he said "Bluebell, I think Filimon really likes your tail.", and then he added and explained "He's trying to touch your tail because he wants to play with it.", and when she heard what Stephan just said and then turned around with her head to see Filimon is trying to touch her tail with his trunk, she smiled and said to the newborn baby Indian elephant calf "Aww, you wanna play with my tail, cutie?", and then she added "Alright then, here you go." as she started lowering herself down and then she sat down on her lower horse haunches to let Filimon touch her tail, and when Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the other baby animals saw Filimon touching and playing with Bluebell's tail, they all d'awwwed at the sight before their eyes.

A few minutes later, when Filimon stopped touching and playing with Bluebell's tail, the teenage centauress stood up again and then she asked everyone "Do you all wanna come inside?", and then Chloe said back "Yes, of course!", and then Aylene added "I'm pretty sure that Anastasia and Sitka would like to meet the little ones.", and then Stephan said "Yeah, and so would Andy and Zoey.", and when she heard what they said, Bluebell said back to everyone "Alright then, let's go inside and meet my sister, my nieces, Andy and Zoey, and of course - Sitka.", and then she added "I'm sure they all will be more than happy to meet you." as she looked down at the four baby animal friends, and so with these words being said, everyone followed Bluebell and entered the house to meet Andy, Zoey, Charity, Faith, Anastasia and Sitka.

Once they all entered the house, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan are greeted and welcomed when Andy and Zoey came up to meet them, and upon seeing their big brother again, the toddler centaur twins trotted up to him and once they're close enough, they started hugging his lower horse forelegs, and when Stephan saw his younger twin siblings again, he smiled at them and said "Hello, Andy and Zoey. I came here with Chloe and Aylene to visit and see you.", and then he asked "How are you doing today, my little siblings?", and when they heard what their big brother said to them, Andy said first "We're doing fine, thank you for asking! Also, now that we're friends with Anastasia and with her new twin daughters and that they came to live here with us, we're now feeling even better than before!", and then Zoey added "Yeah, that's right! Having Anastasia and her daughters here and around is just what we needed for the most, and with Sitka around here as well, we feel even better than before they all came around and joined us!".

When he heard what Andy and Zoey just said to him about themselves enjoying their new life with Anastasia, Sitka, Charity and Faith, Stephan smiled at his little twin siblings and then he said "I'm glad to hear that you got used to live with Anastasia and her daughters, and I'm also glad to hear that Sitka is also living with you too and shows you that he's an odd Beartaur who doesn't mean harm to others, nor eats meat of other creatures. To put it simple and in other words - I'm glad to know that Sitka is your friend and is a good Beartaur just like Kayden and Tallulah, and also that he's the first adult Beartaur that is good and not bad, nor ferocious like almost all other Beartaurs who live all around this world.", but when they heard what the teenage male centaur just said when he mentioned Sitka and said about him being a Beartaur in their presence, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all started cowering in fear, thinking that Sitka is a ferocious predator, most likely because they (mostly Maisie, Riley and Cheeky out of all four) have already heard many stories about Beartaurs being ferocious, centaurid predators who will kill and will eat every creature they see and also everything that moves, and also because adult Beartaurs are considered far more dangerous when compared to baby cubs and young juveniles, and lastly - because adult male Beartaurs are much more dangerous than adult females (Beartauresses) and therefore are the most aggressive and ferocious of their kind, and upon hearing that Sitka is an adult male Beartaur, the baby animal friends were so terrified and they thought that he may decide to kill them and perhaps even eat them all for lunch.

When Chloe, Aylene and Bluebell noticed the great fear in the four baby animals' eyes, the three female teenagers lowered themselves and knelt down to their level and then Bluebell asked "What's wrong, little ones? Why are you so scared?", and when they heard what she just said, Cheeky asked her in a shaking tone "S-Stephan just said t-that Sitka is a B-Beartaur, right?", and when they heard what the little jerboa just said, Chloe said back "Sure, Sitka is indeed a Beartaur." and then she asked "What's wrong with that?", and when they heard what she said, Riley explained "W-we heard of m-many stories about B-Beartaurs, and in a-all of these s-stories, Beartaurs are m-mentioned as cruel, heartless and merciless p-predators.", and then he added and asked "A-and Stephan just said t-that Sitka is an adult male B-Beartaur, right?", and when they heard what the little fennec fox just said, Aylene said back "Of course he's an adult male, he's almost 21 years old." and then she asked "Is there's something wrong with that?", and so with that question being said, that's when Maisie cried "W-we heard that most B-Beartaurs who kill and eat o-other living creatures were adult m-males! W-what do you th-think Sitka would d-do to us if he s-sees us? W-will he decide to e-eat us for l-lunch?", and when they all heard what the baby galago (bushbaby) just said to them, Chloe, Aylene and Bluebell all gasped in shock as they quickly realized that the baby animals are all afraid of Sitka for two reasons - one is because he's an adult male Beartaur, and the other is because they're all afraid that he might decide to eat them all for lunch if he sees them or meets them for the first time.

However, just as things seemed to go terribly wrong, Stephan (who overheard the conversation) turned around and looked back at the four terrified baby animal friends, and then he went up to them and said "It's okay, little guys. Sitka is a good Beartaur. He may be a mature adult male, but he will never dream of eating the meat of other creatures like you four. Sitka mostly eats vegetation such as fruits, berries and even vegetables, and the only animals he truly eats and likes to eat for the most are fish. He won't ever let himself eat non-fish animals and other creatures such as mammals, birds and reptiles, and because he's not a meat-eater like most other Beartaurs, he's an odd Beartaur who is not like most of his kind.", and then the teenage male centaur lowered himself and knelt down to their level and added "You can truly trust Sitka and open your hearts for him, and he will repay you by showing you some love and accepting you as his friends, and he will never do any of you any harm like all those other Beartaurs you heard of in all of those stories about Beartaurs being ferocious predators. Give Sitka a try and a chance to prove you that he's nice, and in return you will earn and will gain his trust and will receive a very big, strong and powerful friend that you never had before.".

When they all heard everything he said, things seemed to go better as Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all slowly calmed down and stopped cowering in fear and then raised their heads up and looked up at Stephan in the eyes, and then Riley asked "A-are you sure t-that Sitka is friendly?", and when he heard what the little fennec fox just said, Stephan said back "Of course Sitka's friendly, he's also a good friend of my little siblings, Andy and Zoey. If you don't believe me, ask them and they will tell you everything they know about him.", and then he stood back up and moved out of the way to let Andy and Zoey come up close and meet the four baby animal friends, and when the toddler centaurs came up close and noticed them, Andy and Zoey started introducing themselves to Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon and also told about themselves and even explained about their relationships with Sitka, Anastasia, Charity, Faith, and even Russell and Feliks the leopards, explaining that Russell is an adult leopard, whereas Feliks is just a young cub who befriended and later joined them during their adventurous journey in search for a new home (and also revealing that much like Russell, Feliks is also a friendly leopard, but also telling that he is just around their own age).

When they heard everything that the toddler centaurs just said, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are shocked and surprised to know that Andy and Zoey are not only friends with Sitka and Russell, but also with Feliks, and also because they didn't know that there's a good and friendly leopard cub who is just around their own age (Feliks is likely about the same age as Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, though he's still a bit older than Filimon), and because they haven't yet met Feliks before, the four baby animal friends wanted to meet him when they get the chance to meet the mane seven, Kenai, Agatha and Russell.

Then, shortly after Andy and Zoey introduced themselves and explained about their bonds with Sitka, Anastasia, Charity, Faith, Russell and Feliks, a mature male voice suddenly asked "Who's there?" and then he added "Andy, Zoey, who are you talking to?", and when they heard what the voice just said, Andy and Zoey turned their heads in the direction the voice came from and then Andy called and said back first "Sitka, please come here, there's something we really wanna show you!" and then Zoey added "We have some new guests here with us and we want to introduce you to them!", and when he heard what they said, Sitka said back "New guests? Alright then, I'm coming!", and so with these words being said, the mature adult male Beartaur slowly came from another room inside the house and went to see the new guests, but when he arrived at the main room of the house, he was soon surprised to see Chloe, Aylene and Stephan already inside the house as well and Bluebell standing right next to them.

Then, shortly after Sitka came to see them, Chloe said to him "Hello, Sitka.", and then Aylene added "We came here to visit you and also to introduce our new guests who will be staying in Canterlot for the time being.", and when he heard what they said, Sitka asked "And who the new guests might be?", and when they heard his question, Stephan answered and said "Sitka, we want you to meet our four new guests - Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon.", and then he moved aside to let the Beartaur see the four baby animal friends, but upon being seen by the mature adult male Beartaur, they all cowered again in fear from his presence, and because Sitka is 9 feet (2.74 meters) tall at the top of his head while standing on all four bear legs, he appeared big and tall enough to look an adult Indian elephant in the eyes, or perhaps even tower over the Indian elephant's head and shoulder height, and that is usually enough to make most, if not, all baby animals and even baby humans feel scared and intimidated when they meet him for the first time.

When the others (Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Bluebell, Andy and Zoey) all noticed that the baby animals are still afraid of Sitka due to his intimidating appearance (which is due to his height at the top of his head), Bluebell knelt down to their level and said to them "Shhh, it's okay, little ones. Sitka won't ever dream of hurting you, I promise." and then she added "Just because he's 9 feet tall at the of his head, doesn't mean he's using his own height as an advantage to scare other creatures. Sitka is a gentle giant and he's really nice towards other creatures like Andy, Zoey, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan, Anastasia and me. He's also a good father figure for Charity and Faith, despite not being a regular centaur himself, but he still showed us that he have all the skills he needs in order for him to be a good father and perhaps someday, he may and will have his own babies to care for, and also, unlike most adult male Beartaurs his age and older, he will never hurt a baby cub or a young juvenile from his own species that is not related to him, and despite Kayden and Tallulah are still cubs and aren't related to him, they still see him as a good Beartaur and they treat him like if he's their big brother, the same way Andy and Zoey treat their big brother, Stephan, who used to care for them by himself until their mother's spirit told me to take care of Andy and Zoey for him while he goes to live with Chloe and Aylene.".

When they heard what the teenage centauress just said about Sitka being very similar to Stephan due to their good personalities being the same as each other's, the four baby animal friends looked back and forth between the teenage male centaur and the good mature adult male Beartaur and they all soon realized that despite the two are from different species, neither of them appeared hostile or dangerous towards them, the others or even each other, and a few minutes later, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon slowly started calming down again and at the same time, they also slowly started warming up to Sitka, slowly realizing that he's the same as good and as kind as Stephan (as well as friendly as all the others) and therefore is not a dangerous Beartaur, unlike most of his own kind, and for an addition to this, Sitka is obviously not even a meat-eater (carnivore), unlike his middle-aged mother (Margaret) and her best friend (Brutus).

Then, out of the four baby animal friends, Maisie stepped forward and said first as she looked up at Sitka (who obviously towered over her in height but could still see her as well) "Well, hi there, Sitka. It's nice to meet you and it's also nice to get to know you. I'm Maisie, and I'm officially known as one of the youngest animals who are part of the united herds of the Everfree Forest.", and when the mature adult male Beartaur heard what she just said, he slowly lowered himself down and laid down on the floor with his lower bear body to make himself appear and look less intimidating towards the baby Galago and her three friends, and then he said back and asked "Well, it's nice to meet you and your friends as well, Maisie. I'm Sitka, the oldest out of three good Beartaurs who live here and around. What brings you here to Canterlot anyway?", and when the baby animals heard what he said, Maisie explained "We came to stay here for the time being until Shujaa returns from the Everfree Forest with Queen Tukta and with her Indian elephant herd." and then she added "Our friend, Filimon is also an Indian elephant and he's also the youngest member of his own herd, as well as the youngest animal who is part of the united herds.".

When Sitka heard what Maisie just said to him about Filimon being both the youngest Indian elephant in Queen Tukta's herd, as well as the youngest of all the animals of the united herds, his eyes widened in shock and then he asked her "Really? Then how old is he?", and then Maisie explained "Well, Filimon is just a day old or so, even younger than Riley, Cheeky and me.", but when he heard what the baby galago just said to him about Filimon being just a day-old baby elephant calf, the adult male Beartaur's jaw dropped in shock, accidentally showing his sharp, bear-like teeth in front of the baby animals and scaring them in the process.

However, just as the baby animals are going to fear Sitka once again, Stephan told Sitka to close his mouth immediately because Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are now afraid, and also because they can also see his sharp teeth (because his mouth is wide open), and when he looked at the baby animals and saw them shaking in fear at the sight of his open mouth and sharp teeth, Sitka immediately raised up his jaw and closed his mouth before he then said "Oops, sorry. I just couldn't help myself.", but then Stephan said to him "It's okay, Sitka. They'll get used to you eventually.", and then he looked down at the baby animals and said to them "It's okay, little guys. Sitka's not scary or dangerous. He didn't mean to show you his teeth like that. He just couldn't help himself, that's all.", and when they all heard what the teenage male centaur just said to them, Cheeky turned around to look at him and asked "Are you sure?", and then Stephan said back to him "Of course I'm sure, and besides, he doesn't even eat meat at all, and like we already said to you and told you little guys before - Sitka will never eat other animals besides just fish.".

When they heard what he just said about the fact that Sitka doesn't eat any animals, nor any other creatures except for fish, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are shocked to realize that despite he (Sitka) accidentally showed them his sharp teeth, the Beartaur will not eat them at all (because none of them are fish), but then the four baby animals are even more shocked when Sitka suddenly said to them "That's true, I do despise and hate eating meat, but that still doesn't mean that I eat only fish - in fact, I also eat other things which herbivores and some omnivores also eat, like berries, fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs, and even edible mushrooms, and therefore I don't really need to eat meat in order to survive and/or get the proteins I need.", and upon hearing the truth about Sitka's diet from his very own mouth and words, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon all soon realized that he is indeed an odd Beartaur who is nothing like all the other Beartaurs they heard about in all of the stories about Beartaurs being cruel, heartless and ferocious predators.

Then, after they realized and understood that Sitka is not a predator and is not like most other Beartaurs, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon successfully warmed up to him and started befriending him, but just then, however, a female voice called for Sitka and asked "Sitka? What are you doing? Who are you talking to?", and when he heard what the voice just said, Sitka turned away from the baby animals and from all the others and looked towards the open door which leads to the other room (which he came from) and then he called and said back "Anastasia, please come here! Chloe, Aylene and Stephan came here to visit us, and there are also some new guests who are already in the house as well and I want you to come here and meet them!", and when she heard what he said, Anastasia said back "Alright then, I'm coming!" and then she came from the other room to the main room of the house to meet Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the baby animals, but that's not all - she also brought Charity and Faith along with her and held them up in her arms as she carefully carried them to the main room of the house to meet Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and the four baby animal friends.

When Anastasia came into the main room with her twin baby daughters, she saw Chloe, Aylene and Stephan and said to them "Oh! Hello there, Chloe, Aylene and Stephan! It's nice to see you three again!" and then she added and asked "Sitka just told me that you three came here to visit and also to introduce us to some new guests you brought here with you. May I see them?", and when they all heard what she just said, Sitka said back "Of course, Anastasia! By the way, one of the new guests appears to be just around the same age as your precious daughters, but I can promise and assure you that he's slightly even younger than them.", but when she heard what the Beartaur just said, Anastasia asked "Even younger than my Charity and Faith? Then who he or she might be? Have I met him or her before?", but then Sitka said back "No, you haven't yet met him, but I can promise you that you and your daughters are just going to like him when you see him.", and then he moved aside and out of the way so to let Anastasia see the four baby animal friends and then he added and said as he introduced them "Anastasia, I would like for you and for your precious daughters to meet these four cute, friendly and lovable baby animals who will be staying here in Canterlot for the time being - Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon.".

When Anastasia looked down and saw the four baby animal friends, she couldn't help herself and d'awwwed at the sight before her eyes, but when they looked up and saw her too, Cheeky stepped forward and asked her "Are you Anastasia?", and when she heard what the little baby jerboa just said to her, she asked back "How do you know my name?", and then Riley also stepped forward and explained "Stephan told us about you before we came here to see you.", and when she heard what the little baby fennec fox said to her, Anastasia said back "Well, it's good to see that someone new already knows about me before even meeting me.", and then she added and asked "If I may ask, what are you four doing here anyway?", but when the four baby animals all heard what she just said, all the happiness soon left their bodies and they all became sad again, much to Anastasia's surprise.

When she saw and noticed the sudden change in the four baby animals' behavior, she turned to the others and asked them "What's wrong with these little ones? Why they're suddenly so sad?", and then Chloe, Aylene and Stephan began explaining what happened to Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon before their arrival in Canterlot, and they also explained that the four are part of the united herds of the Everfree Forest who got separated from all the other animals because Tony Black and three other animals (Chunga, Karoosh and Saut) tried to kill them under the orders of their respective owners, but upon hearing everything that's happened to the four baby animal friends, Anastasia, Bluebell, Andy, Zoey and even Charity and Faith were all shocked and horrified, but on the other hand, however, Sitka was really mad and angry to hear that some villains are after the four baby animal friends and are trying to find and kill them all.

Then, Sitka's face reddened in anger and he felt all that rage burning inside his mind as well as his blood also boiling in rage the same way, and so that's when he clenched his own hands into fists and then he pounded and bumped them with and against each other and said in anger "How dare they?! Why would these mean adult animals do such a horrible thing as separating poor, defenseless and helpless baby animals from all their friends and families like that?! When I get to meet that cruel and heartless black tiger and his evil friends, I'm going to just grab him and tear him apart from limb to limb and end his life, right on the spot! If he thinks I'm just going to let him kill and eat helpless baby animals, he's dead wrong! And if he and his friends show up, they're going to see just how mad and angry I really am right now! If they mess with these baby animals - they're messing with me, and if they'll be messing with me - they're messing with hell! They don't know what they're now messing with! And since I'm a Beartaur, it will be way too easy for me to take these bad guys down without any help!", and after he said all these words and sentences, Sitka snarled in anger and he showed everyone in the main room of the house that he's now eager and willing to find Tony Black and tear him apart for separating Filimon and his friends from his mother, his herd and also from all the other animals of the united herds.

When they all noticed and saw how angry and mad Sitka is after hearing what happened to the four baby animal friends before their arrival in Canterlot, Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are a little frightened to see Sitka's angry face, but the others clearly understood him and knew how he feels, and then Anastasia said to him "I understand how you feel, Sitka. We all are." and then she added "And it's okay for you to be mad at that Tony Black and at his friends for what they did to the little ones before they arrived here in Canterlot. And I want you to know that if you're going to fight them, then I will come with you and will join you in the fight no matter what. I may be a mother to my precious twin daughters, but I'm also a strong centauress and I'm still strong enough to take on enemies, and that's all thanks to all the training we had together before the fight against your mother and her friend, and we're both well prepared and ready enough to fight enemies again.", and then she declared "We're going to do this together, Sitka. If Tony Black and his friends want the little ones, they will have to go through us first!".

When they heard what Anastasia just said to Sitka about that she will help him find and then fight off Tony Black and the other villainous animals who are still after the four baby animal friends, Maisie asked "So, does that mean that you're going to help us go home?", and when they heard what she just said, Sitka and Anastasia both looked down at her and at her friends and then Anastasia said first "Of course we'll help you, sweetie. We won't let that Tony Black or his friends get any of you.", and then Sitka added in agreement "If that monster of a tiger and his wicked friends want you four, they will have to go through us first! We will do everything we can to protect you until Shujaa returns to Canterlot with Queen Tukta's herd who will take you little guys back home to where you belong. I promise you that we won't let any of you little guys down, and we're going to make sure you're safe until it's time for you to go back home with your families and friends.".

With these words being said, things are settled and Sitka and Anastasia are now going to help and make sure that Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh don't get the four baby animal friends, and also to make sure that they're all safe and sound until Shujaa returns to Canterlot with Queen Tukta and with her entire Indian elephant herd to reunite them with Filimon and with his friends so that they can finally go back home to the Everfree Forest and get reunited with all the other herds as well, but a little did they all know is that they're being watched by a certain African bush elephant who have managed to sneak up on everyone from outside and is now standing close to one of the windows and watching them all with an evil smile, but that is not Terrence who is watching them - it was Topsy, but judging by the wicked look on her face, we obviously know that she's up to no good.

Topsy watched everyone from one of the windows without being noticed and when she saw Maisie, Riley, Cheeky among all the others, she smiled evilly and quietly said to herself " _Well, well, well, just look at what we have here - these are the same stupid little brats I've been looking for so long, the same ones I have orphaned before!_ ", but when she also saw Filimon standing right next to them, her evil smile grew wider than before and then she added " _Oh! And it seems that they're now best friends with some new, stupid baby Asian elephant! That's just perfect, exactly what I really need! All I have to do is wait for a perfect opportunity, and once the right time comes, I will kill these four little brats right on the spot! Mwahahahaha!_ ", and when Topsy looked at the four baby animals through the window again, she smiled evilly again and then she turned around and slowly walked away and thought of a plan to separate them from Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends, and then chase the four baby animal friends down and eventually kill them and complete her revenge for being the last female African bush elephant in all of Equestria (and also to avenge Terrence's pain for being the last male of the same species as hers).

Meanwhile, far outside and also far away from Canterlot, the last jackal has fully recovered from getting hit on the head during the chase for after the four baby animal friends the night before, but a little does it knows is that not too far behind it, Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh are slowly making their way towards Canterlot. To make matters even worse for the jackal, Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh have already noticed and saw it not too far in front of them and they're slowly making their way towards it with the intention to kill it (because the jackal is also after the four baby animal friends) is obvious, and by the time the jackal turned around and saw Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh, they were already standing just ten feet away from it.

Feeling scared and intimidated, the jackal immediately turned to run, but before it could escape with its own life, Tony Black quickly followed and then he leapt up into the air and ended up landing on the jackal's back, thus pinning it down to the ground and preventing it from escaping with its own life, and just then, Tony Black opened his mouth and jaws wide and then he lowered his head and neck down and bit the jackal on the neck and snapped it and also severed the spinal cord, killing his and his friends' rival and competitor before letting out a victorious roar and then jumping and getting off the jackal's now dead body, and so with the last jackal killed and already dead, Tony Black turned to look back at his two friends and yelled "Let's go, guys! Let's go find and destroy these little baby animals once for all!", and so with these words being said, Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh all continued on their way as they kept walking and traveling together towards Canterlot, hoping to find the four baby animal friends and then destroy them once and for all and complete their execution (killing) mission.


	155. Chapter 154 (author's note included)

Back in Canterlot, after Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon have befriended all of Chloe, Aylene and Stephan's friends and allies (with Sitka and Anastasia being the last two), they started liking everything around in Canterlot and enjoyed having lots of new friends, but they still didn't know that one of their worst enemies imaginable, Topsy the adult female African bush elephant have already seen them and spied on them before and is now plotting and hatching a plan to chase them first, and then trap them, take them down and destroy them all before Shujaa comes back to Canterlot with Queen Tukta and with her whole Indian elephant herd, but before she will start with her plan, Topsy went out of Canterlot to tell Terrence, inform him about the four baby animal friends being in Canterlot, and then also involve him in her plan so that the two villainous, African bush elephants together can destroy the four baby animal friends without anyone else to stop them from doing so.

However, that's not all - the mane seven, the CMC, Spike, Kenai, Agatha, Russell, Feliks and even Trixie are on their way to Canterlot and are planning to attend to and also to celebrate Chloe's fourteenth birthday, not yet knowing that they're also going to meet Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, who in turn will be the new, honorary guests at the celebration of Chloe's birthday. While they're all still on their way to Canterlot, Twilight said in an excited tone "I can't wait to see Chloe and celebrate her fourteenth birthday with her!", and then Pinkie Pie said and added in an even more excited tone "I'm even more excited to see her with Aylene and Stephan and with everypony else who are going to be there to celebrate her fourteenth birthday! This is going to be amazing!", and then Feliks said "Well, I never been in a birthday party before, but I guess it won't hurt to try attending to one for the first time.", and then he added "I just hope nobody there will insult me and will tell me to go outside and leave and don't come back to the party just because I'm a wild animal.", and with these words being said, the young leopard cub's head slowly lowered down and he frowned while still walking with all the others towards Canterlot.

When everyone else heard what he said and then turned to look at his face, they all stopped and then Russell asked him "Are you okay, Feliks? What's wrong?", and then Feliks explained "I really do want to be in Chloe's birthday party and I really do want to have so much fun.", and when they heard what he said, Russell asked him "And?", and then Feliks continued and added "Well, it's just...I just hope that nobody tells me to go outside and leave and don't come back to the party just because I'm a wild animal.", and upon hearing what he just said, Russell and everyone else gasped in shock as they all looked down at Feliks, who is now looking down at the ground with a frown on his face.

Then, tears started welling up in Feliks' eyes, but just before he was about to start crying, however, he suddenly felt a large paw touching him on the shoulder and it was Russell, and when the younger leopard slowly turned around and then looked up at him and saw his face, that's when Russell said back to him "It's okay, Feliks. I know you're not going to cause any trouble when we'll attend to Chloe's fourteenth birthday, and I know that you may be a leopard just like me, but you're still the most friendliest and kindest individual leopard cub that I've ever met in my life, and because you're my friend, I know that you don't even mean to cause any trouble, and if anyone would dare to make you think or believe that you're either a brat or a troublemaker, you just come to me and tell me and I will deal with them for you. I will not let anyone mess with you when we'll attend to Chloe's birthday party, and I promise that I will protect you and will also defend you from danger, just like your own father would. That's a promise, and a friend doesn't break a promise.", and with these words being said, Russell started stroking Feliks on the back with his forepaw in order to calm him down and reassure him that nothing bad is going to happen to him when they will attend to Chloe's birthday party.

When everyone else saw how Russell is comforting and reassuring Feliks that nothing bad will happen, they all couldn't help but smile, and some even had tears of joy forming in their eyes when they saw the strong bond between the two leopards, and then, when Russell stopped stroking Feliks on the back, he moved out of the way to let Scootaloo speak to him as well, and then the young Pegasus said "We'll make sure that nopony is mean to you when we'll celebrate Chloe's birthday party, Feliks.", and then she added "If somepony will mess with you when we'll get to the party, they will be messing with us! My friends and I we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and if somepony bad messes with one member, they're messing with all of us!", and with these words being said, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Randall all jumped up and said together "That's right!", causing Feliks to feel more reassured and even giggle a little bit at their move.

Then, after just a few minutes of reassurance, Feliks finally felt ready and willing to continue with the others towards Canterlot, and so that's when he said "Thank you all for being around and here for me." and then he added "I wouldn't know what to do without any of you around to help me.", and when they all heard what he said, Rainbow Dash asked him "So what do you say, little buddy? Do you wanna go and attend at Chloe's birthday party with us?", and when he heard what she just said, Feliks smiled at her and then at everyone else around him and said back "Yes, of course I want to come and attend at Chloe's birthday party!", and when they all heard what he just said, Russell said to him with a smile "And just to let you know - it's going to be so much fun, unlike anything you've ever experienced before!", and when he heard what the older leopard just said to him, Feliks said "Then what are we all even waiting for? Let's continue to Canterlot and attend to Chloe's birthday party and have lots of fun!", and so with these words being said, that's when they all continued together on their way to Canterlot.

At least one or two hours later, the mane seven, the CMC, Spike, Kenai, Agatha, Russell, Feliks and Trixie all finally arrived in Canterlot and they're now making their way towards the royal castle, but a little did they know is that not too far away behind them, Tony Black, Chunga and Karoosh are also getting very close to Canterlot and are about to start what they haven't yet finished - find and destroy Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, but taking these three animal villains out is just the easier part - the much harder part, however, would be taking Topsy and Terrence out when they will come back to Canterlot together and will try to get and then crush and destroy the four baby animal friends, and that means that even Sitka and Anastasia together won't be able to take out all their enemies so easily, because for both the Beartaur and the centauress, taking on a tiger, a hyena and a rhinoceros who work together may sound pretty easy, but taking on two adult African bush elephants like Topsy and Terrence will be quite a challenge.

Back with Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends, they're all enjoying and having a good time together with Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon, who started getting used to Canterlot and also to their new surroundings, and while they all enjoyed their time together, Maisie, Riley and Cheeky started asking Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends a lot of questions, some of these questions were about Sitka, and they also wanted to know more about him because they never heard of a mature adult, non-carnivorous Beartaur until they met him for the first time, but when he heard what they just said, Sitka asked the baby animals "Are you sure you want to know more about me, little guys?", and then he added and explained "I don't think it's a good idea if I tell you more about myself. I just don't want you little guys to freak out if I tell you about my mother, and believe me, she's not someone any creature around here in Equestria would want to either interact or mess up with after they'll hear and know the truth through me.".

When they heard what the Beartaur just said, Riley said back to him "It's okay, Sitka. We promise we won't freak out if you tell us more about yourself or about your mother.", and then Cheeky added "Yeah, that's right! To us, it doesn't even matter if your mother is a villain or not, because we too have enemies whom we already know of, and they are far more dangerous than a Beartaur!", and then Maisie said "If you tell us more about yourself and also about your mother, Sitka, we will tell you everything we know about our own enemies, from what species of animals or creatures they all are, to their genders, and also to which of them are the worst of all.", and when he heard what they said, Sitka said back "Alright then, that's a deal." and then he added "I'm in, here we go.".

Then, with these words being said, Sitka started telling the four baby animal friends more about himself, about his past and his childhood, about both his cruel and heartless mother and his nice and friendly father, and in the end of his explanation, he even told them all how and why he recently left his mother's side and joined Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and all their friends and allies to start and enjoy a much better life among them all, but when they heard what Sitka said and told them about his mother being a cruel and heartless predator who kills and eats everything she sees and everything that moves (including helpless and defenseless baby animals), Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon couldn't help but gasp with fright and even shake in terror, and the older three out of the four (and of course - except for Filimon) couldn't help but think about the very same African bush elephant who killed their mothers and orphaned them a while ago and before they became official members of the united herds (and also before Filimon was born), and we all obviously know who that African bush elephant who orphaned Maisie, Riley and Cheeky is - it was Topsy, who (coincidentally) is in many ways very similar to Sitka's wicked mother (Margaret).

However, we should also know that despite the similarities between these specific two villainous female characters due to and according to their own personalities, there are still a few significant differences between them which obviously differ them from each other: one difference between the two is their species - Topsy is an African bush elephant, whereas Margaret is a Beartauress. Another difference between them is that Margaret eats every animal (or creature) she hunts and kills, whereas Topsy merely destroys other animals and creatures just for fun (and without any intentions to eat any of them), and the reason to this is pretty obvious - Margaret is a predator, whereas Topsy is a vegetarian.

And finally, a final significant difference between the two is that Margaret is a centaurid creature, whereas Topsy is just a regular animal, and their own, personal body weapons (which are certain parts of their bodies) are also different than each other's - in order to kill her prey, Margaret uses her sharp claws and teeth in order to hunt down and kill prey animals and other creatures, but her two most powerful weapons are the same as those of most regular predators: her massive hands and paws and a bone-crushing bite. Topsy, however, doesn't have sharp claws or teeth, nor a bone-crushing bite or a strong jaw - instead, she have two long tusks (which are also known as elongated incisors), four tall, heavy and massive, pillar-like legs and big, round feet which could deliver powerful kicks, and finally - her long and muscular trunk, which in turn is at least 6 or 7 feet long and is composed and is made out of more than 40,000 individual muscles, and like her mate Terrence, Topsy too can use the entire weight of her massive head and skull to crush and kill other creatures without any need to trample them with and under her feet first, and an adult African bush elephant's entire head and skull (with the trunk and the tusks included) can weigh more than a half a ton, which is enough to kill both humans and smaller animals and many other creatures (including ponies).

* * *

 **Author's note (with warning included):**

Who thinks which one would and will win in the whole series of battles and challenges between these two specific villainous characters? Topsy or Margaret? If you like and enjoy this story so far - please review to which one of these two specific characters you think will win, but if you don't like and don't enjoy this story - better not read it anymore and go find another story to read instead of this one.

Also, here's a very important warning which all of you (especially all the guests) need to know: bad and/or insulting reviews will NOT be accepted in this story!

* * *

Anyway, let's go back to where we last stopped.

When Maisie, Riley and Cheeky heard what Sitka said about his mother being a ferocious predator who kills and eats everything she sees and everything that moves (including helpless and defenseless baby animals), they couldn't help but think about Topsy, who in turn killed their mothers and orphaned them in the first place (despite the fact that she is actually a vegetarian animal, unlike Margaret), and when all the others saw and noticed their fear, Anastasia went around them and then she stopped in front of them, knelt down to their level and asked them "What's the matter, little ones? Why are you so scared?", and when they heard what she said, Maisie explained "Well, one of our own worst enemies also kills other animals and other creatures, just like Sitka's mother does.", but then Riley also added and explained "Yeah, but unlike her, our own worst enemy doesn't eat who or whatever she kills. In other words - she's actually a vegetarian.".

When they all heard what they just said about their worst enemy being both a female and a vegetarian, everyone else looked at the baby animals in shock (though deep inside, some already knew and understood them), but Sitka was the one who was shocked to the very core upon and after hearing what the baby animals just said about their worst enemy not being the same as his own mother, but moments later, he shook his head and snapped out of his shocked state and then asked "She? A vegetarian? Who that worst enemy of yours might be, little guys?", and when they heard what he said, Cheeky cried and explained with tears starting to form in his eyes "Our worst enemy of all is Topsy! She's an African bush elephant and she's the last female of her own kind! She's also the one who killed our mothers and she wants to kill us too! She's even willing to destroy and eliminate every Indian elephant she sees, and twice before, she almost killed Filimon's big sister, Kyra! If Topsy finds us again, she will just trample on us and she will kill us right on the spot, and she will probably do the same thing to Filimon as well! The only one who others think is even worse than her is Terrence, and now they're already mates and they live together with Lysander, with the rest of their evil animals team, and with each other!".

When everyone else heard everything that Cheeky said about Topsy being no longer imprisoned in Tartarus and that she is now free and living with Terrence and with his and Lysander's villainous animals team, even Chloe, Aylene and Stephan couldn't help but gasp in shock while Andy and Zoey said together in unison "What?!", and then Bluebell asked "Did you just said that Topsy is no longer imprisoned in Tartarus? How is that even possible? How is she even free?", and when they heard what the teenage centauress just said, Maisie cried and explained "After they received the same powers as all of their other friends and became shape-shifting animals too, Zenobia, Clayton and Buldeo went together to Tartarus and used their new magical abilities to free Topsy from her massive cage, and then they took her along with them and they brought her all the way to Terrence to introduce her to him and to make them mates, and they succeeded in doing so!".

When they all heard everything that Maisie just said and explained about how Topsy escaped, or better yet to say was released from Tartarus, Chloe, Aylene, Stephan and their friends couldn't help but gasp in shock again, but unlike all the rest, however, Sitka was the only one who started feeling really mad after hearing about what Topsy did to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky before they're adopted by the united herds, and once again, his blood started boiling with rage and a scowl of anger started forming on his face as he slowly started bearing his own teeth in anger, and then he said to himself inside his own mind " _How could she! How could that big, female, monstrous excuse of a herbivore do such horrible things to other animals like these poor little guys?! How could a herbivore like her kill other animals and other creatures and orphan their young for fun just like that?! She maybe an African bush elephant, but I bet she's not so smart for taking away the lives of innocent animals and of other creatures alike! In other words - she's even worse than my own mother! If she shows up and tries to hurt or even kill the little guys and/or their new friend, I will teach her a lesson and I personally will give her a piece of my mind! Whether if she's the last female of her kind or not, she doesn't deserve to live peacefully after killing animal mothers and orphaning their babies just like that! If she shows up in Canterlot, either with or without her mate, I will make sure she'll learn a terrible lesson - one which she will remember for the rest of her life!_ ", and so with everything being said in his mind, Sitka clenched his hands into fists and pure rage started burning in his eyes, thus showing everyone else how angry he is after everything he heard about Topsy, from the fact that she is the baby animal friends' worst enemy, to the fact that she's also the last living female African bush elephant in all of Equestria, to her inexcusable crimes.

However, despite he also tried to hide his anger and control himself, Anastasia noticed that Sitka is angry again and so she turned to him and asked "What's wrong, Sitka? Are you okay?" and then she added "Why are you so angry again?", and when he heard what his best friend just said to him, Sitka tried the best he could to calm himself down and then he said back "It's nothing, really. I'm fine, there's nothing for you to worry about.", but despite she heard what he just said to her, Anastasia didn't believe his words and she could also easily see through his lies, and so that's when she said back "No, you're not, Sitka. Don't lie to me in front of everyone else like that." and then she added and asked "Tell me what's wrong, is there's something you want to talk to me about?", and when he heard what she just said and then looked at her in the eyes, Sitka finally gave in and took a deep breath in order to calm himself down before he started explaining to her and to everyone else about how bad he feels after hearing about what happened to Maisie, Riley and Cheeky before they were adopted by the united herds, and also about how angry he feels after hearing about their mothers' deaths at the trunk and feet of Topsy (who in turn is also the one who is responsible for orphaning Maisie, Riley and Cheeky in the first place), and he even told everyone else that he started comparing her to his own mother, who acts and behaves similar to her, with the only differences between the two are their species and their diets, and the last thing that was being said was that Sitka explained and concluded that Topsy is like a herbivorous, non-centaurid version of his own mother.

When they all heard the last thing that Sitka said (which is about Topsy being like a herbivorous, non-centaurid version of Margaret), everyone else were in shock, but as for Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon - the four were terrified to hear that Sitka actually compares Topsy to his own mother because the two act and behave very similar to one another, with the only obvious differences between them are their species and their diets, and like being said before: Margaret eats who or whatever she kills because she's a carnivore, whereas Topsy kills but doesn't eat any of her own victims because she's a herbivore.

However, despite they were all shocked and even terrified to hear that kind of information from Sitka and know that Topsy and Margaret act and behave very similar to one another, Anastasia understood him and she said "I understand what you're saying, Sitka. I may not know much about Topsy, but I still do know much about your mother, and I can assure you that since I already know how she (Margaret) acts and behaves, I believe and suppose that Topsy most likely acts and behaves the same way as her.", but then she also added "However, I also know that Margaret eats every animal or other creature she hunts down and kills, but unlike her, Topsy's crimes are much more crueler, heartless and totally inexcusable, because African bush elephants like her are herbivores and therefore don't eat meat at all, and if I knew her better or if I even saw what she did to three of the poor little ones when she took the lives of their mothers and orphaned them like she did, I would be telling on her to my parents and they would be sending their guards to find her, capture her and then execute her for her crimes, because no herbivore should have the right to kill other creatures unless they have a very good reason to do so.".

When he heard what Anastasia said about what she would've done if she ever met Topsy before, Sitka looked at her in the eyes once again and then he said back "You're right, and that's exactly what we must do in order to make sure that the little guys will be safe and sound and away from danger until Shujaa comes back here to Canterlot with Queen Tukta's herd so that the Indian elephants can take Filimon and his tiny friends back home to the Everfree Forest with them.", and when everyone else heard what he said, Chloe said to him "And we're all going to help you with that!", and then Aylene added "Yeah, you can trust us all on this one!", and then Stephan also said "Count us all in too!".

With everyone else counting themselves in and are eager and willing to help Sitka and Anastasia defend and protect Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon and keep them away from harm and from danger, Sitka gave them all a happy smile and then he said "Thank you all for counting yourselves in and for being so eager and willing to assist Anastasia and me, and I'm also so happy to know that you all want to help us defend and protect the little guys from harm and from danger.", but then Bluebell said back to him "You don't even need to thank us, Sitka. We always do our very best to ensure that everybody's okay and that nobody is in danger or is in harm's way.", and then she added "Also, if Topsy does shows up here in Canterlot, the last thing she will see will be me using my magical fist to knock her out cold again, and believe me, I managed to knock both her and Terrence out cold using my magical fist the same way, and in both of those times - I was successful. My magic is so powerful that it can knock out cold even a fully grown adult African bush elephant like Topsy or even Terrence, and since I'm a powerful centauress, everyone else here can count on me and can trust me when it comes to protecting Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon from Topsy and Terrence, and just in case I won't be able to do this alone by myself, Tah will be helping me knock these two big monsters of African bush elephants out cold and defeat them again before they're even able to touch our new little friends.".

With everything said by Bluebell being said, it seems like Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon are going to be okay and stay safe and sound and away from harm until Shujaa comes back to Canterlot with Queen Tukta's herd, but a few miles away, in a big dark cave, the shape-shifting animals team are waiting anxiously for Topsy to return with some new information she got and learned about all of our good characters, and while they all waited for her return, Terrence walked and stomped around in circles as he was so worried that his mate might've got hurt or worse while she was spying on our good characters in Canterlot, and while he was still walking and stomping around in circles, Terrence said and muttered to himself "It's been 4 hours since she left, what's taking her so long?", but while he was stomping around and muttering to himself, Terrence didn't even paid any attention to where he was going, and so it didn't took long before he ended up accidentally stepping on Lysander's tail, causing the crocodile to scream and snarl in pain as he then turned around and snapped his jaws back at Terrence and yelled at him "Hey, watch where you're going, Terrence!" and then he added "One day you'll really kill someone under your massive feet like that!".

When Terrence heard what his reptilian friend just said to him, he looked down at him and said "Oh, I'm so sorry, Lysander.", and then he added "I'm just so worried about Topsy, that's all. It's been 4 hours since she left the cave and went to Canterlot to spy on our enemies and gather for us some new information about them, and I'm getting worried sick about her because I think that she might've been captured and might not come back at all.", but when Lysander heard what his Proboscidean friend just said about Topsy being gone for too long, he tried to calm Terrence down and then he said to him "There's nothing for you to worry about Topsy, Terrence. She will come back when she will come back, and if I had a mate, you would've said the same thing to me, Terrence.", and then he added "You need to be very patient and not to worry too much if you want to see Topsy coming back here to our new cave. To ambush predators like me, patience is the key to complete success, and all we predators need to do in order to get our food to come right into our mouths is to just watch and wait for our prey to come close and anywhere near us, and once they're close enough, that's exactly when we strike and earn our kills.".

Then, Lysander used his own magic to surround and then levitate himself up to Terrence's eye level and then he said "Look, Terrence, I know that you're worried sick about Topsy, but you got to cheer up.", and then he added "And besides, Sayla, Ganda, Akeno, the rest of our formidable team and even I we all have your back, and we all will help you whenever you need us, so stop being worried too much and start waiting patiently until Topsy returns.", and then he got up very close in Terrence's face and said and asked him "Do you understand me, Terrence?", and when he heard what his crocodilian friend said to him, Terrence sighed and said back "Fine, Lysander, I'll calm down my worries and wait patiently until Topsy returns. I just hope it won't take too long before she comes back here to me.".

However, just then, shortly after Terrence said these words, Ganda suddenly rushed right towards him and then she said "Terrence, Topsy's back with the new information she got and gathered about our enemies!", and when Lysander heard what the female southern white rhinoceros just said, the shape-shifting crocodile said to himself "Well, I guess I just spoke too soon.", but when Terrence heard what Ganda said about Topsy's return, he immediately rushed to the entrance of the cave to meet her, and Topsy was already standing just outside the big cave and is waiting for Terrence to come and meet her, and so it wasn't long before the two African bush elephants were reunited with each other.

Then, when Topsy and Terrence reunited with each other, Terrence asked his mate "Topsy, I was worried sick about you! Where have you been the whole time? what took you so long?", and when she heard what he said, Topsy said back "I was in Canterlot spying on our enemies, and there's something I need to talk to you about.", and when he heard what she said, Terrence asked "Really? What is it, Topsy? What do you want to talk to me about?", and with that question being said, Topsy explained "While I was spying on our enemies in Canterlot, I found out that they're protecting and caring for these three filthy little rats whom I have orphaned a while ago. You know, they're the ones I swore to crush and stomp on even before I met you.", and when he heard what she said about Maisie, Riley and Cheeky, Terrence said back "I already know these filthy little critters, because I too have seen and met them before." and then he added and asked "But still, why is it so important for you to tell me that these three are in Canterlot?", and when she heard what her mate said to her, Topsy said back "Because now there are not just three of them, Terrence. I have some better news for you about them - there are FOUR!", and then she added and explained "A new baby animal officially joined these filthy little critters' team and became their best friend!".

When he heard what Topsy said to him about the fact that there are now four baby animals instead of just three, Terrence asked her "Really? What kind or species of animal that new baby is?", and then Topsy explained and said back "He's much bigger than all of them in size, but he's still just a mere, stupid little newborn! He's an Asian elephant calf, and I assume that he must somehow be related to Shufai, or even better yet to say - to Queen Tukta!", and when Terrence heard what she said, an evil smile grew and crept on his face and then he asked "What should we do with him? Do you have a plan about how to deal with him?", and with that question being said, that's when Topsy said back to her mate "Of course I have a plan! I know just what to do about that filthy little Asian elephant and his little critters! We're going to Canterlot to destroy these four baby animals before the baby Asian elephant's herd and family comes to pick him and his tiny friends up and take them back home with them!", and then she added and said "That's what we're going to do!", and with these words being said, that's when she started explaining her plan to Terrence, who in turn listened to everything she said.

*a few minutes later*

When Topsy was done explaining her plan to Terrence, he smiled evilly and said back to her "That sounds like the perfect plan! These four filthy little baby animals will never know what's gonna hit them! The three tiny rats will be so easy to crush and destroy, and the stupid baby Asian elephant calf will be just watching helplessly and crying until it's his turn to be crushed and destroyed as well! We will send these four small and useless baby animals to the depths of hell, where they will meet and will say hello to all the dead members of our own kind! I can't wait until we both crush and destroy these four pathetic babies, and I know that this is going to be so much fun for the both of us! Not only we will kill those three filthy little rats, but we will also end the short life of a small and pathetic newborn baby Asian elephant calf! I can't wait to see Shufai and his old grandmother's faces when they see us killing the little ones right before their eyes! This is going to be so much fun! Mwahahaha!".

And so, with all these words being said, Terrence turned his head and looked back into the dark cave and called for Lysander to come to him for a minute, and in no more than five seconds, the shape-shifting crocodile came up to his elephant friend and asked "What is it, Terrence?", and then Terrence said back and explained "Lysander, listen up. Topsy and I we're going to Canterlot to crush and destroy a bunch of baby animals and we want you to stay here and be in charge of our team until we come back.".

When Lysander heard what Terrence just said to him, the crocodile asked "Don't you mind if I come with you and with Topsy to Canterlot and help you deal with these baby animals?", but then Terrence said back to him "No, but thank you for being so eager and willing to ask if you can come with us, Lysander. However, this time it's only between elephants like me and Topsy, and therefore this involves no other animals except just the two of us.", and when he heard what he said, Lysander said back to him "I see. Very well then, Terrence, I hope you and Topsy enjoy destroying these little critters by yourselves.", and when he heard what the crocodile just said, Terrence said back to him "And if we don't come back here to the cave by sunset, tell the others to help you start looking for us, okay?", and when he heard these words being said, Lysander said back to his Proboscidean friend "Of course I will, Terrence. Now go to Canterlot with your mate, cause some havoc and have fun.", and with these words being said, Terrence and Topsy said goodbye to Lysander and then they both left the big cave and went to Canterlot together, and once they will get there, they will crash Chloe's upcoming birthday party, cause some havoc, but most importantly - they will make sure to crush and destroy Maisie, Riley, Cheeky and Filimon before Shujaa returns to Canterlot with Queen Tukta and with her whole Indian elephants herd to reunite our baby animals with them.


End file.
